Dorade boxes???

[Sabreman]

You could get clever and build the dorades out of acrylic

While a cool idea, may not be aesthetically pleasing in practice. The inside of a dorade box can be quite dirty and often has something green growing.

With respect to the location, we have a similar issue and our sheets were always catching. I considered making guards but one day simply turned the cowls aft and the sheets haven't caught for 4 years. They simply slide over the top. For this application, I'd recommend low profile cowls and not the large stand up ones. We used SS ABI cowls as in this link:
SailBoatStuff - ABI Low Profile Cowl Vents, Compact Cowl Vents, Round Cowl Vents and Parts

[SloopJonB]

It's not uncommon to make the top panel of Dorade boxes out of acrylic - you get the light but avoid the other listed problems a full acrylic box would cause.

[CalebD]

I don't have a good picture of the Dorade vents on my T27 but I do have a link to the line drawings of the boat that shows the location of the Dorades. TARTAN 27 sailboat specifications and details on sailboatdata.com
I don't get the jib sheets fouled on the Dorades much because they are mounted BEHIND the mast and not in front. Anything mounted on deck in front of the mast is likely to foul the jib sheets, like the forward hatch, especially if left open.
The T27 was designed by S&S.

[deltaten]

Those are nice vents, Chef; but, once ya add the cowl it ends up well past $300 per unit!!

I have a defunct solar fan/vent in the head. While the dorades you linked would look/work nicely; spending one-tenth the price of my boat for a funnel would be a tad nutz.

I'm pretty good with sheet metal and have some s.s. around the shop. A few hours making up a box and mounting some sort of cowl will eat up some of the winter blues.

[Beersmith]

How are dorade boxes supposed to be affixed to the deck? My boat had one attached with screws drilled at an angle through the side of the box to the deck. I figure that isn't a very good way to go about it.

[Faster]

Originally Posted by Beersmith

How are dorade boxes supposed to be affixed to the deck? My boat had one attached with screws drilled at an angle through the side of the box to the deck. I figure that isn't a very good way to go about it.

I think the most leak-free way would be to mount cleats to the deck, properly sealed and caulked so that the boxes fit around them and screwed to the cleats horizontally from the outside. Alternatively I suppose you could screw them onto the deck from underneath, but that puts a hole through the deck...

[chef2sail]

Originally Posted by deltaten

Those are nice vents, Chef; but, once ya add the cowl it ends up well past $300 per unit!!

I have a defunct solar fan/vent in the head. While the dorades you linked would look/work nicely; spending one-tenth the price of my boat for a funnel would be a tad nutz.

I'm pretty good with sheet metal and have some s.s. around the shop. A few hours making up a box and mounting some sort of cowl will eat up some of the winter blues.

Yeah I mentioned they were expensive, we only have one for our main cabin so not so bad. The PVC ones work as well and are 1/3 the price.

We have a nico solar vent in the head. It is much better than a cowl. It has a fan running constantly exchanging air, day and night. Especially important in a room where there is moisture from showering etc

Dave

[svHyLyte]

Originally Posted by chef2sail

...

We have a nico solar vent in the head. It is much better than a cowl. It has a fan running constantly exchanging air, day and night. Especially important in a room where there is moisture from showering etc

Dave

I agree with David and I can't understand the apparent reluctance to consider solar vents. They are relatively in expensive, not unsightly, and will not interfere with one's sheets. Moreover, we have found them much more effective at moving air than Cowl Vents and on an earlier yacht, replaced the Cowls in the Dorade Boxes with solar vents. (We now see this quite commonly in and around our marina) If one can obtain the old style Nicro Day-Night vents, even defunct, they can be restored to full functionality for less than $25.00.

FWIW...

[Sabreman]

Those are nice vents, Chef; but, once ya add the cowl it ends up well past $300 per unit!!

True story: When we looked at what was to become Victoria, it was a cold, rainy day in early March. The PVC cowls were dirty, cracked, and wet. The broker commented that the boat was just aching for stainless replacements. It may have been an intentional visual plant in my brain on the broker's part (a common sales technique), but it worked. So we bought the boat and along with new interior lighting and battery charger, 6 SS vents ($$$) were the first upgrades to our "new" boat. I'm a sucker for shiny things.

[Minnewaska]

Originally Posted by svHyLyte

I agree with David and I can't understand the apparent reluctance to consider solar vents......

They do make some noise that can drive some people nuts.