V berth condensation solutions

D

dutch123

New member
I would like to deal with the condensation issue in the v berth and am curious what the best solutions are for this common problem. The mushroom style vents seem effective but cutting a large hole in my boat is not really high on my list of cool things to do. Is the spray insulation an effective solution? What are my options? Thanks.
Jeff
 
We always cracked the hatch over the V-Berth. May be just the with of the hatch dog. This always seemed to work for us. In cool weather when at a dock with electric we always ran a small electric cube heater. With the hatch vented and the heater we were usually dry.
 
There are several ways to deal with this problem. Insulated foam, closed cell, is one. You can glue it to the hull and cover it with carpet. Its what i did in our 22 and it worked out well. Pictures our in my album .

Another choice is the insulated paint in roll or spray on. Several have done it and reported good results. The sprays are rather pricey but Roger on dreamer found a product that you added to any paint to get the same result that was much cheaper. I am waiting for him to get back from the broughten for a full report on how well it worked.

if you do a search you will find a lot of info on the subject.
 
We glued 1/4 inch closed cell foam insulation on most of the Vee berth. Heavy strength 3M spray adhesive has kept it in place for years. The material was marketed as wire shelving padding and come in 12 or 18 inch wide rolls about 4 feet long. It has reduced condensation quite a bit but not at all completely.
 
I sprayed on the Delta T, eliminated about 80% of the condensation. Cost for doing the V-birth and cabin was about $600, if you do the work. A lot of masking but in the end it was well worth it. Sound insulation was an added bonus; you can hear a pin drop at cruise now. Have not painted over the Delta T but you can with a good interior latex paint, do not use exterior it contains chemicals you don’t want to be exposed to especially at close quarters.
 
Here in North Carolina, the main problem is heat. So we installed a round vetus port on both sides of the raised deck area of the v berth. Not only do they look great but the ports help to ventilate the v berth area in the summer and winter. We also installed a small vetus ocean series hatch in the rear portion of the roof. It allows the hot air trapped above the window line and below the roof to escape. For summer cruising, the roof hatch worked extremely well.
 
Vetus portholes look nice. I'm wondering how they seal on the raised portion in v berth being that it's curved, you must have to keep porthole size fairly small. Also it requires a large hole, has anyone that's completed this project had problems worth mentioning? Thanks.
 
how they seal on the raised portion in v berth being that it's curved
Click to expand...

As I recall, other C-Brat(s) installed wider oval versions (on the horizontal plane) and there were no sealing issues.

When I studied this I saw that since the round portholes were narrower(on the horizontal plane) that this would be even less of an issue.

This was comparing the PW30 and PW31 to the PM21.

Vetus_PM_Aluminum_Portholes.jpg

Vetus_PW_Aluminum_Portholes.jpg

Also, there is NO CURVE on the vertical plane so that's not a factor.
 
Has anyone installed a through the deck funnel as many sail boats have-would resolve the issue in a low tech manner- done right could look pretty salty
 
I installed two of the PW30 round ports and have had no problems with them. To install mine, I placed them at the center of the vertical portion of the v berth (top to bottom). Then I used the interior trim ring as a template and simply slid it toward the bow until I could no longer maintain a flat surface. I measured everything about 10 times, got the correct size hole saw from Lowes, took several deep breaths and cut the holes. I sealed them with clear marine silicone and used stainless hardware, with flat washers and acorn nuts on the inside. They look great inside and out and have never leaked. I would gladly get some measurements but I just put the boat back in dry stack for hurricane season. I sent some pictures to Gene at Mobile East Marine and I'll see if I can find them. If not, I'll take some this weekend and post them for you.
 
Thanks Skipper,

Those are stunningly beautiful.

Stainless, I think...

When I read your passage...

flat washers and acorn nuts
Click to expand...

I was flummoxed.

My ALUMINUM PW30s came with (2) 180 degree, half-circle, interior trim pieces that use oval-head screws to clamp the porthole and hold it in place.

Once the porthole is "installed" the 2 aluminum hemispheres are offered up and screwed to the body and tightened (squeeze play).

No additional holes are drilled to secure the porthole-body to the interior trim-ring(s).

It must be a stainless vs aluminum difference???
 
Sorry for the confusion. I installed the ports over 2 years ago so I had to dig out the tech data on the ports. The ports I installed were actually Vetus PQ51 stainless ports. Mine used stainless hardware to connect the main body of the port to the interior trim ring, hence the acorn nuts and washers. I recall the reason I selected those ports was because they were designed to be used in installations where the laminate was relatively thin. For this application, they were perfect.
 
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