Venting heat

C

C Sniper

New member
I am wanting to keep the temperature down inside the cabin when locked up and not in use. Mainly as I am hoping to minimize degradation to the power station that runs my mini a/c. If I can keep the inside below 104 I could even charge but that is not critical. I am considering putting in a Marinco (formerly nicro?) day night solar fan. Has anyone put one on the roof of a 22? I am planning to try to measure roof camber today as the vent documentation shows max of 1/2" per 12" for proper installation. Could do a hatch install too but the hottest air is going to be up high.

Any input appreciated as I hate the thought of cutting a huge hole in my roof and then regretting it later.

Another idea I had was putting a high output computer fan and PVC pipe behind a back rest cushion and vent thru the hole the electric comes into the cabin. Would probably have to cut another hole on the other side for opposing flow. In this case first first hole already exists and the second hole, if later regretted, would not overly visible unless you're looking for it or accessing storage under the bench seats as it would be hidden behind the back rest cushion. (I have the rare commuter version without kitchen and dinette table). Same issue as hatch option above as not venting out from the roof, I am guessing, would have less cooling effect given hot air rises.
 
I put a solar vent in the head on Journey On. It has worked great. I understand that your boat is neither a 25 or has a head. I also installed one on our 36' sailboat; worked great there also.

The job was easy. Just cut a hole and install the fan and battery. Ours has worked for >10 years. At least the fan has, the battery has crapped out a few years ago; someday I'll replace it. That's an easy job; just that I'm not motivated (lazy.)

The roof of Journey On is 1/2" thick over the cabins starboard aft corner. That was sufficient for the fan. No wires or screws.

Boris
 
If I can keep the inside below 104 I could even charge but that is not critical.
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Ha Ha. We have different problems here in the Great White North. Today the temperature on my ranch in Alberta, Canada is -40C (-40F) outside and probably not much different inside my boat.
 
A no new hole option. Install computer fan in a pvc pipe/duct with the outlet going through the existing hole for the electrical wiring and the inlet pipe/duct run on the inside of the cabin up to the ceiling. For makeup air I open the center front window with the lock levers in the slot that allows it to be open only a crack - never had any rain enter and I do have a screen over the window for bugs and critters - works if you have a center opening window. Other solution - move to the northern tier with lots of fresh water and no salt corrosion.

Happy New Year, Jay
 
Thataway the C Dory25 has a Nico solar vent in the forward hatch and in the cabin aft just inside the cabin. These do help. No problem with installation, but I did not put them in.
 
I had two on my 22. One just above the galley, and the other in the berth hatch. No problem with roof camber. However, even though I also installed one in the head on my newer 25, I'm not all that impressed with the solar vent for their expensive cost. I'm not sure how well it would work to vent the heat out of your 22 in the Texas sun. Colby
 
In the spirit of crack the windows, which keeps my truck 20-40 degrees cooler than windows up on sunny days... just for when she is locked up and not in use.

Anyone care to chime in here, solar vent to keep the blast furnace at bay???
 
Jay, I love that idea! I usually do keep the center window open just like you suggest, but need a way to get some air flow. The computer fan using the existing hole is something I am going to try!
 
The Nico solar vent came with our boat. I’ve had to replace it once in the past 19 seasons. It’s mounted directly above the Wallas stove & works great for removing condensation from heating water & cooking, but I’m with Colby & others who doubt it would do much for reducing the kind of heat you’er wanting to.

Jay
 
I am confused, cracking the windows on a car does what I want to accomplish and the is passive venting. Am I missing something here??? I am not trying to air condition the boat with a solar fan, just keep the inside temp equal to or as close as possible to the outside temperature. Preferably below 104, but well below 140.

edit note, generally speaking the island never gets above 96, and seldom above 93..
 
We put a Nicro solar vent fan in the hatch over the v-berth. Silver bubble insulation in the windows. It made a difference whether here in the Tropical Tip or in the Pacific Northwest. Due to the potential for blowing sand and grit, I was not keen on leaving a hatch or window cracked unless we were in the boat.
 
I'm a little confused here. It seems you (C Sniper) shot down the cracked window idea. I could see it not working well on the C Dory as a passive use because the window is at mid-level compared to a truck window near the roof but my suggestion was the cracked window as an air makeup for the fan (solar or computer) exhaust. Seems to me that a solar would be working all the time the sun is shining and that would be enough to keep the temps down to ambient or at least near that. I'm also assuming you are talking about when the boat is not in use. Am I missing something?

Happy New Year, Jay
 
my confusion is growing here, when did I shoot down anything? The cracked window is a great way to get opposing air flow from a computer/solar fan, period.
 
Tangent here... James, is the SD - Sandy Eggo? south dakota? other? none of my biz? haha. just curious

I appreciate your input given you have more experience with the dorys in local waters. thx again!
 
C Sniper":7kjdm7td said:
Tangent here... James, is the SD - Sandy Eggo? south dakota? other? none of my biz? haha. just curious

I appreciate your input given you have more experience with the dorys in local waters. thx again!
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We used to divide our time between South Dakota and Texas. For a lot of years, both places were "home."

Boating (and especially anchoring) in the Tropical Tip is unique. Over the years, we have had a variety of sailboats and powerboats here. I can't say I've tried to do what you are going for, with deploying a kite from the cockpit of the C-Dory, so I can't offer any advice on that. With the cruising we've done, we looked for "protected" anchoring, never looking to be out in the wind. So, pretty much the opposite of what your situation is. But, I have dealt with all the same trying to keep the cabin from becoming an oven situations.

Good luck with it.
 
I don't think anyone was shooting down opening a window, but rather sharing a car window is different from a boat window with it's location closer to the top where the heat will rise to. I'm not saying the solar vents wouldn't possibly help. I just don't know if it will help enuf in the hot Texas sun. On my 22 I would run one vent fan in exhaust, the other on intake, depending on if I wanted outside air coming in on me in the berth, or drawing the warm heated cabin air from my Webasto into the berth. Pretty much the same way I run my one fan on the 25 in the head, with the head door open. On the 22 the idea of placing the one solar vent over the galley was to help dissipate cooking condensation, and in the 25's head, to exhaust foul air. :mrgreen: My displeasure with the rather expensive solar vents we are talking about, is that I don't believe they move that much air, although I do think with my 25, the berth hatch left open a tad bit, and the head vent bring air in, it does seem to push the warmed cabin air on cold nights a bit more into the V-Berth. I've also had issues with the solar batteries not lasing thru the night if it's been a cloudy day. Seems to me, having curtains closed on the windows, or some other darkening or insulating material would help. At least here in Wisconsin on our warmer days that can reach 90, and the boat cabin can climb to between 100-110, I can keep the parked boat just a bit cooler by closing all the window curtains. Sometimes I leave the solar vent operating, sometimes not. When on the water, or in the boat, I have several carframo fans that I also run that help immensely. Colby
 
colbysmith":c5c1add3 said:
... At least here in Wisconsin on our warmer days that can reach 90, and the boat cabin can climb to between 100-110, I can keep the parked boat just a bit cooler by closing all the window curtains. Sometimes I leave the solar vent operating, sometimes not. When on the water, or in the boat, I have several carframo fans that I also run that help immensely. Colby
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In the mid Atlantic region, while the boat was moving, opening the center front and v-berth hatch and having the cabin door open kept the cabin cool enough. When stopped, I put a 12" DC fan in the center window. When really hot at anchor or a dock, there was the AC unit.

Closing up the boat and putting up the window shades (at least in the sunny side) helped a lot with heat gain in the cabin when using the AC.

I have noted that with the boat closed up and under the cover, the cabin temp can reach 130 deg F. in the summer time.
 
The side and rear windows have a tint already. But shades/curtains, when not it use, would help hugely I bet. I am going to do this as well
 
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