Enclosed Cockpit in Tropical Places

[tfsilver]

We have a 42 ft catamaran currently located in British Columbia Canada. We are replacing our bimini over the cockpit area and are wondering whether we should be adding sidewalls with bug screen so that the cockpit can be enclosed. If we do this will this we are concerned that it will cut down on ventilation. We always have the option to remove the sidepanels. We are going south to the west coast of Mexico next year. I am interested if it is worth the effort or am I wasting my time and money. After Mexico we are headed to the Carribean via Panama. So any comment from sailors in the warm waters will be appreciated.
Thanks
Tony

[Southern Star]

Go for it! I have a complete cockpit enclosure with removable side/aft panels that have zippered, roll-up up windows covering screens. It does a pretty good job of keeping the mosquitos at bay while under anchor (and yes, you will find mosquito infested areas throughout the Caribbean, with the added bonus that some are known to carry malaria and dengue fever!).

Brad

[daddle]

Yes. Of course it will reduce ventilation. Maybe ok in Mexico. Undesireable in the more equatorial places. Not many bugs on the west coast of Mexico except if one anchors close to a mangrove.

[Mark Johnson]

When we re make our full cockpit enclosure, which is now due, we plan to have alternate curtains of dark "Phifertex" mesh. It is like large square, very tough, screen. It would block the flies and mozzies, but not noseeums. We would rely on the finer companionway screens, in the areas where they are a problem.

If the curtains have very fine screen, there is not enough air. Also, this mesh fabric blocks a LOT of the UVs, and can cool the cockpit down, while allowing a bit of a breeze. If there are no bugs out, only put in the sunny side curtains, for the 80% shade that it offers, and leave the rest out.

Also, when you take plastic side curtains out, it is best to roll them around a 8" cylindrical piece of upolstry foam, with flannel sheets between each one. Otherwise they get scratched, and if you just roll them around themselves, they flatten over time, creating permanent waves in the curtain.

Hope this is of use... Mark

[North26West80]

If you are from British Columbia, or even southern California (my former home), its probably hard to imagine not having an enclosed cockpit. On your way south, you will enjoy all the protection you can get. But once you get to Mexico, I think not so much. In the tropics, comfort is spelled ventilation.

My dodger rotted away ten years ago and I still haven't got around to replacing it. Just has not seemed so important here in the tropics.

Shade on the other hand is indispensable. Do you have an awning plan?

[speciald@ocens.]

I have screens on my enclosure but rarely use them. Infact, I'm about to replace the canvas and not have screens this time. The plastic windows are useful in the rain and on trips back and forth to the Caribbean in the Spring and Fall.

[atoll]

i find "shade cloth" works very well ,cuts down direct sunlight,you can still see through it and allows some breeze,and the price is not that expensive,available at garden centers etc

[Hud3]

From our experience in the eastern Caribbean, bug screens for the cockpit aren't necessary, but I do recommend screens for all hatches and the companionway, not so much for mosquitoes, but for the flies that show up here and there. Clear plastic cockpit curtains are great for rain and for the windward side when sailing close-hauled to keep out the spray.

[s/v Moondancer]

My wife is the ultimate enemy of mosquitoes and in some places in the Caribbean, Bonaire was the worst, you go inside at dusk closing all mosquito screens.

We solved the problem with a "mosquitero" A 20 ft long 6ft high and 12 ft wide box-like mosquito net that goes over the bimini covering the cockpit and the middle and aft hatches.

It is Noseum material cost a total of $350 for a 55 ft boat and has changed our lives, we now have a cockpit that we can entertain in, sleep in and still get a breeze.

It is the wonder and talking point of marinas where mosquitoes are almost always a problem.

[brakauskas]

Originally Posted by s/v Moondancer

My wife is the ultimate enemy of mosquitoes and in some places in the Caribbean, Bonaire was the worst, you go inside at dusk closing all mosquito screens.

We solved the problem with a "mosquitero" A 20 ft long 6ft high and 12 ft wide box-like mosquito net that goes over the bimini covering the cockpit and the middle and aft hatches.

It is Noseum material cost a total of $350 for a 55 ft boat and has changed our lives, we now have a cockpit that we can entertain in, sleep in and still get a breeze.

It is the wonder and talking point of marinas where mosquitoes are almost always a problem.

Where did you buy the mosquitero of that size

[s/v Moondancer]

We bought the netting and had it sewn to our specifications.

Mosquito Netting vs. No see um netting comparison

Regular net lets more air through but also lets noseums thro

It has chain sewn to the foot to keep it down.

[Bash]

Mosquitoes are not much of a problem in Baja. The jehenes (no-seeums) can be annoying, but only if you're close to mangroves. I've had bees swarm my boat down there, and we learned quick not to have anything in the cockpit that attracts them.

I agree that while hatch screens are essential, a cockpit enclosure won't be of much use once you hit the Tropic of Cancer.