Dorade Vents

[Tripod]

Dorade vents are only designed to cope with spray. If you're taking green water through your dorades, you should remove the scoop and screw in the plates (you do have heavy weather plates, right?). Other wise you're likely to find just a box and a hole after one of those waves.

[zeehag]

the dorade is th ebox on top of which the cowl vents sit. the dorade is designed to be a preventer for influx of wawr, and i have noticed mine work quite ell, as designed. if thwre is no box under the cowl vent,is not a dorade vent. is merely a cowl, and isnt gonna do what real dorade will do. if no box, you will want to cover your cowl or remove and place a deck plate where the cowl vent screws into the deck. should have come with the boat. if not-- there are sizes for these, 3 in and 4 in. if you prefer to become a carpenter, the dorades are lovely and great for tripping over, as i usually do.... but they do keep out the more massive influxes of water. look into wooden boat for instructions on how to make a PROPER dorade box for your cowl vents.

[S/V Alchemy]

Zeehag is correct. A cowl is no good beyond spray, but a proper dorade box is designed to take a gallon directly into the cowl, release it out the sides and back via little drain holes, and to keep the internal "bulkhead" in place so that the actual hole in the deck is kept free of water.

If you think you might capsize, that's the time to put the plate into the threaded ring...but with a proper dorade, you do that inside the cabin!


What I called "bulkhead" is here called "baffle" and what I called "holes" are called "scuppers".

[Bloodhound]

I must be missing something. We have 4 dorades, mounted on dorade boxes designed to separate water from air. They work. They have screens to keep bugs out and they do not admit water. IF your dorades pass water either they're not on boxes or the boxes are badly designed. And as far as extracting air is concerned, try turning the rearmost away facing downwind and the front ones facing into the wind. The wind past the downwind facing ones actually pulls a vacuum on them and causes them to extract air.

[S/V Alchemy]

You're only missing that some people are using the term "dorade" when they mean "cowl vent" like are used on transoms to vent engine bay heat away. Dorades implicitly mean "cowl plus baffled box".

[EllanVannin]

Originally Posted by smurphny

I have whittled some big wooden plugs for them that I put in if expecting a lot of spray over the decks. If blue water ever gets that high I'll be thinking more of survival than anything else! Most of the modern ones come with plugs but it doesn't seem the older ones ever had them. They are also a great way for critters to get in, so, have made screens for them as well. They DO vent better than the other useless mushroom gizmos on the cabin top.

Thanks lol I will get my whittling knife out

[EllanVannin]

thanks for the replies.

I will clarify I was typng at early hours of morning under influence of insomnia.

We do have dorade boxes, factory fitted on our Bene.

They do lose about a gallon of water in heavy green water over the bow.

We do get that sort of weather here.....we do try to avoid it sometimes s^(& happens.

From your replies I have garnered what those strange round white things in the bottom of the locker were for. They DON'T have a screw down option but they do have a lip that looks like it clicks in quite securely. We will play with them tomorrow now the boat has dried out a bit today.

Thanks for all your input.

Regards Clare

[swagman]

Sounds like you've got it sorted, but a cowl alone will usually allow spray to get below unless facing away from the spray direction, or like you plan - to be blanked off for the passage.

We like a lot of air down below especially in our heads, so I've just replaced a motor powered mushroom vent that sat on our foredeck with a dorade plus cowl from Vetus. I got that one because it actually has an internal screw down closure.

Facts are that neither the mushroom vent nor a forward facing dorade are designed to stop green water taken over the fitting - your blanking plates or a screw down closure are.

Enjoy
JOHN

[bay_sailor]

I recently installed 2 Vetus dorades on my C30 they make a big difference in ventilation when the boat is sitting and closed up.

[smurphny]

Originally Posted by EllanVannin

Thanks lol I will get my whittling knife out

Actually "whittled" with band saw.

[EllanVannin]

Originally Posted by smurphny

Actually "whittled" with band saw.

Awwwww dang I jus don have a boat big enough for a band saw lol. guess my long nights on watch at sea could easily be filled with a decent bit of timber and a whittling knife lol

Seriously is "whittling" a term for what we call "turning". Which is like making it on a lathe etc, I am thinking of whittling as in Grandpa Walton you see

[smurphny]

Originally Posted by EllanVannin

Awwwww dang I jus don have a boat big enough for a band saw lol. guess my long nights on watch at sea could easily be filled with a decent bit of timber and a whittling knife lol

Seriously is "whittling" a term for what we call "turning". Which is like making it on a lathe etc, I am thinking of whittling as in Grandpa Walton you see

I keep a little band saw bolted right to the cabin top. You never know when you'll need one:-) We also "turn" wood on a lathe (keep one of those in the sail locker). Whittle Synonyms, Whittle Antonyms | Thesaurus.com