Ventilation for Aft Cabins

[loony]

My husband and I are looking to purchase a Jeanneau 45.2 but a huge sticking point is the HORRIBLE ventilation in those aft cabins. We chartered a 45.2 in Grenada and loved it with this one exception. Otherwise I think it would be a very liveable boat (we'd turn one of the aft cabins into storage/workroom). Does anyone have ideas/experience for what to do about air flow? We thought about adding a hatch via one of the cockpit lockers---like we've seen on other boats (Catalina I think). Any advice? Any thoughts as to the livability of this boat in the Caribbean?

[skipmac]

Is this the aft cockpit aft cabin design? If so, ventilation is a problem. I chartered an aft/aft design for a Bahamas cruise and we had to run the generator and AC unit at night just to keep the aft cabin livable.

I think the hatches on the Jeaneau are so small that you would have to set up fans as natural ventilation just would not do it.

If you love the boat otherwise you might try a trick I learned on a boat with limited aft cabin ventilation. We set up a window fan in a hatch in the main cabin blowing up and out. Close the main companionway and other hatches which forced all the air to come in the hatches in the aft cabin. Worked great, even August in the VI.

[msponer]

My previous boat was like that.

We had a fan that blew across the port above the bed to suck in fresh air and then blow it down the length of the bed. The little wall mounted fans that come with boats are silly, they make a lot of noise and do not really blow. I can't imagine leaving one of those on all the time and listening to it buzz. There are much better fans: these 12 volt box fans quietly move much more air.

But... even with that we rarely closed the door to the aft berth in hot weather. And it was still the hottest and stuffiest part of the boat.

The best solution I have seen for ventilating an 'aft berth under cockpit' was on a Van De Stadt. The cockpit bench had a section that was ~10" lower than the rest, and had a hatch on top of the lower section. The teak strips were at the same level of the rest of the bench seat, so people could still sit there, but one could open this big hatch up underneath the seat and get plenty of airflow through it. That would be 'the ultimate', but involves a big fiberglass project to retrofit. I also feel that a small hatch underneath the dodger, in the standing part of the berth, adds a lot of good ventilation that works in most weather (which the V-berth tends to not have).

[sailorboy1]

Just chose a different boat instead of always being pissed off and hot! Heck my aft berth has 7 ports in it.

[S/V Alchemy]

I agree on the "life's too short to have the wrong boat".

There are several dozen equally good or better designs. Find one where they didn't screw this aspect up.

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, loony.

[Dockhead]

You should have a large horizontally mounted hatch, do you not? I don't think I've ever seen an aft master cabin without one. If you do, then just put a wind scoop on it, and you should be fine.

I have never needed the wind scoop, I have two jumbo dorades which do a super job of keeping a pleasant breeze going in my cabin. I bet you could probably retrofit dorades.

[Sailmonkey]

Every boat we've ever chartered we draw straws to see who gets what cabin. I always pray we never get the aft cabin. There's nothing like a properly sized V berth or a pullman style berth fwd with a hatch over it.

[loony]

Thanks for the replies! This boat has an awesome "master" that is forward with 2 large hatches so that berth is exceedingly comfortable! The problem is we want/expect that we'll have many friends and family coming to visit us on the boat and want them to be comfortable too. The aft cabins have a small hatch that is forward facing and a small port that faces the cockpit. It just doesn't pull the air in, even with a windscoop. We're not afraid of a project and know that adding a hatch in the locker would involve fiberglass work. The dorade suggestion is interesting, facing after it would pull in the air better? Does anyone know how to get a drawing (not sure what a boat builder calls them) of a particular model to see where adding items is safe? We're on a budget so hiring a marine architect isn't really an option.

[delmarrey]

I put in some nice water tight portals into the cockpit, which vent the aft cabin nicely when I open them up.


.

[page winslow]

Look into the Clear Air System you can ventilate up to 8 cabins or comparments with one system works grate on my hunter 410

Originally Posted by loony

My husband and I are looking to purchase a Jeanneau 45.2 but a huge sticking point is the HORRIBLE ventilation in those aft cabins. We chartered a 45.2 in Grenada and loved it with this one exception. Otherwise I think it would be a very liveable boat (we'd turn one of the aft cabins into storage/workroom). Does anyone have ideas/experience for what to do about air flow? We thought about adding a hatch via one of the cockpit lockers---like we've seen on other boats (Catalina I think). Any advice? Any thoughts as to the livability of this boat in the Caribbean?

[Hartleycruiser]

My 45.2 has three ports in the rear berths .One square one on cabin top one in the cockpit and one on the outside of the cabin The square one is about 10" the other two are oval.We also have a fan (A bit noisey) to assist. The two oval ones are simmilar to to ones in Delmarrey's photos .

[boto]

Hi Loony, we just comleted three years in the Carib aboard a
40DS. We haVe the two cabin layout with the space where the third berth would be being a large storage closet. We used the V berth as our master suite. Using a small windscoop in the port side portal combined with a 12V made a comfortable berth for our guests. We also haVe a hatch that opens into the cockpit so there was a cross breeze. Of course on those days with no breeze there was only one thing to do, die in the water. Good luck.

[S/V Illusion]

Originally Posted by loony

Thanks for the replies! This boat has an awesome "master" that is forward with 2 large hatches so that berth is exceedingly comfortable! The problem is we want/expect that we'll have many friends and family coming to visit us on the boat and want them to be comfortable too. The aft cabins have a small hatch that is forward facing and a small port that faces the cockpit. It just doesn't pull the air in, even with a windscoop. We're not afraid of a project and know that adding a hatch in the locker would involve fiberglass work. The dorade suggestion is interesting, facing after it would pull in the air better? Does anyone know how to get a drawing (not sure what a boat builder calls them) of a particular model to see where adding items is safe? We're on a budget so hiring a marine architect isn't really an option.

Guess you didn't consider the suggestions others made about choosing a different boat. It's not a good sign when you think you love a boat while concurrently imagining all the changes required. There is a (not too subtle) message in there someplace...

[boto]

guess eVery boat is a compromise, for us she worked great and for our guests as well, including my 86 year old mother in law. The boat offered a lot of comfort, good luck in your search.