This is a project upgrade that I've wanted to do for quite some time, but only recently put the pieces together to actually get it done.
The project involves ventilation of the interstitial space between the deck and the hull where the fuel tanks, some wiring, and the bilge lives.
That area is subject to water intrusion, mostly from rain, into the bilge via the anchor rode locker, and via deck plates that do not totally seal the space.
In my deck, I had a pair of 8.25" Tempress snap-in hatches in the aft deck, over the port and stbd saddle tanks (which are no longer used).
Those two hatches would easily allow a pair of SunForce Solar Vent 3000's to operate, and vent the under deck space.
I started the project by measuring between the hatch-ring mounting screws and determining the center of the hatch.
From there, I drilled a 1/8" pilot hole, and then a 1/4" pilot hole for the 4.5" hole saw to use as a guide.
After drilling the hole with the hatch in place, I used a very sharp knife to remove flash, then sanded the hatch with 150 grit to make it smooth.
The SunForce vent simply fits in place with a friction retention ring on the back side of the hatch to hold it in place.
At some point I may seal the Solar Vent to the hatch with marine silicone, but I want to assess the performance of the two fans before I make anything permanent.
The plan is to leave the solar vent fans in place when the boat is in her slip.
Before leaving the dock, I'll pop the fans from the deck and replace them with solid covers when underway.
Pretty simple project.
The project involves ventilation of the interstitial space between the deck and the hull where the fuel tanks, some wiring, and the bilge lives.
That area is subject to water intrusion, mostly from rain, into the bilge via the anchor rode locker, and via deck plates that do not totally seal the space.
In my deck, I had a pair of 8.25" Tempress snap-in hatches in the aft deck, over the port and stbd saddle tanks (which are no longer used).
Those two hatches would easily allow a pair of SunForce Solar Vent 3000's to operate, and vent the under deck space.
I started the project by measuring between the hatch-ring mounting screws and determining the center of the hatch.
From there, I drilled a 1/8" pilot hole, and then a 1/4" pilot hole for the 4.5" hole saw to use as a guide.
After drilling the hole with the hatch in place, I used a very sharp knife to remove flash, then sanded the hatch with 150 grit to make it smooth.
The SunForce vent simply fits in place with a friction retention ring on the back side of the hatch to hold it in place.
At some point I may seal the Solar Vent to the hatch with marine silicone, but I want to assess the performance of the two fans before I make anything permanent.
The plan is to leave the solar vent fans in place when the boat is in her slip.
Before leaving the dock, I'll pop the fans from the deck and replace them with solid covers when underway.
Pretty simple project.
