Solar fan letting water into V-berth?

[nickfox45]

As usual this board is a great source of info! I sent an email to Marinco along with a couple pictures and I'm going to see what they suggest. I'll give an update when I hear back.

[skipgundlach]

Not only is it missing the cover, it's missing the drip ring.

We just redid our forward hatch, and pulled the same unit.

What you see is only part of the system. Ours looks just like yours except that there's a ring (looks like yours may have that part) that goes to the mount surface first, into which the core/exhaust of the fan unit pops (and gets sealant around; the top/bottom mating parts are tapered to allow for that).

However, that part with the fan and the battery/solar setup SHOULD have a ring around it, with a lip, which will have weep holes. And, as others have noted, a SS cover. That cover would prevent all but the smallest seep from the top part, but that would (normally) be dealt with by the drip ring.

Green water would get under the SS cover, but not much; the drip ring would prevent most of that from getting to the core, where it could leak; enough force, and it could wash up over the edge.

But that missing part (looking like it was cut off on yours) is what's making you leak, I'd bet.

[senormechanico]

It's a Day/Night. The battery is the only maintenance item.
I've replaced it twice since 2000.

Skip's right about the lip.
We have had some pretty serious water over the bow and nothing made it inside.

This is the model we have.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NICRO-Day-Ni...23b0a8&vxp=mtr

[Cheechako]

I don't recognize that fan, but the Nicro ones seem to work pretty well and keep some ventilation when the boat's closed up.
I would definitely remove and check the deck core in that area as suggested.

[DeepFrz]

OP, have you checked to see if the unit even works?

[Sailmonkey]

That vent is missing so many parts that it won't be worth salvaging. Go buy a new one and pop it in there. I'll bet it solves your leak too.


Sent from my iPhone using Cruisers Sailing Forum

[The Way]

Originally Posted by senormechanico

It's a Day/Night. The battery is the only maintenance item.
I've replaced it twice since 2000.

Thanks, Senor,

I have the same only the 4" model.

Jack

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by DeepFrz

My suggestions are to take it out and check that the deck coring material is not saturated by water.

This I think is the most important thing you need to do

[Azul]

There were two of those in my coach roof when I bought the boat. They were noisy, provided imperceptible ventilation and leaked. When I pulled them out, they had caused extensive core damage. I did a search on this item at the time, and most people were not satisfied with them and as I recall they were about $45. They are ugly, even with the stainless covers and provide another gremlin to trip over in the dark.

My choice was to pull the (expletive deleted) out and repair the holes. Consider it a great way to learn about epoxy, paint and fiberglass on a small scale. For ventilation, getting 12V automobile fans and hard wiring them (instead of a tiny solar battery which dies in a year) will do a much better job (like the difference between cutting a lawn with shears vs a mower) without having another place for your boat to leak. Honestly, out of all the useless crap I removed from my boat I would list these solar vents near the top.

Fit your deck hatches with removable frames covered with mosquito netting and make a roll down netting (basically two dowel rods with netting attached) for your companionway.

Also, check out how Voyages of the Atom fashioned a replacement for his companionway boards that was both secure and provided ventilation for being at anchor, think "burglar bars." A great idea especially for really warm, humid areas where you might have a concern about someone coming into the boat while you sleep.

If you are going to keep them in, at least remove some of the deck core around the hole with a dremel and seal the core with thickened epoxy as moisture will eventually get in there, then install the flange with butyl tape.

[nickfox45]

Originally Posted by DeepFrz

OP, have you checked to see if the unit even works?

The fan itself works. I took the plastic off that was covering it and it started right up!

[nickfox45]

Thanks everyone. I've yet to hear back from Marinco about a replacement option, but I've heard enough horror stories about damaged core to wonder about what might be below. I don't have any reason to think it's leaking into the boat, as there was no moisture on the cushions inside even after an entire winter on the hard. Obviously I can't tell if water is getting into the core, though.

[nickfox45]

Update: Marinco confirmed that my old fan was incomplete and out of service. I ordered a new 3" day/night 2000 after measuring the current hole. Now for the good news/bad news portion of this post.

Good news: the holes on the new plastic ring line up perfectly with the old holes, meaning no new holes in my boat. Yay!

Bad news: the new plastic ring is barely (as in 1/16 of an inch) too big for the current hole (picture attached).

Now what? Do I just get a grinder bit attachment for my portable drill and grind down 1/16 of an inch of fiberglass and core? I was tempted to just force the thing in there because it's soooo close, but I was pretty sure I'd break it.

Also, several of you were concerned about damage to the core. I included a picture of that as well, although I admit I'm not really sure what I'm looking at, I'd love to get thoughts on the status of that as well.

[DeepFrz]

I can't tell what the core is like from that picture. Key things are 1. is the core punky? 2. all holes have to seal the core from the possibility of getting wet. Epoxy and cabosil make a good filler after applying straight epoxy and allowing it to soak into the wood but not cure completely. West System has lots of information on using epoxy for boat repair.

Did you clean out that plastic looking stuff from the hole before trying to fit the ring? Sandpaper and a flexible sanding block shouldn't take more than a few minutes to enlarge the hole.

[Azul]

Your deck has a layer of marine plywood sandwiched between two layers of fiberglass. This "composite" construction is quite strong and doesn't flex easily- most decks have a core for that reason.

The plywood isn't supposed to be black, that is from moisture intrusion. How far the water has seeped into the core is a question, it may just be superficial. But on my boat the plywood had channels cut into it so that it could bend into the crowned shape of the deck, and water spread down the channels several feet.

If you own a boat, it's a good idea to have a dremel tool. They are useful for all sorts of projects. Heck, I even trim my dog's nails with a cone shaped sanding attachment. Put a 115 bit into the dremel shank but don't jam it all the way in, leave clearance for the fiberglass skin. This allows you to cut out the core while leaving the fiberglass skin intact while using the dremel like a router. If you need to trim a little fiberglass back to fit the flange in, the dremel will do this rapidly, just mark the outer skin with a pencil and trim away- it will go quickly with the core removed. Next, fill in the space vacated by the trimmed out core with thickened epoxy like peanut butter. Make sure the flange screws go into thickened epoxy and not into the core. The hole will be waterproof with no exposed core so if you have a leak it will be visible (it will drip into the salon and not soak into the core like a sponge) and won't mess up the core.

You may have to goop up the flange with silicone to get it to seal. Butyl tape is better as it stays flexible for a long time (decades,) but hard to use on larger areas.

Read Mainesail's (Compass Marine) articles on bedding deck hardware, it is the same technique.

[nickfox45]

As an updated, I ended up borrowing a dremel and expanding my too-small hole slowly. I put down a bead of silicone on the housing and the deck and sandwiched the gasket between the two while I pressed down like the instructions said. The fan is in and functioning (and doesn't seem to be leaking from what I can tell) although it's a little more raised on one side than the other. I'm chalking it up to one of those things only I'll notice. Not sure why it happened, only thing I can think is that the deck is slightly more cambered on one side than the other. Anyways, thanks for your advice and suggestions, and hopefully this thread helps someone else out in the future!