Wind Diverter for Forward Hatch

[Takinbetz]

On our Catalina 36 the forward hatch is just aft of the v-berth bed. We've been getting great wind in the Keys but it's all going aft and the v-berth still gets stuffy. Does anyone have any clever ideas on how to rig a wind diverter that would take the incoming air from the hatch and push it forward over the v-berth? Is there a diverter that can be attached to the hatch on the outside of the boat, inside? Just wondering.

[gonesail]

the Caliber designers actually built the forward hatch to open directly over the vee birth. What a concept but I don't know how you would reverse the flow without installing a fan.

[Takinbetz]

I was thinking about doing a reverse windscoop but not sure how I'd engineer it. Otherwise I do use a fan on the locker to push some air back into the vberth. If the hatch was 6" forward, it would be in a great place.

[Hud3]

Originally Posted by Takinbetz

Does anyone have any clever ideas on how to rig a wind diverter that would take the incoming air from the hatch and push it forward over the v-berth?

Yes, it's called a Hella fan.

Actually, they work very well for us. You can adjust the angle of the hatch cover inside the windscoop to dump the air in pretty much straight down. Then several well-placed 12 volt fans will circulate it nicely. And the Hellas only use about 0.1 A each.

[GordMay]

Google < wind scoop >, there's numerous iterations available.

[Davey J]

We have used a windsock like what you see at airports and over bridges but with a mouth at 90 degrees to the sock that opens wide by tying it up and out to the sides the tail of the sock you can direct in any direction works great simple, air is free and quiet

[rexposeidon]

you could install a pair of dorades (Dorade Boxes, Cowls and Accessories) for ideas, or try and re-engineer your hatch cover so that it can open in either direction. This will give you the option of working like a dodger and wind scoop.

[Holding Pattern]

We have both windscoops and hella fans... both have been fantastic uses of kitty kash.

[Reality Check]

I've used the Windscoops on several boats... on a small C26 I had the same problem with Vberth not getting much circulation when the wind dropped.. but some still blowing.

I fabricated a cloth of the same material... an old windschoop... where I fitted it across the hatch opening allowing the middle to sag inward about 8 inches. This redirected the low end breezes forward rather well. It covered about half to 2/3 of the hatch opening. I accidentally discovered this idea when a mosquito screen I had covering the hatch drooped and forced more air back into the v-berth.

When the breeze kicked up it wasn't needed which was a good thing since it would tend to flap with the breeze coming back on it from the V-berth. For lighter winds it was great.

Sorry don't have that boat anymore and can't send a photo. I'm heading back to my boat in BVI in a few days and if I find the winds dropping I may make another and try to get a photo to post later.