Dorade vent screen
For anyone who has installed Dorade vents on their boat but is having problems with mosquitos and flies entering, I have the
solution! This has worked on our current HR48 yacht Marinella and also on our previous Centurion 49, Case Noisette.
It consists of anti-mosquito fabric edged in ‘female’ sew-on velcro – for easier washing as it does not stick to other items – and ‘male’ stick-on velcro, also screwed – as hot summers can affect the glue – on the roof lining. You just need a sewing machine.
Washable and long lasting, they are tight fitting and do not impose on the interior. If anyone needs further information, email wendyjanelatham@gmail.com. Wendy Latham problem when I first fitted a Volvo 3 bladed propeller to the Saildrive of our Dufour 36 in 2002. Initially the anodes were completely eroded after six months. A chance change of the boat next to us saw an improvement to nine months – better, but still not good.
Eventually, I found the answer was to paint the hub and blades – not the anodes – thus insulating them from the salt water. I use a proprietary propeller paint called Marlin Velox Plus which consists of a self-etching primer and an antifoul top coat. I think the primer protects the metal from corrosion but the antifouling works pretty well too.
It took several attempts to get the paint to stay on for a whole session but now most times it only requires a quick rubdown and repaint of the top coat. The anodes now last well over a year and, in fact, at the last haul out they did not need to be replaced as they were less than 10% eroded after 12 months in the water. The propeller is now 18 years old and shows no signs of wear or dezincification. I am sure any self-etching primer plus propeller antifoul paint would work just as well. Painting the blades has not caused any noticeable drop in performance, which is consistent throughout the whole season as there is no build-up of marine growth on them. If it was a cause for concern then just painting the hub might be a reasonable compromise. Andrew Spruell