Installing a Marinco Solar Vent 

Thanks for the thumbs up. Apart from moving and setting up a new home in Metung, we currently have an old dog with dementia that hates the water and being on the boat. Makes longer trips a bit difficult but hopefully will be doing some shorter ones on the lakes soon. Cheers Mark

Thanks for the heads up. Yes epoxy over the painted surface is the most permanent way to do it and if I was a lot younger I would have probably done that. My reasoning is the high strength marine silicone I use is guaranteed for 20 years and I have had below water through hull ports sealed with it for more than that without leakage. I smeared the cut surface liberally with the silicone as well as applied it to the deck flange. I have had cheap Bunnings silicone fail after only a few years and would never use it on a boat again. In 20 years I will be over 80 and I suspect my sailing days will be diminishing substantially. Cheers Mark

I dont get it. Do you drill and install before the epoxy is set? Why would epoxy not leak if you drilled through it?

Hi Richard, Its a good question and I probably don't have the full answer yet. I used heaps of the water absorbing canasters in the boat over the last couple of winters and the mold seemed to still appear frequently. I have been told that is more about the air circulation rather than just the moisture but cant really give an opinion until I have had the boat through a winter with the solar vent. We have had a cool damp summer since installing the vent and there has been little sign of mould growth since. Having said that we use the boat more in summer so it gets naturally ventilated more often than winter. The other consideration is that the solar vent mostly runs 24hours a day in summer but now the days are shortening and especially on cloudy days the vent is not running by morning so will be shifting less air in winter. I think the theory is that the mold spores are very light so any air current will stop them settling and if the air is exhausted even better. You dehumidifier may also work if it sets up some constant air movement inside the cabin. I you go that way let me know how it turns out, I would be very interested. Cheers Mark

Hi Mark. Appreciate your reply. The humidifier has a fan drawing air in and then out so it should provide some air circulation. I’ll give it a go and let you know how it turns out. Oh just for info I have a 1985 Sabre 22 and been learning how to sail over the past couple of years. Cheers Rich

Yes its not silent but it is quieter than a lot of the cheaper units I have tried in the past. Mine is at the other end of the boat to where I sleep so I don't notice it. I do turn it off at night when others are sleeping onboard.

Pretty funny, at 1.50 you say that you can hardly hear it running

@@wayofthesamurai90 I bought one based on this installation. It's noisy. It works but it is really noisy

Hi Mark, I replied to this but it vanished. The climate down here is very mild and often the warmest part of Victoria in winter. The mould is most problematic in winter when the boat is closed up for longer periods. I am sure the mouldy Triton next door doesn't help either. Neringa is very airtight so the vent will create a constant movement of air through the cabin which I am told goes a long way towards keeping the mould away. Yes the boat Murray next door is a classic wooden boat and has only moved in recently. I hope her owners start restoring her as there is quite a bit of timber showing though damaged paintwork. I am sure the triton is a great boat, this one is sadly very neglected and hasn't moved for years. Cheers Mark