Aft cabin natural ventilation

[Mike36c]

Nearly all of the motor yachts and yacht fish have the master stateroom aft. For you folks with this setup does an adequate breeze make it back there when on the hook with the windows/ port holes open?

 

[johnjen50]

I own the 58 Yachtfish and the ventilation is great. When the hatch in the forward stateroom is open and there is a breeze it travels all the way back. Also, the aft stateroom has portholes and/or a window on three sides. I'm in the Northeast, and rarely need the AC.

 

[Pascal]

It s ok, as the boat swings on the hook breeze comes in thru the side portholes which helps a lot. A fan is pretty much a must without running the AC but that runs easily off an inverter.

Everybody has different tolerance level for heat obviously.

 

[magnawake]

It depends.... You certainly need a breeze. If you make a long run the engines heat the salon up a little and if you have no breeze it will be uncomfortable back there. We have 4 port windows and 1 huge window on the fantail, also 1 in the aft head. All contribute to a nice breeze if the wind is blowing of course. In the middle of the summer its too hot after a long day running. We just anchored out last week in SC and we slept in the back stateroom (no wind), of course it was cool. We spent about a month on a mooring ball in boot key in Jan. which it was 70's in the day and mid 60's at night, the back was great. We did spend a week on the hook at Cape look out in June but it was windy so it was fine back aft. When the wind blows 10-15 mph, the boat swings around the anchor a little. When the boat gets a little sideways from the wind direction the wind blows in the side portholes pretty well. If the wind is barely blowing I sleep up in the V-berth. Its certainly cooler up there. If its cold we sleep in the back. Our favorite thing to do is anchor out where its peaceful and we can see the stars. You will love being out there either way, front or back.

 

[bobk]

In 9+ years of ownership and year round use (48 Series I MY) between the Chesapeake Bay and SOFL, there have been only been a few uncomfortable nights. In fact we rarely open the aft hatch, just the side ports. The hot room on this boat is the mid cabin. Now if your admiral is super sensitive to heat, all bets are off.

Bobk

 

[oscarvan]

This reminds me of another question I've been meaning to ask..... On the 53MY the aft cabin has 9 port holes. None seem large enough to fit through..... does that mean the only egress is between the engine rooms and either up the stairs or out the forward hatch?

I would seriously consider fitting a hatch in the ceiling.....

 

[SEVEN]

My 1979 53 MY has two large hatches in the stern easy to crawl through if your under 250 lb.

 

[Angela]

Nearly all of the motor yachts and yacht fish have the master stateroom aft. For you folks with this setup does an adequate breeze make it back there when on the hook with the windows/ port holes open?

NO - Not even close. I'm in Miami. It has to be fairly chilly out in order to sleep back there with the bow pointed into the wind (at anchor). In the slip, I can get a slight breeze, depending on the wind direction. Still, I put a fan in front of one of the portlights to help pull in the outside air unless it's just chilly at night which is rarely is.

 

[Angela]

This reminds me of another question I've been meaning to ask..... On the 53MY the aft cabin has 9 port holes. None seem large enough to fit through..... does that mean the only egress is between the engine rooms and either up the stairs or out the forward hatch?

I would seriously consider fitting a hatch in the ceiling.....

Of all that I've seen, the older models had the small portlights across the stern with an escape hatch through the ceiling which comes up in the aft deck. At some point, they changed the design and put two larger Bomar hatches on the stern, omitting the hatch through the ceiling/aft deck floor. You can crawl out of those if you're not on the real heavy side. I imagine that if the boat is on fire, a large person will amaze himself/herself at how much soft body mass one can squeeze through that opening.

 

[Pascal]

Indeed earlier boats like mine have an overhead hatch big enough to escape. At some point in the mid 70s they replaced the three small portholes with two big hatches on the transom

 

[oscarvan]

Thank you, that makes sense. Yes, I've seen the larger aft port holes in the stern on later boats, but have not noticed the hatch in the aft deck on earlier ones. Have to look harder.

Sorry about the thread drift. Of course a hatch or larger portholes do improve ventilation......

 

[saltshaker]

This reminds me of another question I've been meaning to ask..... On the 53MY the aft cabin has 9 port holes. None seem large enough to fit through..... does that mean the only egress is between the engine rooms and either up the stairs or out the forward hatch?

I would seriously consider fitting a hatch in the ceiling.....

I've never seen a Hatteras that didn't have a large escape hatch either in the overhead or transom for each cabin.

 

[SEVEN]

Your correct. It's mandatory to be able to escape do to fire or sinking.

 

[Mike36c]

Thanks everyone for the input, I'm trying to decide between a convertible, yacht fish, or MY for our next boat, mostly to be used in S. Fl and the Bahamas. On the right occasions I would love to enjoy some quiet time on the hook, not just to save a few gallons but for the peace.

 

[oscarvan]

I think borrowing from the sailing world and installing a healthy sized "wind scoop" on the forward hatch would send quite a bit of air down below...... of course with no mast to hold it up one would have to get creative....

 

[Angela]

I think borrowing from the sailing world and installing a healthy sized "wind scoop" on the forward hatch would send quite a bit of air down below...... of course with no mast to hold it up one would have to get creative....

The bow hatch is large and just it being open makes for a pretty decent wind scoop. I get a lot of breeze down the bow hatch, but none if it whatsoever makes it to the aft cabin. The layout of the boat does not permit for a straight hallway from one end of the boat to the other - it's zig-zagged, up and down, and the air just does not flow.

 

[magnawake]

I think borrowing from the sailing world and installing a healthy sized "wind scoop" on the forward hatch would send quite a bit of air down below...... of course with no mast to hold it up one would have to get creative....

I tried that already. I bought it at a surplus store for $5.00. Really its didnt work that well. It flapped around and made noise. I tied it up with a pole and then to the hand rails. Most sail boats dont have fwd port holes in their bow that open up and their hatch is smaller so they need it more. . In our V-berth I open both port holes right beside the bunks. It provides a great breeze. I took the scoop off after a couple days. The fwd hatch is really big enough without using the scoop. Like Bob said we anchor out lots and only a couple a nights we have been hot. Pascal hit the target with a fan too. Our inverter supplies the power to keep one running in the aft stateroom. Angela, we close our salon door forcing the air to go through the aft cabin. It works pretty well.