Page 1 of 2

Windsock for air ventalation in cabin

Posted: Mon Jun 09, 2008 9:02 am
by Andy hipetrol
Anybody use the windsock. I purchased one and tried to use this weekend and could not a find a smart way to hang it. Of course I did not know I would need some rope to hang it etc. The instructions are not all that great. Where do you hang it and how? What are the four grommet holes for in the bottom? The dowel rod only has two hooks?

Posted: Mon Jun 09, 2008 9:56 am
by bubba
Last week I pop-riveted a flag pully system to my port spreader about the middle. The real small pully and line to tie flags to like my stars and stripes and jolly rodger, the bottom of the line ataches to a flag cleat bolted to the safety wire. This is std for a lot of sail boats. I can also hang my radar reflector for night sailing and fog when I am in shipping lanes. You can hang your windsock or anything light from it, like drying your underwear Ha Ha 8) 8)

Posted: Mon Jun 09, 2008 10:14 am
by tangentair
Just a guess if your talking about a wind scoop to force air into the cabin and not a wind sock to tell airplanes which direction to lane (yeah that was a cheap remark), but you can tie a length of light line in a small bowline tied around your forward shroud, then use your jib halward to haul it to a suitable height over your forward hatch, the swival top of the scoop should tie nicely to that line. As for the 4 lower eyelets I would guess they are used to secure it to the hatch - perhaps a line passed through the holes and then tied or two short bungees hooked into the holes and compressed around the hatch opening, or maybe it is supposed to drop into the hatch and clip to hooks if you can not secure it around the hatch opening. Just a guess without knowing make and model or seeing a picture.

Posted: Mon Jun 09, 2008 10:18 am
by K9Kampers
Andy-
I'm assuming you are refering to the Davis Windscoop? I do not have one myself, but from what I understand, it can be hung from a halyard or other. The rod with hooks attaches thru two of the grommets, anchoring it on the inside of the hatch by tension alone.

Windsccop Instructions

Posted: Mon Jun 09, 2008 11:32 am
by James V
If you stern anchor with a yoke and put the Bimini next to the cabin as a scoop, you may get more air flow, enough to blow out the stove sometimes.

Posted: Mon Jun 09, 2008 12:41 pm
by Wind Chime
We have only had the need to use our "Windscoop" a few times so far, but it worked well when we did.

The idea is that the bottom of the unit with the wooden dowel, hangs inside the cabin, so the nylon scoop (spinnaker) can freely turn with the wind to maximize the downdraft.

We attach the Windscoop to Parrell Beads (sailingsource.com/neilpryde/store/beads.htm) that we use for our asym spinnaker, the beads hang around the furled genoa, and the whole unit is held to height by the spinnaker halyard so the Windscoop is directly over the front hatch.

Posted: Mon Jun 09, 2008 1:44 pm
by Trouts Dream
How well does it work if you need a screen on the front hatch?

Posted: Mon Jun 09, 2008 3:15 pm
by Wind Chime
Screens:

Companionway:
We have a set of screens that has zippers on the top side to connect to our Dodger, and snaps to both sides of the campanionway, and zip together in the center. (for wetter/colder days, we also have a matching set of these in clear plastic with black sunbrella border).

Front Hatch:
This is one single piece of screen with velcro border that attaches to the bottom rim of the hatch.

When using the Windscoop, we have not had to use the screen. If/when we need to, we would have to tie of the four corners of the scoop topside somehow.

Not sure how we would do that? To the pulpit and stantions I guess. :|

Posted: Mon Jun 09, 2008 3:19 pm
by Russ
We had on one our last boat. They work great.

The scoop attaches to the dowel. The dowel then gets "jammed" into the hatch and you raise the scoop on a halyard or something so that the dowel is "pinched" up against the inside of the cabin forward side of the hatch sideways (where the latch is). The tension from pulling the scoop up holds the dowel pinched tight against the headliner but not too tight that it can't move around just a bit.
The wind fills the scoop and blows it open like a spinnaker.

Worked great. A heavy wind would rush down the hatch. Like mentioned above, anchor stern too and you really get a wind down there, although it confuses other stupid boaters and they drive over your anchor line because they don't look for it "behind" your boat.

Posted: Tue Jun 10, 2008 8:48 am
by Andy hipetrol
It is a windscoop not windsock. It may be that my new to sailing is showing but I do not have anything to raise it with it over the front hatch I have a furler.

That is what is so amazing about sailing if you have not grown up around sailboats and have no experience whatsover except for reading and a sailing class the smallest tasks to others seem complicated to us. I certainly no how Daydreamerbob feels. Some of us crazy people read this website for a while then go out and buy an :macm:

In Texas it is already 90 degrees everyday. My son's first task when we go to the boat is open the front hatch to get some air in the cabin. My idea was the second task would be to raise the windscoop while we are preparing to depart to get some air in the cabin.

I did figure out the scoop needed to be raised. How that was the question? The four grommet holes and only two hooks on the dowel were confusing. :?:

You guys gave some great ideas my stern is to the lake in its slip I may be able to bring bimini forward while waiting to depart and scoop some wind into the cabin while waiting on departure.

Posted: Tue Jun 10, 2008 9:45 am
by Russ
Andy hipetrol wrote:It is a windscoop not windsock. It may be that my new to sailing is showing but I do not have anything to raise it with it over the front hatch I have a furler.
Your jib halyard is probably being used already to pull the jib up.

What I used to do was attach the top of the windscoop to the jib. I'd just wrap a small line around it or to one of the jib sheets that is coming down from the jib. It doesn't have to be fancy or that strong. This also helped angle it forward to scoop more air.
That is what is so amazing about sailing if you have not grown up around sailboats and have no experience whatsover except for reading and a sailing class the smallest tasks to others seem complicated to us. I certainly no how Daydreamerbob feels. Some of us crazy people read this website for a while then go out and buy an :macm:
Thanks for pointing this out. Often people with experience talk to fast or assume too much when explaining things to those new to the sport. Remember, most people make total fools out of themselves before getting that experience.
There is much that can only be learned by experience. However, there is much to be learned by teachers. I used to teach the boating course for USPS and we were approached by a local yacht club. We thought, these are tried and proven sailors, what can we teach them. Oh man! These guys knew how to hoist their sails and sail but that's about it. It was shocking to see how little these experienced sailors knew.
In Texas it is already 90 degrees everyday. My son's first task when we go to the boat is open the front hatch to get some air in the cabin. My idea was the second task would be to raise the windscoop while we are preparing to depart to get some air in the cabin.
I'm envious. We've had the coldest and wettest spring in years. My wife says it's because we have this new boat and we're paying for a slip. Tomorrow the forecast is for SNOW! Then the weekend will be in the 70s. Strange stuff.
But I lived in New Jersey where what you described was the norm. Opening the boat was like going into a damp oven. If there is a wind, the scoop might help get that stale air out.
I did figure out the scoop needed to be raised. How that was the question? The four grommet holes and only two hooks on the dowel were confusing. :?:
Yes they are if you are forced to assemble the thing. If I recall, the 2 grommets the front (leading edge) connect to the dowel and the other 2 can be used to secure it tighter in the cabin or edge of the hatch.

I'm sure you've seen this before. Not a great illustration, but maybe a help. I can't read that language, maybe someone can translate.

Image

Posted: Tue Jun 10, 2008 12:02 pm
by Andy hipetrol
Russ MT,

Now you see what I'm talking about instructions are in a foreign language. :) Thanks for the reply we are having a record hot summer but the winds have been great. We cruised last weekend with just the jenny and were at times by GPS going over 6 knots. A little too much wind for this novice.

Andy

Posted: Tue Jun 10, 2008 2:22 pm
by K9Kampers
Doppelte Nahte Zwei Segellatten Sind eingenaht
Just a wild guess:

Two double seams are sewn sail battens

Posted: Tue Jun 10, 2008 2:50 pm
by James V

Posted: Wed Jun 11, 2008 9:12 am
by Love MACs
Thats pretty slick James and good information. I had never heard of using a windsock and am now looking for one.


Allan