Are there any nicer boxes and vents that match the holes in a catalina 34, 1990 boat?
Its time to replace mine for the second time.
Do a search on "Vetus" -- I recall I posted the model and catalog, if not the drawing.
I also wrote a Mainsheet article about a different replacement, try the Tech Notes.
Cliff : Your dorade is a Nicro 3" rather than the 4" Vetus found on the 1986-1988 C34s
Look for some 3" on the internet and I'm sure you'll find them. Nicro may even have improved their's since 1990. A thought
I replaced them on my boat 2 yrs. ago and found the best deal at: www.go2marine.com/
I lost one of my vinyl hoods 2 years ago. Not having much luck finding any web search where it is listed AND in stock. Lot's of listings, nobody has one. These are old and hard to find I guess. The dorades are 20 years old, cracked, weathered. I was not happy with the cost associated with replacing the whole works for 2 vents.
If I 'member correctly it was a ridiculous 150+ per vent. I found "Air only vents" from Malta on Ebay
I ordered 3 so I'd have spare parts for $50 each. complete with dorade and vent hood, horn, scoop, whatever it's called.
www.air-onlyventilators.com/main/ (in red or blue) make sure you admonish them about packaging for protection of the contents.
If I have to make the hole in cabin top bigger to accomodate these, so be it. I could use the ventilation.
Have you tried Catalina Direct? I got a new vent to replace mine from them last year.
http://www.catalinadirect.com/index.cfm?category=73
After losing my second cowling hood overboard, I decided to replace them with Nicro Solar Vents. No more obstructions and great positive air flow even when the winds are calm.
I replaced mine 2 years ago with Plastimo dorade vents, available from several sources. Got mine from Ahoy-Captain for just under $200 for the pair. Wish I knew about the air-only vents for $50. The Plastimos have just a bit larger diameter than the OEM vents, so they fit well, but do require new mounting holes. I just filled the old ones - they were underneath the base anyway so no issues from water or aesthetics.
The Catalina Direct solution: 398.00 for the dorade, and 98.00 for the cowl. That's 1000.00 for the two vents on the cabin top... hmmm.. maybe they were only half that price when Foobie ordered them?? I understand that when you buy parts for John Deere they are way more expensive due to the brand and so-on.. but when could formed plastic ever come to be 400 bucks for this dorade?
Dan, your paying for special marine grade materials.
They are guaranteed not to spark and cause a bilge fire.
There is always my solution if you don't mind a bit of woodwork...
Rick
My earlier reference was to my August 2005 Mainsheet article, sorry I didn't get you the link earlier: http://www.c34.org/mainsheet/pdf/Aug_2005.pdf
It was easy to find on the Knowledgebase XLS spreadsheet found at the Tech Notes Online page.
My commendations to Lazybone's sense of humor. I rarely laugh out loud.
Speaking of fire look at all that flammable WOOD in that beautiful woodwork by Rick. (Nice job, by the way)
I replaced the cowl vents on our 1989 C34. They were the Vetus "Toms" model and it was an exact fit for the original. $192.95 for the pair from Torresen Marine (including shipping). This was three years ago and I happened to see them today and they still look perfect. I use a little Star Brite cleaner/wax on them when I do the rest of the cabintop fiberglass, maybe once a month or so.
I replaced the ones on my 1989 but they were a lot cheaper at go2marine. The same as in the previous reply.
Rick Johnson's look beautiful, but WHO needs more teak ??? NOT I !!
Quote from: Ron Hill on March 31, 2011, 05:14:54 PM
Rick Johnson's look beautiful, but WHO needs more teak ???
All of us with Mark Is! :shock:
[dorade search]
Are the Vetus dorade boxes a match for the original holes?
Cliff : Recommend that you check with Vetus and Nicro.
Quote from: crieders on April 02, 2011, 03:41:34 PM
Are the Vetus dorade boxes a match for the original holes?
Cliff, I'm pretty sure that's what they came with. Check my referenced link to my Mainsheet article about what was there to start off with.
Our Vetus replacement dorades were an exact match.
Vetus Toms dorade box is 307.00 each at Torrensen Marine. Marked down from 317.00. I take it they've tripled in price in 3 years... That is a sick amount for injection molded plastic.
I pulled my cracked old dorades up the other day, the "air only ventilators" will fit without having to open the hole in the cabin top. However the inner part screws to the cabin top like the dorade shell does and the cabin top hole is the same size as the inner parts bolt circle.
I will document the install for your viewing enjoyment very soon... these were 55.00 each with everything. Now isn't that what plastic is supposed to cost?
By the way my 1990 has Nicro 3'' PVC low profile cowl vents and they are no longer available anywhere. If you find a website, and some will, they will not ship you one due to the factory discontinuing them. I found 1 in Canada and one someplace else but did not want to have dual shipping on these items costing nearly 50 each for just a pvc cowl.. my dorades are shot so I went with the "air only ventilator" which is the cowl, dorade, and baffle all for 55 bucks each.
Do you have a link to the "air only" vent you used that was $55? Might be hard to search for without more info.
I replaced one of mine with a nicro solar minivent. Fits in the spot and looks a lot nicer/cleaner.
Go to Ebay, search air only ventilator in all categories they are still there for 55 bucks. the low profiles are even less. Beware: admonish them about proper packaging. Mine arrived 3 stuffed into one box no bubble pak or news paper or anything the box looked like it had been in the Autobahn for an afternoon but no damage occurred... amazing. (if I can find the pic I'll post it for entertainment purposes only)
I prefer the look of these over the Vetus Toms, but that's just me...
ebay link: http://shop.ebay.com/i.html?_nkw=air+only+ventilator+&_cqr=true&_nkwusc=air+only+ventilators&_rdc=2
a simple google search for "air only ventilator" hit 6 sites no problem with www.air-onlyventilators.com at the top.
Ah, I remember finding those mentioned in the forum before, I was just a little hesitant to order something from Malta (which probably explains the $25 shipping you have to pay for them, making them $80)
Thanks for the link. Sure beats the $500 catalinadirect wants for their dorade/vent combo!
I bought 3 complete units so shipping was only 8.33 each.
I got three so I would have spare parts for the two going up on the cabin.
You can get red or blue, just specify the color when you order and I would also add to pack them well.
I emailed them upon receipt of my box and sent a picture of it's condition upon arrival. They were very nice and offered to replace anything that may have been damaged.
But who wants that headache?
Yes there are 3 of these in that box and nothing was broken!
Looks like a cardboard turd.
I've seen the results of IED's that didn't look that bad.
Ralph
The Before and After.
The Air only ventilators fit nicely in place of the Nicro Marine low profile vents and dorades.
After filling the old holes with Goop I needed to drill 12 1/8'' holes to mount the new vent and dorade.
I used the white butyl tape meant for RV roofs. The bolt circle of the ventilator just makes it over the hole in the cabin top.
They are different with the 12 balls inside the screen that close the holes if water gets in, so don't do this on a windy day!
(funny, the post says you can upload five 150kb pics but my 4 at less than 150kb would not all go up without the error message)