Dorade box and cowling vent that matches holes of original

[crieders]

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.

[Stu Jackson]

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.

[Ron Hill]

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

[Paulus]

  I replaced them on my boat 2 yrs. ago and found the best deal at:  www.go2marine.com/

[Indian Falls]

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.

[foobie]

 
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

[David Urscheler]

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.

[Bob K]

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.

[Indian Falls]

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?

[lazybone]

Dan, your paying for special marine grade materials.
They are guaranteed not to spark and cause a bilge fire.

[Rick Johnson]

There is always my solution if you don't mind a bit of woodwork...

Rick

[Stu Jackson]

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.

[Indian Falls]

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)

[Clay Greene]

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.   

[Paulus]

I replaced the ones on my 1989 but they were a lot cheaper at go2marine. The same as in the previous reply.