Adding Opening Ports
Opening Ports Back to Projects
Do you need opening ports? When the brokers are showing you the boats they say things like "you don't really need all those ports" or, "they don't really provide any more ventilation then the forward hatch" and so on. And when you talk to those who have boats with them they say, "they are so great, the cross breeze makes all the difference". I think I agree with the owners after spending time on both types of boats. It is a huge difference.

The OEM configuration of the 10M did not include any opening ports. There is the forward hatch, sometimes a main cabin overhead hatch and a dorade over the head with an optional second on the starboard side. My 10M has no main cabin overhead hatch and one dorade. Ventilation is pretty poor but fortunately I am told it doesn't get too hot in North Carolina (where we will keep the boat for a few years) in the summer.

I picked up three very nice opening ports at a consignment shop in Annapolis. They are about 4x16 and have very secure dogs. The window is safety glass and the frames are all aluminum. The are labeled "Danish Boat Equipment" and bear a striking resemblance to the Bomar ports on a friends J/35 (except for the dogs). I did a little digital photo study to see how the ports would look on the boat.

The wedge shape of the OEM ports makes fitting new ports a bit of an aesthetic challenge. The overall height of the new ports is a bit less then the height at the forward end of the large main cabin port. I thought it would look awkward if the new ports were taller then this. On a very hot day I probably wouldn't care.





Test fit drawing of opening ports (PDF)


Here is some more work from the Adobe Boat Works showing what the 10M might look like if the single large port were replaced with two smaller ports.

Here is a test fit of paper cutouts of the Vetus PZ75 opening ports.


Installnig the Vetus Ports