Somewhere in the marketing mind of the Ericson design team,
way back when, was a sensation of lack. What distinguished the boats from their expensive competition? On the showroom floor, what was the close that could make the sale? After all, a $125K base price was more than chump change in 1984, a year aptly named for distinguishing oneself from the gray bureaucracy of office life and its soundtrack of appalling disco. "Listen , Marty, you gotta have something to tell them when the wife has just looked at a Hunter and keeps talking about pillows for that double bed. Ericson's don't have a double bed, think of something. "
"How about special ventilation for real sailors, not dock royalty, ventilation that works even in heavy seas, ventilation that lets you breathe. Ma'am, there is more to our boats than a wine rack. When dreaming of transatlantic in the fog you will really appreciate the dry air in your face provided exclusively by the Ericson Yachts Port Side-Deck Dorade Cowl Vent, allowing your journey, if only theoretical, to be realized with a new standard of comfort."
Hence was born, maybe, the thing I long ago disconnected--but with admiration for the idea.
..
It is a giant cowl vent to be located on the side deck to port of the cockpit. In heavy weather on starboard tack this cowl will be semi-submerged 58 percent of the time. To solve that minor problem, a Dorade box was installed under the deck. Where would it drain? Ah, through the hull. How much volume of air will be admitted by one 3-inch opening in the general area of the quarterberth ("the bedroom, ma'am")? Well, luxury is hard to measure, but you know it when you see it.
Dorade vents are named after their installation on Dorade, the famous 52-foot yawl designed in 1929 by Olin Stevens. The idea is to keep water from entering an air vent by a box with baffles. Seawater no, fresh air, yes. The innovation caught on, since low-freeboard ocean racers of the period were sealed tight offshore and always wet below. Their decks leaked. Every sail change introduced a sopping mess into the foc'sle and a crew in dripping oilies into the saloon. By the '80s boats were drier, but Dorade boxes still set a deck profile off from the crowd of Clorox bottles.
The Ericson 381 has two big cowls in the double Dorade box on the foredeck, and they're invaluable offshore or at anchor in the rain. The side-deck Dorade, however, is a curiosity that has puzzled many owners. Here is its anatomy, an opportunity presented by my decision to change the deck plate because it was no longer shiny. And because the former owner had left a replacement deck plate lying around.
Under the fitting, attached by the same 3-inch bolts, is a plastic Dorade box to catch water. It's visible in the photo below right. The cutout in the deck shows the amount of balsa core exposed under the fitting. Mine was completely dry, and careful caulking on reassembly was required to keep it that way.
...
Air from the Dorade enters the cabin just aft of the nav station (next to the clock), aimed, more or less, at the quarterberth.
..
A drain hose, with red valve (above), then passes through a bulkhead to a hole in mid-topsides of the hull--a hole that's underwater when driving hard on starboard tack.
That hose passes right through the nest of wiring behind the exposed back side of the instrument panel. The hose might leak, but the real issue is that it takes up valuable space in an already crowded compartment. I long ago removed it and capped the hole in the topsides.
In pleasant conditions, I could still put a cowl vent in the deck plate even though the Dorade function has been removed. But none of my cowls fit the threads. Anyhow, the air flow is minimal, and the cowl would be a trip hazard.
But I wasn't shopping for a brand new yacht in 1984. And if I had been, who knows? Maybe the lady at my side, bored with looking at boat after boat, secretly longing for a real bedroom instead of narrow offshore berths (or for golf) and previously near-asphyxiated by the lingering fiberglass smell of the showroom boat I did buy in 1976, would have said,
"Well, at least it has an aft-cabin Dorade. We'll take it."
way back when, was a sensation of lack. What distinguished the boats from their expensive competition? On the showroom floor, what was the close that could make the sale? After all, a $125K base price was more than chump change in 1984, a year aptly named for distinguishing oneself from the gray bureaucracy of office life and its soundtrack of appalling disco. "Listen , Marty, you gotta have something to tell them when the wife has just looked at a Hunter and keeps talking about pillows for that double bed. Ericson's don't have a double bed, think of something. "
"How about special ventilation for real sailors, not dock royalty, ventilation that works even in heavy seas, ventilation that lets you breathe. Ma'am, there is more to our boats than a wine rack. When dreaming of transatlantic in the fog you will really appreciate the dry air in your face provided exclusively by the Ericson Yachts Port Side-Deck Dorade Cowl Vent, allowing your journey, if only theoretical, to be realized with a new standard of comfort."
Hence was born, maybe, the thing I long ago disconnected--but with admiration for the idea.
It is a giant cowl vent to be located on the side deck to port of the cockpit. In heavy weather on starboard tack this cowl will be semi-submerged 58 percent of the time. To solve that minor problem, a Dorade box was installed under the deck. Where would it drain? Ah, through the hull. How much volume of air will be admitted by one 3-inch opening in the general area of the quarterberth ("the bedroom, ma'am")? Well, luxury is hard to measure, but you know it when you see it.
Dorade vents are named after their installation on Dorade, the famous 52-foot yawl designed in 1929 by Olin Stevens. The idea is to keep water from entering an air vent by a box with baffles. Seawater no, fresh air, yes. The innovation caught on, since low-freeboard ocean racers of the period were sealed tight offshore and always wet below. Their decks leaked. Every sail change introduced a sopping mess into the foc'sle and a crew in dripping oilies into the saloon. By the '80s boats were drier, but Dorade boxes still set a deck profile off from the crowd of Clorox bottles.
The Ericson 381 has two big cowls in the double Dorade box on the foredeck, and they're invaluable offshore or at anchor in the rain. The side-deck Dorade, however, is a curiosity that has puzzled many owners. Here is its anatomy, an opportunity presented by my decision to change the deck plate because it was no longer shiny. And because the former owner had left a replacement deck plate lying around.
Under the fitting, attached by the same 3-inch bolts, is a plastic Dorade box to catch water. It's visible in the photo below right. The cutout in the deck shows the amount of balsa core exposed under the fitting. Mine was completely dry, and careful caulking on reassembly was required to keep it that way.
Air from the Dorade enters the cabin just aft of the nav station (next to the clock), aimed, more or less, at the quarterberth.
A drain hose, with red valve (above), then passes through a bulkhead to a hole in mid-topsides of the hull--a hole that's underwater when driving hard on starboard tack.
That hose passes right through the nest of wiring behind the exposed back side of the instrument panel. The hose might leak, but the real issue is that it takes up valuable space in an already crowded compartment. I long ago removed it and capped the hole in the topsides.
In pleasant conditions, I could still put a cowl vent in the deck plate even though the Dorade function has been removed. But none of my cowls fit the threads. Anyhow, the air flow is minimal, and the cowl would be a trip hazard.
But I wasn't shopping for a brand new yacht in 1984. And if I had been, who knows? Maybe the lady at my side, bored with looking at boat after boat, secretly longing for a real bedroom instead of narrow offshore berths (or for golf) and previously near-asphyxiated by the lingering fiberglass smell of the showroom boat I did buy in 1976, would have said,
"Well, at least it has an aft-cabin Dorade. We'll take it."
