# What do you think about wind scoops?



## jjarman123 (Jul 3, 2017)

Just saw something about them. I am a total novice and had never heard of them. I am looking at ways to keep cool at night when I move to the Caribbean and these looked pretty neat. Anyone have them? The one I liked was actually a 4 direction model that says it catches more of the breezes.


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## Jeff_H (Feb 26, 2000)

I have used a Davis "Windscoop" for 4-5 decades. They are very effective if there is any breeze at all. I typically anchor out (or take a mooring). If there is a breeze, the bow of the boat generally points into the wind so a multi direction scoop is not a necessity. I have mine windscoop set up so I can attach the four corners of the scoop to the 4 corners of the hatch opening and I guy the head forward like a spinnaker. Its amazing how much air this moves. I also have a fan above the berths, but I rarely use the fan.


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## Donna_F (Nov 7, 2005)

They do work if set up properly. Low tech. Easy to store. I'm not sure there's a whole lot to say about them.

We're not fans of AC (as a matter of fact we hate it) but we do like having fresh air circulate through the cabin.


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## Ajax_MD (Nov 24, 2009)

Jeff_H said:


> I have used a Davis "Windscoop" *for 4-5 decades.*


4-5 decades? I'll bet your first one was carved from stone!


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## capta (Jun 27, 2011)

Wind scoops come in many styles but they all have one major drawback. In the tropics there are many little and not so little rains over a 24 hour period, as well as the tropical heat.
So far, as far as I know, nobody has developed a windscoop that doesn't also direct the rain into the boat. Its a big enough pain to close and open hatches for each little bit of rain, but add to that the unrigging and rerigging of the windscoop each time you need to close the hatch and it's no wonder very few down here bother putting up the windscoops we all have tucked away below.


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## Donna_F (Nov 7, 2005)

Capta has a point. Besides that, there always seemed to be a breeze in the Caribbean so we never even used it there.


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## Jeff_H (Feb 26, 2000)

Ajax_MD said:


> 4-5 decades? I'll bet your first one was carved from stone!


My family bought its first boat in 1962 and it had an early windscoop. I really think that first scoop was made from cotton sail cloth. All of the others have been nylon or dacron. They last forever. I think my current one must be close to 30 years old. I have patched it and modified it slightly to get a better flying shape.

Capta's point about rain is a good one. I suppose you need quick release fittings in the Caribbean.


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## Ajax_MD (Nov 24, 2009)

Hmmm... a windscoop that has sort of a "dorade" design that allows air, but prohibits rain.
There seems to be a market opportunity there.


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## capta (Jun 27, 2011)

Ajax_MD said:


> Hmmm... a windscoop that has sort of a "dorade" design that allows air, but prohibits rain.
> There seems to be a market opportunity there.


You get them on the market and I'm your first customer, right? I'll take 4.


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## Barquito (Dec 5, 2007)

My previous boat had a forward opening hatch. Tons of air got in without the need for a wind scoop. Current boat has backward facing hatches. Haven't messed with the air scoop enough to form an opinion. I do like that it looks like a small boat with a spinnaker sailing down the deck.


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## Jeff_H (Feb 26, 2000)

Ajax_MD said:


> Hmmm... a windscoop that has sort of a "dorade" design that allows air, but prohibits rain.
> There seems to be a market opportunity there.


That should be easy to make: 







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## roverhi (Dec 19, 2013)

Made a forward awning something like a put tent. Forward section peak tied to the headstay as high as I could reach and the other two sides to stanchions on either side at the deck to form a 'V'. Aft end draped across the deck aft of the fore hatch and fastened stanchion bases. It kept the sun off the foredeck and was a really effective wind scoop at anchor. When I get back to Kona will post the name of the scoop.

In the marina currently have a self supporting wind scoop that I use on the main cabin hatch. Just barely fits under the boom and can be repositioned in 90 degree increments oto catch whatever direction the wind is blowing. For me it's mostly onshore and 90 degrees to the boat's heading. Does a creditable though not super job largely due to the high freeboard/top hamper of the large Sport Fishing boat next door.


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## jwing (Jun 20, 2013)

capta said:


> ... In the tropics there are many little and not so little rains over a 24 hour period, as well as the tropical heat.


After my first Caribbean bareboat trip I realized how true this is.



capta said:


> So far, as far as I know, nobody has developed a windscoop that doesn't also direct the rain into the boat. Its a big enough pain to close and open hatches for each little bit of rain, but add to that the unrigging and rerigging of the windscoop each time you need to close the hatch and it's no wonder very few down here bother putting up the windscoops we all have tucked away below.


On subsequent trips, I have always brought along a small, flat tarp, a generous length of small rope, a few bungies, and hooks for each hatch above a berth. The planned activity for the first anchorage is to fashion wind scoops that will funnel air into the hatches, yet extend beyond the hatches far enough to prevent rain from coming in. Since every boat we've used has been different, it's a fun puzzle, but pretty dam easy to solve. After the first day, pitch and strike times are trivial and well worth the benefit.


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## Donna_F (Nov 7, 2005)

Jeff_H said:


> ... I have patched it and modified it slightly to get a better flying shape.


The difference between a racer and a cruiser? I care not about my wind scoop's "flying shape" as long as it funnels in wind. :laugh

(my emojis have returned. THAT I care about.)


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## TQA (Apr 4, 2009)

Windscoops work better if they have a batten at the top keeping the opening stable. 

My first Caribbean cruising boat had a single rear opening hatch and I found a windscoop to be essential to keep cool. My current boat has 7 front opening hatches and I don't bother with a scoop but do have Caframo fans over bunks and the saloon table. 

I did produce a baffled windscoop that coped with light winds and light rain but in a typical summer squall the rain just poured in. 

This is my 14th year as a full time liveaboard and I can be fast asleep hear the rain approaching and get up and close the hatches without really waking up.


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## capta (Jun 27, 2011)

jwing said:


> After the first day, pitch and strike times are trivial and well worth the benefit.


It's just not as easy as you make it out to be for a liveaboard, unless one is willing to live with for a bunch of lines and canvas all around the decks.
Our aft cabin hatch has a mast about a foot in front of it and that makes the rain proof thing much more difficult. Nice for the windscoop though.


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## jwing (Jun 20, 2013)

capta said:


> It's just not as easy as you make it out to be for a liveaboard, unless one is willing to live with for a bunch of lines and canvas all around the decks.
> Our aft cabin hatch has a mast about a foot in front of it and that makes the rain proof thing much more difficult. Nice for the windscoop though.


Fair enough...my anecdote is based on a vacationing crew that likes to sail almost every day, so we kept the decks clear anyway. If I was a liveaboard, I'd sure figure something out. I hate getting rained on while I'm trying to sleep and I hate being hot while I'm trying to sleep. OTH, I love sleeping in a tropical breeze.


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## travlin-easy (Dec 24, 2010)

Not sure about the brand, but mine came with the boat and is constructed from sailcloth. It works very well if there is a breeze, which is sometimes not the case after sundown. Additionally, even if it does not rain, you can be assured that your bedding will be damp, and sometimes, wet in the morning from the dew settling - at least in my part of the world.

Personally, I prefer my noisy AC system. No heat, no humidity, and very comfortable sleeping conditions. especially when you have bad lungs. I made the mistake of not taking my genset along last week and believe me, I paid a hefty price for that mistake. I'm in the process of constructing a sound proof box for the genset, which cuts the noise level by at least 50 percent and ducting the exhaust fumes overboard, well below the gunwale level.

Good luck,

Gary


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## jjarman123 (Jul 3, 2017)

Y'all are great. I wondered about the rain today actually. I live in South Mississippi and this time of year it rains generally at least once a day. I wondered how that wind scoop would work with a shower. But I figure after a while I'll be like the previous poster and hear the rain coming in time to shut everything. 

I did a little research on how to do the whole air conditioning thing and I just don't see it working for me at this point. But the technology is always improving so who knows what it will be when I get down there.


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## chef2sail (Nov 27, 2007)

We had one of these for 15 years. It finally wore out and my wife copied the design and made one with the sSailrite out of rip stop nylon.
Works like a charm and allows the hatch to remain open , even with a heavy thunderstorm


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## capta (Jun 27, 2011)

chef2sail said:


> We had one of these for 15 years. It finally wore out and my wife copied the design and made one with the sSailrite out of rip stop nylon.
> Works like a charm and allows the hatch to remain open , even with a heavy thunderstorm


Hey, wanna share the design? Please. Sounds like a winner.


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## chef2sail (Nov 27, 2007)

capta said:


> Hey, wanna share the design? Please. Sounds like a winner.


It was a sogeman hatch umbrella we copied. When we sewed it it was a simple sewing 4 triangular pieces together with loops in the corners and also one at the apex. We used bungee cords for the loops ( and the apex one went to the fore guy stay, but could be held upright with a halyard.) we also added a few extra loops in the bottom. Folds up into a small rip stop nylon packAge . Size of the base is determined.by your boats forward dimensions and hatch size. We made two, one for the forward and one for the mid hatch. Keeps it from being stuffing inside when it's raining and your at anchor or in a slip.

Hatch Umbrellas - Sogeman - Insect screens and hatch umbrellas for boat.


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## aeventyr60 (Jun 29, 2011)

The modern day folks have a couple of big ass fans in the v berth. ...


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## capta (Jun 27, 2011)

chef2sail said:


> It was a sogeman hatch umbrella we copied. When we sewed it it was a simple sewing 4 triangular pieces together with loops in the corners and also one at the apex. We used bungee cords for the loops ( and the apex one went to the fore guy stay, but could be held upright with a halyard.) we also added a few extra loops in the bottom. Folds up into a small rip stop nylon packAge . Size of the base is determined.by your boats forward dimensions and hatch size. We made two, one for the forward and one for the mid hatch. Keeps it from being stuffing inside when it's raining and your at anchor or in a slip.
> 
> Hatch Umbrellas - Sogeman - Insect screens and hatch umbrellas for boat.


Thank you very much. Great to see new (to me anyway) ideas.
Unfortunately, we don't have a single hatch on the boat that this style of windscoop will work on. But thanks for the info.


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## hellosailor (Apr 11, 2006)

Rain, yes. Bugs, yes. A good design and screens as part of it can help that.

But I think windscoops are on the short list if equipment that I've never heard anyone say "G*damn waste of time and money, the damned thing just doesn't work."


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## RegisteredUser (Aug 16, 2010)

I thought USCG required all sailboats to have at least one operable wind scoop, with color being captain's choice.
Maybe the regs have changed....


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## travlin-easy (Dec 24, 2010)

One of the neat tricks I learned from this forum many years ago was to place a small sail on the back end of the boom, which holds the boat into the wind and stops it from swinging. I was amazed how well this worked, even with an opposing, strong tide. This helps keep that wind scoop in the best position as well.

Good luck,

Gary


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## Capt Len (Oct 9, 2011)

Peaking the mizzen gaff works too. yards and topmast windage tended to cause searching on the hook .


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## zeehag (Nov 16, 2008)

oooohhh dorade sox. . good idea. 
crossbar --have seen em twist prohibiting any breezes into boat at anchor.. 
donot forget tides. tides vs wind can befoul your windscoop until you re configure it some. 
i make my own out of dead and torn up sails given to trash and saved for good use. i accept all old dead sails as well as line--both are more than useful. 
dorade sock--- just a hoop and a sock funnik-A do it. will be awesome. 
as long as it, too does not twist to prevent air flow..
the closest i have seen to almost perfect, was a scoop with an X bar on top, and 4 separate channels for ingress of air. 
oh drat. it, too twisted. 

all of these options cost money. i prefer to do these lil ideas on a temp basis as canes happen and flexibility rules. only time breezes donot pass thru my boat is cane season. then i use one small porthole either side of boat. my forehatch is louvred, as are my cabin "doors", so air flows.
hatches opening toward bow also help. some hatch covers have that option - to change directionality of cover opening. canvas that aids in aiming the breezes towards hatch openings, flying boat cover--to keep deck shaded..mine have no angle, they fly flat. screens from home depot work well. let air thru and keeps interior 10 f cooler. is how i do it.summer i add waterproof solid tarps, mounted below boom.. cane--i drop all inward onto dropped boom, and all is welll, once lashed well to hull, proven to work well thru cat 5.


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## travlin-easy (Dec 24, 2010)

Here's the sail I was talking about to keep the boat into the wind at anchor - a riding sail.










Gary


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## chef2sail (Nov 27, 2007)

capta said:


> Thank you very much. Great to see new (to me anyway) ideas.
> Unfortunately, we don't have a single hatch on the boat that this style of windscoop will work on. But thanks for the info.


Even the 4 triangle tent style?


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## ScottUK (Aug 16, 2009)

Love our windscoop. It is a pain when it rains but it is either that or never getting any sleep during the hot night. Only other problem is that it can shade my solar panel in the early morning.


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## eerake (Apr 2, 2015)

Love ours. Amazing how much air it can bring through the hatch. We have the less expensive version that requires manual orientation into the wind so works best when the wind direction is somewhat consistent.


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## stagg (Dec 7, 2015)

I have a front opening hatch that is huge relative to the cabin it accesses. Definitely needs a dorade like scoop to keep out the rain, not to mention anything else that wants to drift in.

I have only seen a single image on the topic that made any sense though.


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