Flatten arc or not?

[Chris C]

Today my grandson and I were putting the centercoard case into the sailboat that we are building for him and all I could think of was "Boy those guys and their paranoia about leaky roof vents sure wouldn't make boatbuilders."

I'd love to build a boat some day, but heck, who worries about leaks if ya epoxy the durned thing?

[apratt]

Or just build a chimney and put a vent in that.

[An Ol Timer]

Not unless TiteBond 3 has become an epoxy since the last time I used it. Nope just good engineering and craftsmanship.

[doug hodder]

Chris....I have a flat spot on the roof...matches the one on my head ...but I think you could just install the fan and the plastic base would conform to the arc you are talking about...just use the provided gasket and if needed an extra one, to provide more cushion to conform to the curve...and I would also use some additional sealant...but I'd be willing to bet it'll work...you could always do a test on it using some scrap ply and framing....just a thought...Doug

[Kevin A]

Oh Kevin, I meant no offense! Honestly. I just don't want to have any more joints in the top than I have to. Sorry if my response came off wrong. Just not sure what to do here. Guess I'll go ahead and provide a flat spot in the curve.

Yeah, I probably over reacted and read something into your post that wasn't there. Sometimes it's hard to read someone's intentions on a message board.

[Sonetpro]

I didn't leave a flat spot for mine. I did Frame a box to fit in the roof to mount it to. I sealed it with 1/8" butyl rubber tape. from a RV shop and the sealed the edge's with silicone. It conformed nicely. I didn't use a plastic dome though. I had them on other campers and had to replace the dome every couple years because they get brittle and crack. This one I used a metal one. I like the lower profile also.

[Arne]

some information on fantastic vents. The cover is lexan and I think is guaranteed for life. They have 2 profiles, one which looks just like the above, which is the one I got... and they let in a lot of light during the day.

[cracker39]

I considered making the flat frame to fit inside my roof curve, but, in the end, did like Asian and Doug, and just flattened that area by sanding down my side frames to a flat line. And, you can't really see that it's flat unless you are looking for it. With a curve, I'd have to had to make a bezel on the inside for the garnish to fit flat against the ceiling as well. I just took the ez way out.

[Arne]

Dale, good point and simple solution. Why make it more complicated than it has to be.. since the arc at that point is so slight anyway, the flat spot would hardly be noticeable.

This has been a good discussion. My I chopped my top down, for the sake of simplicity I wound up with about 3.5' of flat surface on my roofline. It still looks ok, but on the new one hope to keep a continual curve both for esthetics and strength... but that amount of flat would be perfectly acceptable on that part of the roofline.

[Sonetpro]

some information on fantastic vents. The cover is lexan and I think is guaranteed for life. They have 2 profiles, one which looks just like the above, which is the one I got... and they let in a lot of light during the day.

Arne I get plenty of light from my prize winning sailboat prizm in the roof.

[Chris C]

Those are great! Centuries old skylights.............and yup, they work. Also come in a diamond cut hexigon shape. (but I never liked the pointed bottom..........man that would hurt to run into!)

[Sonetpro]

Chris I just installed it yesterday. Actually with the 1 1/2" thick roof it is recessed.

[Chris C]

My comment about the point was not for your prism shaped light, but the hexagon one. Sorry for the misunderstanding. By the way, the maximum amount of light is provided by deck lights only if they project below the surface of the ceiling. I've been below deck where they were used and it is amazing how much light they actually provide. But, as I mentioned, the Hex ones can be lethal!!!!!!

[Arne]

Kind of like thos light tubes they put in houses....

anyway, they do give light, but I'd still want ventilation.... and a slighlty open vent with awning windows opened a bit do a good job of venting the tear.

I just took a look.. some could ruin your day (and your head)... and the ones I found are very pricey..

http://www.thenmc.org/store/product_info.php?products_id=51