Overall, installation was fairly easy and only took about two hours per hatch. Finding one in stock anywhere that fit in the giant Lewmar Size 70 forward hatch was tough… eventually I found one for sale at a decent price at Sailboat. I first installed one in the midcabin hatch, and since it went so easy I installed another one in the forward hatch. With a long trip to the North Channel planned for 2017, I wanted to give the SkyScreen a try. The Lewmar hinges can get cumbersome on the larger hatches, though we kept them on this Size 40 in the aft cabin Lewmar sells hinge kits for their screens, and these have worked great on the small size 10 hatches, but still were cumbersome on the larger sizes. There were other options, too, like screen nets that went over the hatch and stayed in place with weights, but these needed to be stored somewhere are were prone to blowing away or getting lost. Price was the biggest drawback… $110 to $350 per hatch. The SkyScreens are operable from deck level as well, useful when stowing the spinnaker. The shade and screen meet together with a simple magnet, allowing the user to easily “pop” the two apart to gain access to the hatch above. Slide it the other way, and a bug screen unfurls. One side is a blackout shade, allowing nearly no light through. While at various boat shows I noticed several new boats equipped with Oceanair SkyScreens, a fancy setup of screens and shades that easily roll up into the headliner with one hand like household window shades. Also, since the shades were a separate add-on, they added an extra step and couldn’t be opened from deck level, such as when I was stuffing a spinnaker down the hatch. More than one crewmember got rained on a few nights due to this. All of these things are relatively minor inconveniences until anchoring out on a warm night with numerous rain showers, requiring the “Hurry up and close the hatches” fire drill in the dark. Of course, numerous bugs would be hanging out on the outside part of the screen, and they would all get into the cabin any time closing was attempted. The larger forward and midcabin hatch screens were especially annoying… there were so many latches it required both hands to remove, place down somewhere, then finally close the hatch. Unfortunately, opening or closing the hatches from inside the cabin could get cumbersome since the screens were attached with a bunch of flimsy latches to the trim on the inside of the hatch. As an additional add-on, Priorities also had rolling shades to block out any light during the day, helping to keep the cabin cool when the hatches had to be kept closed. Screens have been especially useful while cruising Lake Huron’s North Channel, where the bugs seem large enough to carry away small children at times.
#BOAT HATCH SCREEN SHADE UPGRADE#
These screens were a welcome upgrade over my previous boat, which had no screens at all. When I bought her, Priorities’ Lewmar hatches were equipped with the standard screens.
#BOAT HATCH SCREEN SHADE GENERATOR#
Running the generator and air conditioning all night long would be a loud and obnoxious alternative, and carbon monoxide poisoning is a real concern with extended generator operation, too. When anchored, the boat points into the wind most of the time, so having the hatches open creates a refreshing airflow through the boat on warm nights. Much of the cruising we do on Priorities involves anchoring out.
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