Looking for advice, did any of you install blinds in your salon? I did request blackout blinds for the cabins. Thank you, Tracy from Gilly Girl, for the suggestion.
Second question: Did anyone fabricate a screen for the door leading out to the cockpit? Can you post pictures?
Hi Sue, we don’t have blinds in the salon - I would talk with OceanAir (now part of Dometic)
For our main doorway this is what we came up with just before we headed into the rivers of the Amazon. Its magnetic closing fly screen. Plenty of choice on Amazon around $50…
We liked it so much that it has been in situ now ever since and keeps both mosquitos and flies out of the cabin. Combined with the fly screens on the opening hatches the boat is almost bug free.
You can get them made to measure - but we did not have time. The important dimension for the purchase is width - we folded and adjusted the length. It takes a couple of trials to get the perfect length - we left it pinned for quite a while. The trick is to get it to just brush the floor in the middle and be a bit longer on the outer edges. The top edge is also not quite straight (per instructions) to aid the closing action. We went higher than the door opening to aid with the opening of the gap.
The burgundy patch in the middle is just sunbrella bonded on - as a opening plate - ours started to get a bit worn there (Tip… Don’t walk through the screen with sharp cutlery point first! )
Its over two years old at the moment and going well - but I guess will need replacing next year.
Thinking about it you are getting a 550 which I believe has a different layout around the sliding doors/window. Looks to me like it will be a bit more of a logistical challenge for a permanent screen.
We just used the adhesive Velcro that the screen came with onto the gel-coat. Wiped down with a solvent first to remove any oils etc from the surface and it’s been good for two years. I would do the same again as nothing too permanent.
Wouldn’t it be great for Knysna to develop a screen that is installed in the factory? I always wondered why we have screens on all our hatches but nothing on the huge cockpit door! I also wondered how the Windelo and H2 models that have opening windows without screens deal with my reality of bugs . I know it is not that bad at anchor depending on position, but I wondered if people with those models were somehow blessed to be bug free.
Carol
TY for the photos. We had a meeting with NorthSails today, who is handling our outside canvas, and discussed options. I appreciate the pictures for ideas. We also discussed a sun awning for the deck, which will be so nice to have.
Get ahold of Sue on Wiz. She did some herself that just look extremely nice and professional. I would not commit to a design till you see hers. The ones we got from Knysna are nice but get baggy after a while and the snads are toe stubbers.