Saare Yachts Customisable Deck Vent

grabcad

The 3 Key design goals I set myself in addition to those set out in the rules are as follows: A cowling that matches or exceeds the strength of the Vetus vent design. Flush mount in the cabin with no visible fasteners. (A constant battle with high end Yacht interiors) The ability for the Interior manufacturer to create their own grills to suit the styling of the interior. A lot of the designs I have seen submitted so far, have looked awesome. However, some of the most stylish have the unfortunate downside of being supported through the mechanism itself. Needless to say this will ultimately cause problems over time, with constant exposure to being trodden on. With that in mind I made sure my cowling was fully supported by the deck, leaving the mechanism to be just that. I have used a combination of materials (Stainless Steel & Plastic/Nylon), in an attempt to ensure smooth & silent operation while ensuring longevity. I'm not a materials engineer, so I haven't invested any time into finding the best type of plastic that's both self lubricating & can be injection molded. Regarding manufacturing techniques for these components I have assumed a reasonable run of these vents would be made (100+). Although if that's not the case, the concept could easily be modified to take account of low volume manufacturing techniques. I noticed one of the submitted designs had a great idea of using an inflatable Donut to close off the open vent when a large amount of water came over the deck. I decided it was a flawed design but I was inspired and sure I could improve on it. By combining the concept with the seal I had already designed the result is a closed cell foam ring, shaped so the water helps to lift it along with the inherent buoyancy of the foam. I believe this design will be more successful when it comes to keeping the water out when the vent is in the open position. I would like to investigate some coatings for the foam to help the seal on the top and bottom, and allow it to slide easily against the Stainless Steel Sleeve. I believe I have managed to create a High Flow design, with lots of wide openings for air to pass through unobstructed, while maintaining structural integrity. Unfortunately I only found out about this competition on Friday, so its been a bit of a rush, I wish I had more time to refine the details. I have a Square internal vent version, using a similar concept with common components. I simple didn't have enough time to model both.