Debugging the Cabin

When we were planning our trip from Tortola to the Chesapeake, we knew that we would be going through the territory of biting bugs. Carol and Gee purchased two of the MagicMesh bug screens. Carol and Mike installed extra snap bases around the salon door where the slightly modified screens were attached.

Carol joined the two screens together to span the salon doorway, positioning the magnetic clips in the center of the walkway. The screen had to be hemmed along the bottom so that we didn't step on it.

The result is a very nice bug screen that really works really well and packs away in a small bag when we don't need to use it.

 

To debug the cockpit, Gee also found a pair of the patio umbrella screens, which we tie on top of the bimini. One end of each screen is wrapped around the traveler lines forward of the bimini and the other end is wrapped around the main sheet block. We use clothes pins to clip the two halves together. It works very well for those near-windless days and evenings when the bugs like to feast on us.  When the wind pipes up, it doesn't stay in place very well, but the bugs tend to not be a bother on those days and the cabin isn't as hot either.

Update 4/24/2021: We've found that the MagicMesh screens have rather large holes that allow No-Seeums to go through. We watched one of these nasty bugs land on the screen, crawl through the mesh, and fly away on the inside. It's time to upgrade the mesh to No-Seeum screening. 

Since writing the original version of this article, we've completed a cockpit enclosure, which makes early spring and late fall sailing more comfortable. We have found that the solid side panels on the port side keep the cockpit table seating dry when it rains during the summar.

The umbrella screens described above have been retired in favor of screened panels. Of course, the screens of our cockpit enclosure are made of normal mesh instead of No-Seeum mesh. And there are the small gaps at the junctions of the panels and under the doorway.