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A wind scoop is a big help in staying cool on a boat and in the galley, but a 4-way wind scoop is like a wind scoop on steroids! And now I've found a source with a high quality 4-way wind scoop at less than half the price of other sellers --

Wind Scoops

January 23, 2012 by Carolyn Shearlock

Wind scoops are wonderful, funneling even the tiniest breeze down below.  They were a big part of our ventilation strategy.  In hot weather, a good wind scoop is worth its weight in gold for keeping the galley cool.  Fans will move the air, but it’s a wind scoop that will funnel cool (or at least cooler) air down below.

The problem with most wind scoops though, is that they assume your boat stays in the same position relative to the wind.  But sailors know that the wind and current are almost never steady — things are always changing.  Even when you’re at a dock, the wind does not stay steady.

Consequently, with a traditional wind scoop, you’re constantly having to adjust the scoop so that it catches the air.

We found and used a wonderful “4-way wind scoop” (some companies refer to these as “omnidirectional”). This ingenious design has four chambers and the correct ones will open up and funnel air below as the boat turns relative to the wind.

Here’s a great video from Swiss-Tech showing how a 4-way wind scoop works:

I can only find two companies in the US that sell them (none in Canada). Cruising Solutions, a cruiser-owned company and one of TBG’s sponsors, is one of the three. We paid about $80 each for our 4-way wind scoops (from a company that has since gone out of business) and thought they were worth every penny — Cruising Solutions’ Breeze Bandits are just as high quality and less than $50! 

  • Breeze Bandit from Cruising Solutions

The other place that sells them in the US (many places sell them in England, if you happen to be cruising Europe) price them well over $100:

  • Ahoy Captain:  Plastimo Omnidirectional Hatch Scoop

I have not had any dealings with this last retailer, and so can’t vouch for their service or policies.

Our experience in the Sea of Cortez, with lots of sun and UV damage but infrequent high winds, was that one wind scoop would usually last 9 months to a year — we always kept an extra on hand, just in case, as it was such a key part of our keeping cool.

I’ve always recommended a 4-way wind scoop, but finding these from Cruising Solutions at such a good price makes me really, really recommend them!  If you’re in a warm climate at all, you’re going to want one — or more!

(Note:  if your boat doesn’t have a convenient halyard — or any halyard — check out the freestanding Breeze Booster instead.)

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Filed Under: Buying a Boat & Gear Tagged With: Boat Projects - Repairs & Upgrades, Hot Weather

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Mid-Life Cruising! says

    January 23, 2012 at 9:17 am

    Thanks so much Carolyn for sharing this! I’ve had a wind scoop on my “gotta get soon” list and planned on spending about $80-$100. I think you just saved me some money!

    Reply
  2. Royce Johnson says

    May 23, 2012 at 7:15 am

    Hi Carolyn, We love your site ever since we discovered it with a link to a galley safety article. We sail a catamaran so the motion issue is much less but most of the same challenges still apply. In our case, we have 6 deck hatches and there is no way that we could use halyard-hoisted windscoops. Our preferred solution is the Breeze Buster which is free standig and also relatively in expensive. We were put on to them by Jay and Tanya of Take 2. Thanks for al the great info, looking forward to more.

    Royce
    Cerca Trova

    Reply
    • Carolyn Shearlock says

      May 23, 2012 at 7:28 am

      Thanks for sharing! That would also be a good solution for power boats.

      Reply
  3. Annette says

    June 21, 2012 at 8:14 am

    Hi Carolyn,
    I’ve just completed the field test of the wind scoop that my husband engineered and I made from 8oz nylon from Sailrite. Not too hard – some panels seamed together and casings for the PVC pipe frame to hold it open. We used snaps at the bottom to hold it to the hatch frame inside. The secret there is to put the snap tops on small strips of elastic so they give with the wind gusts. Works great! Don Casey also has a design with a baffle that would work better during rain. With a little sewing experience you can save some money making a nice wind scoop.
    Thanks for your helpful info,
    Annette
    S/V Magnolia

    Reply
  4. tami says

    August 13, 2012 at 8:08 am

    the “Big Book of Boat Canvas” by Karen Lipe has detailed instructions for a halyard-hoisted 4-way windscoop, in addition to lots of good advice on how to fabricate all sorts of canvas things. It’s my favorite book

    Reply
  5. Michelle Beatty on Facebook says

    February 3, 2013 at 6:32 am

    love this..Must have

    Reply
  6. Leigh Ann Bishop Long says

    September 25, 2013 at 1:40 pm

    Need to look into this!

    Reply
  7. Jess Gregory says

    December 28, 2013 at 6:11 pm

    Thought you’d be interested in our Hatch Hoodie wind scoop + awning. It brings air in the forward hatch, but you can keep it up when it rains. So you don’t have to close the hatch and get hot! It is not four sided, but you can tilt it up, or to either side to channel air in even at the dock. Lots of shade too — to keep cool down below.

    Jess

    Reply
    • Carolyn Shearlock says

      December 29, 2013 at 8:19 am

      Here’s the link to the Hatch Hoodie from Banner Bay Marine:
      https://www.bannerbaymarine.com/store/index.php?l=product_detail&p=37

      Reply
  8. darlene says

    December 28, 2013 at 6:20 pm

    We have a 4 chamber Breeze Bandit. It was our best investment for anchoring out on hot summer nights.

    Reply
  9. Shari Salzhauer Berkowitz says

    December 29, 2013 at 1:22 pm

    I love mine! Still fiddling with the best interior attachments for it, but even when imperfectly mounted, it works great. As long as it does not start to rain in the night.

    Reply
  10. Darlene Burnett Price says

    August 21, 2014 at 10:17 pm

    I love our scoop.

    Reply
  11. Darren Burleson says

    August 21, 2014 at 11:13 pm

    I have this and it is awesome!

    Reply
  12. Jim Allen says

    August 21, 2014 at 11:33 pm

    Love my Breeze Bandit !!!

    Reply
  13. Deborah Marshall says

    August 22, 2014 at 12:56 am

    We tried our Breeze Bandit wind scoop on a very hot day a couple of weeks ago, works extremely well, was able to harness the little available wind into a cool cabin breeze. Love it!

    Reply
  14. Chief Wizard says

    January 19, 2015 at 1:48 pm

    The next generation http://www.BreezeWizard.com
    Catch a good nights sleep !!

    Reply
  15. Rupert says

    June 12, 2015 at 3:30 pm

    Just ordered one, thanks so much, saved me a ton of money.

    Reply
  16. Thomas Rheuble says

    May 2, 2016 at 5:52 pm

    What happens when it rains hard and your away from the boat?

    Reply
    • Carolyn Shearlock says

      May 3, 2016 at 7:26 am

      Rain will get in, same as if you’d left the hatch open by itself . . .

      Reply
  17. Lisa says

    January 4, 2017 at 5:03 pm

    We plan to summer in the Sea of Cortez this year and have no idea where we could buy one of these here? Do you think we could get one made?

    Reply
    • Carolyn Shearlock says

      January 4, 2017 at 5:19 pm

      Katty in LaPaz made several for us over the years. She’s the woman who has the business making Lycra dive suits. Or ask someone who is going to the US to bring one back for you.

      Reply
    • Carolyn Shearlock says

      January 5, 2017 at 7:19 am

      Also, ask on the cruiser’s net in La Paz — it’s been almost 10 years since I cruised there and some of the stores might carry them now.

      Reply
  18. cyndy says

    June 1, 2017 at 6:47 pm

    Hi Carolyn,
    Late to the party. I was going to order 2 right away (It’s hot in Florida this week!)
    The largest they make is 24 x 16 but my hatch is 24 x 24.
    Any 2nd best suggestions?
    thanks
    cyndy

    Reply
    • Carolyn Shearlock says

      June 1, 2017 at 9:00 pm

      I used mine in a bigger hatch on our previous boat by tying a loop of light line (1/8″ I think, maybe slightly smaller) to “extend” the loops to reach the hooks at the corners of the hatch. Still moves plenty of air down the hatch! Yes, it IS hot this week (we’re in Marathon)!

      Reply
  19. Mark Peterson says

    August 8, 2017 at 7:59 pm

    Pretty cool.. I’ll bet you already ordered one…

    Reply
  20. Clare Bardsley says

    August 8, 2017 at 9:01 pm

    This is really helpful! Looking at the design, I’m assuming they can’t be used when it’s raining. Does anyone have any favourites that are ok to use when it’s raining?

    Reply
    • The Boat Galley says

      August 8, 2017 at 9:50 pm

      I recently saw a post in a group I’m in about the Hatch Dorade. I contacted them about getting one to review, but they have not yet responded so I have no first-hand info. https://hatchdorade.com/

      Reply
    • Clare Bardsley says

      August 8, 2017 at 10:25 pm

      Great, thanks!

      Reply
    • The Boat Galley says

      August 9, 2017 at 10:20 am

      Here’s the link for that: https://www.atninc.com/atn-dorcap-sailing-deck-gear.shtml

      Reply
    • Brad Hildreth says

      August 10, 2017 at 3:23 am

      Lewis Sipfher We are running into the same thing with Hatch Dorade. Hours of cutting and sewing. The features have a cost. We are doing what we can to get the costs down while staying with Sunbrella for its longevity.

      Reply
  21. Leigh Rosalyn says

    August 8, 2017 at 10:17 pm

    Oh that looks like it would be lovely. My husband and I moved on to a 41′ sailboat a week ago. We are in Charleston, SC and the heat is killing me! We put a small window AC unit into the rear companionway so we could sleep, but I’m finding it impossible to function during the day up front. But if it has to be taken down in the rain I’ll be taking it down 5 times a day here. LOL But for $50 I think I’ll be willing to give it a try!! Thanks for all the great articles!!

    Reply
  22. Pamela Shubert says

    August 9, 2017 at 1:29 am

    The Cruise Bandit link is broken. I got an error message

    Reply
    • Jane Jarratt says

      August 9, 2017 at 6:17 am

      And me!

      Reply

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Carolyn Shearlock

Hi! I'm Carolyn Shearlock. My husband and I have been cruising over 10 years and 10,000 miles, first on a Tayana 37 monohull and now on a 34' Gemini catamaran. Along the way, we sold pretty much everything we owned (twice!), gained a great boat dog, had a bunch of wonderful times and some adventures . . . and learned a ton about what does and doesn't work!

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