| What is a dorade box? |
In simple terms, a dorade box, or collector box, is intended
to extract water from air intakes leading into the engine or other compartment.
Although sizes and shapes vary from boat to boat, the principle is always
the same. The Dorade Box is a single chamber system with a baffle between
the intake air supply and the interior space-air feed. The baffle helps
keep smaller water droplets from being carried through by the incoming air.
As a result, most of the water ingested through the air intake drops to
the bottom of the box and is drained away, either through weepholes onto
the deck, into the bilge, overboard through a dedicated vent above the waterline,
through the hull, or to a sump, to be automatically pumped overboard.
This ventilation system was named after the yacht Dorade, which
was designed, navigated, and sailed by American naval architect James Stephens.
The Dorade was the winner of the 1931 Transatlantic and Fastnet races.
|
