Highlander wrote: <snip> have been out in the shop working inside the boat with heat on a few times deciding where to mount the other new set of 3x10 beckson opening ports <snip>
Santa brought me a pair of these . . .
. . . louvers for the 3x10 Beckson ports I put in last year in the cockpit/stern berth walls. Now I can leave them open without the bimini in place and not get rain in them. They choke down the air flow, of course, but I'm not worried about it, as even a little bit of air makes a huge difference in keeping the 'boat smell' down.
I'd put them in now, but the boat is tarped and covered in snow, and it's cold outside, and I'm turning into a big wimp as I get older and have zero interest in going outside in the cold any more than I have to. Haven't skied or skated since my 20's, in fact.
Oh, and something to consider when you're laying out the ports - make sure you can reach them from the inside to open and especially close them. The one I installed on the starboard side is well blocked by the head and the cockpit step, so I have to contort myself pretty badly just to open it, which is easier than closing it, as I can just get a couple of fingers on the rearward knob. I could have installed them further forward, but it never occurred to me that I wouldn't be able to reach them from the inside until it was too late. I have to remove the step and move stored crap out of the way, then slide in on my back to reach that one in particular. That's another reason for the louvers (louvres?) - rarely a need to close the ports now.