Good ventilation is one of the most important of cruising amenities. Our lessons on this subject came the hard way. We first arrived in the Marquesas Islands aboard Intermezzo in the summer, and we had just two small dorade vents, no fans, no way to open the hatches at sea or when it was raining, and an awning that was awkward to use with blue stripes which increased the temperature substantially. Oh, and the topsides were a dark blue/gray shade, nicely absorbing the morning and afternoon heat. If you want a primer on ventilation, just do the opposite of everything we started out with!
When anchored or moored so the boat can swing head to wind, the foredeck hatch is usually best opened facing aft, so air can exhaust through it. Adding a foredeck awning will enable the hatch to be left open during rain squalls.
