Dorade Box

SV Dorade —
Dorade boxes are designed with internal baffles to capture and drain any water entering a cowl vent, before it can find its way into the boat's cabin.
They were first used on the 1929 racing yawl, "Dorade" - from which their name is derived.

Dorade boxes are traditionally rectangular. The cowl was mounted at one end, and had a long neck inside the box which extended downward, almost to deck level. At the other end of the box the deck opening to the cabin had a similar long neck, but extending up, almost to the top of the box.
In practice, the box would have to fill almost entirely with water before it could find its way down into the cabin.
Drain holes along the bottom of the box allowed water to easily drain before it could reach the level of the intake tube.

This teak dorade box has an internal, slightly offset, teak baffle. The bottom of the baffle is flush with the bottom of the box (i.e. at deck level), and there is a gap at the top allowing for for air movement between the two sides.