Rutgerson’s Flush Air Vent nominated to prestigious Dame Design Awards 2023

There is a wide assortment of air vents on the global marine market today, but there are no solutions that are totally flushed. With the trend for boat design and construction clearly moving towards sleek and completely flushed decks and hulls, the t

The result is a product that is completely flushed to the hatch or deck but its black colour and round shape as well as the seamless connection between the opening part and receptacle, makes the product very discreet and almost invisible from afar.

The Air Vent has been designed to capture as much air as possible while keeping out water, such as waves and rain. The sliding moment has been perfected using two O-rings for the water-resistance, but also to have a smooth feeling with just enough resistance when opening and closing the air vent.

There are no clasps, knobs or rotating movements needed. Unlike other ventilators on the market, it can be seen from outside when the ventilator is open and can also easily be closed from outside by simply pushing it down with a foot or hand.

Our choice of material is a strong and durable PC+PBT composite, often used for exterior parts on cars and trucks because it is both weather-resistant over time and resistant to collisions and shocks. The benefit in using composite is that it is possible to reuse scrap material that is generated during the manufacturing process. This means that there is no waste at all coming from the manufacture of this product.

All development and manufacturing steps of this product, including production of components and assembly, take place in our factory in Marstrand, Sweden. Therefore, the product is shipped directly to customers without unnecessary transports or middle hands.

As stated, the Rutgerson Air Vent is incredibly easy to open and close and another unique aspect of this invention is that it is clearly visible from the deck when the ventilator is open. When open, the ventilating unit sticks up over the otherwise flat surface. This Air Vent can be closed and made water-tight from the deck, removing the need to go down into the cabin to close it. Imagine a situation where a boat is out sailing and the boatowner has forgotten to close the ventilators before leaving shore. The crew can quite easily see that the air vents are open from the cockpit and just walk over and close it with his/her foot.

Injection moulding is a very cost-efficient method of manufacturing composite components, especially for mass production. With all supply chain steps under the same roof, including tool making, the conditions to produce a cost-efficient product are very favourable. The result is an air vent that will not cost more than other, more traditional, air vent solutions on the market but will generate more value in terms of user-friendliness and design.

We have submitted our patent application with reference number SE2351096-9.