It's a fake smoke stack and it's decidedly tacky. Thousand of boats
have propane without needing a fake smoke stack.

BB

Propane, being heavier than air, must be allowed to find an unobstructed path
down and overboard if there should be any leakage. On a boat with high gunwales
and deck drains rather than conventional scuppers (I would have been happier
with conventional scuppers, btw,) that about eliminates almost any location
except a cabin top. Nothing below the top of the gunwale will do.

Under ABYC regs, a propane locker must have a top that can be "blown off" in
the unlikely event of an explosion.

The fake smokestack/propane locker, with a vent at the base, meets all the
essential standards.

Is there anything on your sailboat that is modified to look a little better
than the plain, functional, minimalist appliance might? Any portion of a system
that is cosmetically concealed? My best guess would be, "of course."

You are entitled to your opinion about "tacky" by the way. People disagree on
what's good looking, vs. not. Ever have a buddy who raved on, non-stop, about
the gorgeous new gal he was dating......
and then when you finally got to meet this
purported "10" you personally figured her for about a 5 1/2? Seems like it's
always that way with boats. You don't have to like mine. It merely shows our
tastes are different, rather than objectively defining those tastes as superior
or inferior.

(Human nature, of course, will dictate that we each consider our own taste
superior).