Air Conditioning?

[42AFJ]

Hi my Wife and are purchasing a Whitby 42 and moving aboard. Any suggestions for A/C? As of now I would like to install 16000 BTU under Settee Thanks, Josh

[High Cotton]

We have a 16000BTU in the main salon with one vent and another vent cooling the V-berth..........
and we have a 9000BTU in the aft cabin..... so between these two we can REALLY cool-down our 40' ENDEAVOUR (center-cockpit).............
I would suggest two units if possible, depending on where you're cruising.......
obviously we need both in South Florida.

In Charleston you can get away with one 16000BTU, probably............
I started the 1st grade there 55 years ago, so I "CRS" about how warm it was..

[AnchorageGuy]

Josh, With the Whitby 42 two units are really going to be needed to cool the boat down. You have a choice depending on space allowance of two separate units which can run with one cooling pump, or a spilt unit which will need to have copper tubing run to connect them together.

[42AFJ]

Thanks, that will probably be what we do. Is there any brand preference. If we do two I would like to think that a 12000 unit in the settee and a 5000 in the aft stateroom should cool it down, but then again this is new to us. Charleston does get quite toasty in the summer, add humidity and some days are near unbearable.

[42AFJ]

I have been told the central unit is quite more expensive than two units?

[AnchorageGuy]

Josh, The new Cruisair turbo units are pretty nice. Much smaller than the old style and quite a bit quieter. The plastic trays are pretty nice too since they won't start to rust. The other up side is plenty of service available should something go wrong. As a service tech for a new boat dealer we have seen new boats come in with Marvair and had problems plus the units seem to be pretty noisy. Location and correct air exchange is very important to get proper cooling.

[Pblais]

We use a 16,000 BYU Cruisair. Splitting it two if cheaper sounds like a good idea since you may not always nee it. DO check the power requirements as we can operate the whole boat on a single 30 amp connection. Using twin 30's or a 50 amp might mean some serious other changes to make the power work out for adding the unit(s).

The air handler is forward for us but it pushes air to the stern pretty well. Make sure they use a decent circulating pump (March not Cal) and also be sure the access to the sea strainer is easy for you to get to. You often need to remove an air lock and a short raw water run just makes that part easier. The option for reverse cycle heats faster than it cools and maybe something you do want. In 50 F water it does a respectable job should you anticipate travels where the water or climate is cooler. Space heaters are not safe or as nice as forced air.

[Just a Tinch]

Frankly....I am having the Cruis-airs pulled out of my boat and am replacing them with Mermaid units. The fans on the cruis-airs never shut off, are loud...and they weren't doing a good job. The Mermaid units are great....I installed one on my sailboat.... it was easier than one might expect. Home - Mermaid Manufacturing - Home of Mermaid Marine Air Conditioning I would suggest you look into Mermaid units before you do anything. Yes, its a personal opinion....but it seems I know a number of people who share the same opinion. Also, Mermaid Marine Air units come as cooling only and/or reverse cycle heat. 5 year warranty. An added benefit is they are located in FL....not too far from where I live.

[btrayfors]

Josh,

For a Whitby 42, you're gonna need more than 17-18K BTU, especially in southern climes.

On my 42' sloop I have a 16,500 BTU unit and a second 12,000 BTU unit; together, they can handle even the hottest days of summer. Most of the time, just one of them does a fine job.

Re: brands, I chose the one used by both the U.S. Coast Guard and the Canadian Coast Guard: the Flagship Marine. They are very well built, come in complete kits with quality parts -- no mickey mouse sh__ -- and have the option of heating via a large electric coil. This is what I chose and have been very happy. This means that you don't need to fool with the reverse-cycle option for heating (so you don't need to run a separate pump and pull seawater in on cold days). It's clean, safe, and very effective.

You can view the options here: Marine Air Conditioning Systems - water, air and keel cooled.

Bill

[Latitude9.5]

We have an 18.5 from flagship marine (local shop), i have it sitting in the aft cabin, then i ran the ducts into the galley and main salon, it keeps the salon and galley comfortable and the aft cabin perfect.

I had originally planned on setting it up with two zones, forward zone, unit under the v-berth ducts to salon, aft zone under the bed ran into the galley and aft cabin. As it sits right now we keep the boat pretty cool with the one unit and i don't plan on adding another 30 amp panel and plug to accomodate another a/c unit. (which would be the only way to run them at the same time). But then we've suffered through the summers on the hook without a/c so anything is nice

[42AFJ]

Thanks I have checked out the Flagship seems like a very good product. Anyone have any opinions on Webasto?

[tomrobalo1]

Josh,

I purchased a Whitby 42 this summer. It did not have A/C nor a generator. Being in Florida and wanting to use the boat year round they were necesscities. I had the Cruiseair Turbo units installed along with a Westerbeke 5.5KW generator. Both are great. We have an 18,000 BTU in the main salon with a vent to the V-berth. We also have an 8,000 BTU unit in the rear cabin. The units provide heat and a/c and will run off of 1 30amp shore power or the generator. This really made the boat a "livaboard" although that is not our intention. The Cruisair units are quiet and really keep the humidity down. Can't say enough good about them.

[bobfnbw]

I have a endeavour 40 with a single flagship marine 16500 btu unit. It does a good job on warm days but is not adequate for summer days here in Texas.
I plan to add another unit foreward.
The flagship system is 8 years old and still working well. Its quiet, but not as quiet as I would like. The new units are better I hear.

[GordMay]

A quick "rule of thumb" for sizing marine air-conditioning (for use in sub-tropics) is between 14 (below decks) to 17 (above decks, glazed) BTU/H for each cubic foot of conditioned volume.

[gonesail]

you might check out the climma brand. looks to be well made and very compact.