How much air conditioning?

[buzzstar]

Despite the unusually large number of lucid and direct replies to the OP's question, and my own dislike of heat with humidity, I feel obligated to make this snarky comment, "If you can't take the heat, get out of the boat or the location." Apologies to all I may offend, but if one thinks about it, if you want the creature comforts, a boat in south Florida is not ideal all year, anymore than is one in, say, New England, and it does not appear that much cruising is taking place. Since this is categorized under "Plumbing & Fixtures," it makes me think a hookup to the sewer drain would be just as important. Is there not a "liveaboard at dock or anchor section" of of CF?

[Mikado]

I have a 56' center cockpit with (20) portholes and (4) 2'X2' deck hatches in central Florida. This Spring I replaced the two older 12k and 14k btu AC units with two 16k units. After a summer of use I am more than pleased with the performance and comfort level. For additional air movement I have a couple small fans running most of the day as well.

I purchased these units directly from Ocean Breeze in Stuart Florida. They are factory reconditioned digitally controlled units with the same warranty as new. The model is OB16CH and you can specify which direction you would like the discharge. With a price of $899 each I was able to afford upgrading my duct work and purchase new raw water pumps, etc.

In the case of AC, I would rather have too much cooling than not enough, within reason of course.

Jeff

[adlib2]

Originally Posted by b-rad

New to me boat, it's a 43 foot very beamy pilothouse, lots of windows, lots of surface area. Need to install ac to make it a little more comfortable to liveaboard here in sunny south fl.
Currently have a 15k portable in one cabin that turns the room to a meat locker but does nothing for the rest of the boat. Trying to decide how big of unit (s) I need. Just found a 24k unit that I think could do the whole boat, or should I pony up and do a 16 and a 12 or 2 16s. Other issue is I only have a 30 amp service to the boat so if i do 2 units I will need to add an additional 30 amp power for the ac alone.

I have an Irwin43 with 2 x 15k BTU/HR. One unit is an RV unit installed in a hatch in the aft cabin. The other a stand up unit with elephant trunk exhaust installed in the FWD shower stall. Keeps boat nice and cool here in St,Augustine, Florida. I did install another 30 amp inlet for A.C.

[adlib2]

Originally Posted by buzzstar

Despite the unusually large number of lucid and direct replies to the OP's question, and my own dislike of heat with humidity, I feel obligated to make this snarky comment, "If you can't take the heat, get out of the boat or the location." Apologies to all I may offend, but if one thinks about it, if you want the creature comforts, a boat in south Florida is not ideal all year, anymore than is one in, say, New England, and it does not appear that much cruising is taking place. Since this is categorized under "Plumbing & Fixtures," it makes me think a hookup to the sewer drain would be just as important. Is there not a "liveaboard at dock or anchor section" of of CF?

Not so much snarky as irrelevant and not useful. Some of us have cruised extensively and now located where we NEED to be.

[reed1v]

Originally Posted by adlib2

Not so much snarky as irrelevant and not useful. Some of us have cruised extensively and now located where we NEED to be.

Or some just like comfort when cruising. We did. Nothing quite like 78 degrees in a boat when outside it was 118 degrees(off Oman). A/c is an appliance, like a stove or radio. Strange that it would produce snarky comments.

[reed1v]

BTW, its not difficult to make an a/c system so its inside the boat rather than have some unit stuck through a hatch cover. For boats over 40' can locate compressor inside ventilated cabinet, in engine room, or even in a closet. If you have some skills, just take apart a window a/c unit and deconstruct, relocate, and re-tube the unit.