Is it really that HOT in America and the Caribbean?

[monte]

So many people have air conditioning questions, generators to power the air conditioning questions, where to install the air condition questions etc etc... Is it really That hot there?
In Aus we have pretty hot weather, in the med it can get hot, here in Southern Portugal is pretty hot mid day, 30-35 degrees is a nice sunny day. If you get hot you jump in the water?
So what am I missing considering the last thing I would want on board a yacht would be an air conditioner???

[Target9000]

I think a lot of AC is just people wanting creature comforts. Some places in the United States do warrant it outright though. Here in New Orleans 35c is pretty average, but it comes with near 100% humidity. There is no water to jump into to cool off, the lake is very muddy and not good to swim in. Also a lot of the time the air is stagnant and not much wind. These conditions can be very severe. Heat index last weekend was near 45c.

Places where the water is clean or the humidity is lower, I can see not using AC. Even a swamp box cooler would work great, but in high humidity you have no real way to cool down easily.

That said, we don't have AC on our boat, but then again, we don't live on it yet and don't plan to stay here through the Summer while living aboard.

[SaltyTanned]

In the Lesser Antilles, on the water, the highs vary from 27C to 32C. Mostly though it is between 29 and 30C.

I have been sailing and living aboard on the Eastern Caribbean since 1995 and would not think of installing AC on board. Very, very few boats have AC. Fans yes. The climate is near ideal.

[Kenomac]

We didn't need a/c in Southern California, and we don't use our a/c here in the Med. Below deck, the cabin temp is usually the same as water temp and we have plenty of opening windows. The front facing, opening windows in the saloon is huge for ventilation.

[DoubleWhisky]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

The front facing, opening windows in the saloon is huge for ventilation.

This is a great advantage of Oyster arrangement

[MarkJ]

I agree with Salty. Its not too hot in the Caribbean, fine in an anchorage. I don't think I would want to be in a marina.
Its warmed up here in the last three days, but its not unlivable at all. And theres plenty of water beside the boat

[Coops]

It all depends on what you like. As an ex pom living in Aus, I love the heat, I love the humidity, part of the life. On top of that I detest air conditioning. It has a completely unnatural feel to it and I never have it on in the car, never had it on in the houses that I lived in that had it and have never considered it for a boat at all.

Also, if you have the AC on and then go outside, it feels so much worse than it really is. Big thumbs down for me, noisy, smelly and horrible. Much like myself.

Coops.

[downunder]

Originally Posted by Coops

It all depends on what you like. As an ex pom living in Aus, I love the heat, I love the humidity, part of the life. On top of that I detest air conditioning. It has a completely unnatural feel to it and I never have it on in the car, never had it on in the houses that I lived in that had it and have never considered it for a boat at all.

Also, if you have the AC on and then go outside, it feels so much worse than it really is. Big thumbs down for me, noisy, smelly and horrible. Much like myself.

Coops.

Living in coastal northern NSW is certainly relatively mild weather and one area you could get by without AC.

monte I expect one could survive in tropical NQ without AC at anchor but would definitely be an issue in a Marina in summer. What areas will you be based in when you get back to Aus.

Cheers

[savoir]

Originally Posted by monte

So many people have air conditioning questions, generators to power the air conditioning questions, where to install the air condition questions etc etc... Is it really That hot there?
In Aus we have pretty hot weather, in the med it can get hot, here in Southern Portugal is pretty hot mid day, 30-35 degrees is a nice sunny day. If you get hot you jump in the water?
So what am I missing considering the last thing I would want on board a yacht would be an air conditioner???

Americans like their toys

[Blue Crab]

Originally Posted by DoubleWhisky

This is a great advantage of Oyster arrangement

My other boat is an Oyster.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by Target9000

I think a lot of AC is just people wanting creature comforts. Some places in the United States do warrant it outright though. Here in New Orleans 35c is pretty average, but it comes with near 100% humidity. There is no water to jump into to cool off, the lake is very muddy and not good to swim in. Also a lot of the time the air is stagnant and not much wind. These conditions can be very severe. Heat index last weekend was near 45c.

Places where the water is clean or the humidity is lower, I can see not using AC. Even a swamp box cooler would work great, but in high humidity you have no real way to cool down easily.

That said, we don't have AC on our boat, but then again, we don't live on it yet and don't plan to stay here through the Summer while living aboard.

Same in north Florida for the last month. Temps every day 34-36 C with 99.9% humidity. Maybe on the water it would be tolerable but on land or in a marina that's more than I can live with comfortably.

I might add another reason to have an air conditioner. Ever anchor in a really buggy harbor. Middle of the night the wind dies and the mosquitos (aka mozzies or skeeters depending on where you live) and their cousins the noseeums come out and start devouring you. So the temp is 35, the humidity is 99% and you have the choice of closing up the hatches and melting or leaving them open and being eaten alive.

Yes I know screens, but they won't keep out the noseeums plus they do cut back the air flow a lot. Nights like that makes air conditioning worth every dime.

[Coops]

Originally Posted by downunder

Living in coastal northern NSW is certainly relatively mild weather and one area you could get by without A.

Cheers

I have cruised in the Whitsundays and have lived in PNG as well. Also lived out west of Sydney for a while, gets really hot out there. Where I am now gets 35 to 40 degrees in summer quite often as it is a tad inland of the coast, but not much. Some folks love the heat, some don't, but getting used to AC all the time tends to mean that you spend less time outside I have found.

Coops.

[Pelagic]

Originally Posted by skipmac

Same in north Florida for the last month. Temps every day 34-36 C with 99.9% humidity. Maybe on the water it would be tolerable but on land or in a marina that's more than I can live with comfortably.

I might add another reason to have an air conditioner. Ever anchor in a really buggy harbor. Middle of the night the wind dies and the mosquitos (aka mozzies or skeeters depending on where you live) and their cousins the noseeums come out and start devouring you. So the temp is 35, the humidity is 99% and you have the choice of closing up the hatches and melting or leaving them open and being eaten alive.

Yes I know screens, but they won't keep out the noseeums plus they do cut back the air flow a lot. Nights like that makes air conditioning worth every dime.

+1 Why do some people think that comfort is a bad thing on yachts?

[Blue Crab]

Originally Posted by Pelagic

+1 Why do some people think that comfort is a bad thing on yachts?

Tradition. Did Blythe, Chichester, the Roths, the Hiscocks have AC ?


Hell no!


AC is for Bumfuzzles.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by Pelagic

+1 Why do some people think that comfort is a bad thing on yachts?

Also, if you have air on a boat doesn't mean you have to turn it down to 20C. I'm perfectly happy with just enough cooling to cut the humidity and keep the edge off the heat. That does make the transition back to the outdoors less of a shock to the system.