Air condition on sail boat

[Sergy]

AC on sail boat
I keep reading about Air conditioning on sail boats I have been to Mexico many times and have pondered the potential for sail boat to be an oven during the hot sunny days I have seen small AC units on sail boats and can understand why but is it practical will it not feel like rain inside I would expect with all the high humidity the cold air from AC would almost cause fog, dampness etc to occur.
Would the AC units you see on RV’s work. Or are they marine AC units ????

[S/V Antares]

I have a Marine (Sea water cooled) AC unit. It is set up for Shore Power only. On the hook you can get a breeze but in some areas (Chesapeake for one) or at a dock you may not have any air flow. An Ac unit is a very nice option to have when needed IMHO. If you have the space it is a great amenity. The cruising rules do not state you should be miserable. I know folks who use the RV overhead units but in real salty conditions the rarley last more than a few years where mine is 8 years old with no issues. I do not have a generator so someone else would need to comment on using AC with a gen set.

[Hudson Force]

Heat pump AC's with heat echange with the water are more efficient than the RV type units and they don't have any parts on the deck. I highly recommend the March pump for the water flow instead of the Cal or Taylor pumps. Many good and similar compressor/coil brands...Cruisair, Marineaire.....'take care and joy, Aythya crew
Re: Antares comment,- We do have a generator and we will run our Ac units to cool down the cabin while the generator is running. You need to run the gebsets under l;oad anyway and mine is a 7KW; however, most of our AC use is at the dock.

[Pblais]

units on sail boats and can understand why but is it practical will it not feel like rain inside I would expect with all the high humidity the cold air from AC would almost cause fog, dampness etc to occur.

All A/c units generate condensate (water that comes from the air). Hot air holds more moisture than cool air. The water goes some place. All A/C units conduct that water some place. It has to go someplace or it would still be in the air.

I highly recommend the March pump for the water flow instead of the Cal or Taylor pumps.

Ditto.

March pumps are better and they last longer and can be fixed! Call Pumps fail and you chuck them over board because there is no fix, March pumps fail and you replace or service the pumps head. I have done both. March pumps do cost more by about $100. These pumps prove the extra money and anyone servicing A/C units will agree.

[Sergy]

Thanks for the information I thought with cold air being blow into a moisture saturated boat that you would see moisture on the walls etc

[Pblais]

Thanks for the information I thought with cold air being blow into a moisture saturated boat that you would see moisture on the walls etc

The coil in the A/C units is far colder than the walls. The moisture collects on it and goes to a drip pan. Some collection pans us a pitot tube that uses the passing water of the out flow to suck out the condensate. It works pretty slick until they get dirty. Others just plumb a drain to the bilge. In that way your A/C unit is a dehumidifier.