Air Conditioning Unit.....

[CoastalLiving]

Our ideas are not working. Got a free standing one from walmart and it's going to overpower the boat (electricity wise), plus it doesn't really fit on the boat....anywhere...30 foot boat. So then I started looking at hatch mounted units but where do you actually buy them from? Anyone have some reliable websites to look? All that keeps coming up is eBay.

Thanks,

Isabel

[FSMike]

Cheap window units do the job but -
as you've discovered, they need 110 volt ac power, which usually means shore power or a robust electrical system. They also usually need a mounting system cobbled together (2x4, plywood, etc.) which doesn't look very shipshape and needs to be removed if you leave the dock to go sailing. They do the job though.
Have you Googled Cruisair?

[skipmac]

Try camper and R/V dealers for a roof mount unit that will sit on a hatch (google search with those terms will turn up dozens of options). Cleaner install but still would have to be removed when you want to go sailing. The only other option is a built in, marine system but be ready to spend a couple thousand for a new one.

Not sure what you mean exactly by overpower your electrical system. There is no aid conditioner that super efficient or is practical to run off 12V battery power. You can get a large inverter and run an air con for a few hours or so but even that will take a pretty large battery bank.

Bottom line, air conditioning will require shore power or a generator to run.

[Kevin84]

If you want a permanent unit, Mermaid makes a good reverse cycle unit. They're generally more expensive, but well worth the cost. I've seen 12,000 BTU units available for roughly 1,600 USD.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[satdiver]

Get a few fans, your body will adjust if you give it some time. I've used my AC maybe 5 or 6 times in the past 4 years and that has only been with guest aboard on extraordinarily hot days. Like they say in the South in the summer, you can always tell a tourist by the sweat.

If you want to get half reliable AC system expect to spend a few thousand dollars and expect that it will not work properly most of the time. The best marine AC units are generally way too big for your average size sailboat.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by satdiver

Get a few fans, your body will adjust if you give it some time. I've used my AC maybe 5 or 6 times in the past 4 years and that has only been with guest aboard on extraordinarily hot days. Like they say in the South in the summer, you can always tell a tourist by the sweat.

If you want to get half reliable AC system expect to spend a few thousand dollars and expect that it will not work properly most of the time. The best marine AC units are generally way too big for your average size sailboat.

Well kind of like the old saying, it's not the heat (or humidity), it's the bugs. I've spent summers in FL and the Caribbean on a boat without ac and agree you adjust to the environment until....... you are anchored out on a really still, hot, muggy night and the mosquitoes )or noseeums or midges or whatever insectivore lives in that neighborhood) attack, forcing you to barricade yourself below. Sure I know, screens, fans and all that but those just make you slightly less miserable. That's when the ac pays for itself.

[satdiver]

Originally Posted by skipmac

Well kind of like the old saying, it's not the heat (or humidity), it's the bugs. I've spent summers in FL and the Caribbean on a boat without ac and agree you adjust to the environment until....... you are anchored out on a really still, hot, muggy night and the mosquitoes )or noseeums or midges or whatever insectivore lives in that neighborhood) attack, forcing you to barricade yourself below. Sure I know, screens, fans and all that but those just make you slightly less miserable. That's when the ac pays for itself.

Well you don't anchor in those still water environments. That's the best advice for this topic. I assume you're talking about the ICW and as a native of Eastern NC you would not catch me dead hanging very long in places like Oriental or the like. Those are the type of places I fired up my AC. Stay near the ocean and breeze. It's the best part of sleeping on the boat IMHO.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by satdiver

Well you don't anchor in those still water environments. That's the best advice for this topic. I assume you're talking about the ICW and as a native of Eastern NC you would not catch me dead hanging very long in places like Oriental or the like. Those are the type of places I fired up my AC. Stay near the ocean and breeze. It's the best part of sleeping on the boat IMHO.

Certainly avoiding the buggy spots at the wrong time of year is my plan but sometimes you are where you are. Running down the ICW, get delayed and end up anchored in bug city, like the marshes outside of Oriental where I did indeed run out of daylight and had to stop were I was one night. I have seen noseeums much worse that that in the everglades but it was bad enough to drive us all below.

Also have been caught unawares in harbors in the Bahamas that were fine one night then the next night the breeze dies down and the attack begins.

For those nights it's time to crank the air con.

[CoastalLiving]

Yes, on the icw. I think I have figured out a way to make the portable air-conditioner work. We will find out this weekend. Right now, not so worried about cruising, just want it cold at night in the dock
Isabell

[CoastalLiving]

Our original idea worked We bought a 12,000 btu portable unit and vented it through a "window." We basically made the window custom. It is awesome! I will post pictures in a couple of days.
Isabel