Help us settle the Air Conditioner debate

[jillf]

Yep. menopause prompted our AC installation. Worth.every.dime!!!!!
We have AC for shore power only though. No generator.

[CatNewBee]

Well there are 4 Units, so I consider 3 of them as spare parts.... They work independent from each other, so you can run one even with a good inverter and a lithium battery bank for a while to cool down the cabin for the night - no noise from the gen - and re-charge the bank the next day by the solar array.

[Cloroxbottle]

Originally Posted by Holly3785n

Our plan is to buy a new boat and cast off in a couple years. We are strongly considering the FP Helia 44. My husband is a simple sailor and wants to go green on as much as possible and ditch the air conditioner and generator drama. His logic is that we could buy a portable for the berth if we need to and save the cost. I'm thinking by the time I reach 50 the AC may not be considered optional equipment if you know what I mean but it would be nice to spend the money on something else. But going down that path is a slippery slope because that probably means no washer either. We will be following the sun so heat will be a way of life generally. I mean, that's the whole idea.

These are good problems to have but any strong opinions?

Depends on where you are going to be going. A full time liveaboard in the PNW can get by without air conditioning. In Florida or the tropics it is practically mandatory. Down here the interior of a boat heats up dramatically in direct sunlight. When the sun starts to set the bugs and the no see ums come out in force.

It sounds like you are going to be following the sun and spending time in tropical and subtropical climates. I wouldn’t recommend going without air, and with the size of boat you are considering, built in air as portable units probably won’t be able to cool it effectively.

[iyamwhatiyam]

The Admiral rejected the Pompanette Thru-Hatch Portable Air Conditioner. In fact, she nixed A/C altogether for now.

I asked the previous owner how he managed the heat and he replied:

We had a very small window air conditioner that we kept tipped on it's side under the "v" berth steps. When we needed it we put it on the deck, facing into the front hatch. We would wait an hour or so for the refrigerant to settle down and cover the openings between the hatch and the AC with sunbrella material. It worked fine but wasn't pretty. We didn't care because a lot of other cruisers did the same. We had bought it in Venezuela at a scratch and dent for $50. A lot cheaper than the $1500 they want for those fancy units. It lasted for 12 years untill we threw it away in Indian Town when we got back. The only time we used it was at a dock, never at anchor because electricity was not available and mostly because it was not needed.
So, there you go. Another boat project. Good luck.

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by iyamwhatiyam

The Admiral rejected the Pompanette Thru-Hatch Portable Air Conditioner. In fact, she nixed A/C altogether for now.

I Another boat project. Good luck.[/I]

The Admiral is in that position because she has the brains I see!

[Simi 60]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

Why would you want to run the genset just for heat, even if you can?
:

For us its a simple as sleep in the front cabin with the engine off and the engine room door open.
2000kg of warmed metal keeps things toasty down there for 24 hours.

Thankfully we don't need heating or cooling being on the same latitude as Florida (27deg) but when we head up to Asia, so 0deg we might be looking for something.

[iyamwhatiyam]

OK. After another sweltering summer in FLA, we did it. Dometic heats and cools. Appropriated the thru-hull for masticator out, (now an IN, and drilled a thru hull above the waterline for raw water overboard). Very happy we did this, as the hose from the masticator simply fell apart when handled, disaster avoided! Two cold air outlets, the one you see and the one blowing into the V-berth.
We lost the locker across from the head, this won't matter once its 99 degrees and 98 % humidity and 100% noseeums.
Orange is the new blue.

[billknny]

Originally Posted by Holly3785n

Our plan is to buy a new boat and cast off in a couple years. We are strongly considering the FP Helia 44. My husband is a simple sailor and wants to go green on as much as possible and ditch the air conditioner and generator drama. His logic is that we could buy a portable for the berth if we need to and save the cost. I'm thinking by the time I reach 50 the AC may not be considered optional equipment if you know what I mean but it would be nice to spend the money on something else. But going down that path is a slippery slope because that probably means no washer either. We will be following the sun so heat will be a way of life generally. I mean, that's the whole idea.

These are good problems to have but any strong opinions?

Well... maybe you can compromise.

We have AC--and a genset. BUT (and here is where you might make a compromise to keep both you and your hubby happy!) we have never used the genset to power the AC.

For those times we have been in a marina (and the tropics are not needed, the Chesapeake Bay can be a real steam bath in the summer) the AC has been a life safer. Seriously needed for our lifestyle.

But we have NEVER felt the need at anchor. The boat always points into the wind and there is (almost) always a nice breeze.

An installed system is SOOOO much better than a drop in one, it is worth it. So install the AC to use when you have shore power and skip the generator if hubby thinks he can manage the non-AC power needs without it.

There is another catch: to be really comfortable inside the cabin, you MUST rig some kind of shade over the cabin top and glazing. Don't let the salesman try to tell you that the balsa core deck gives all the insulation you need. Bull. The problem is with a cat, your solar panels will likely be big black squares on the very cabin top you are trying to stay cool underneath. You obvious can't shade them, but they are really good at getting hot and transferring heat into the cabin.

[thinwater]

AC yes.


You are going to spend HOW MUCH on a boat and not have AC? You wouldn't buy a $1000 POS used car without AC, unless it was farm use.


Yes, there are places where it is not needed. There are also places where the marinas are windless and suffocating hot. Visit the southern east coast sometime.


I might skip the generator. Even here, when we anchor out there is a breeze. But in marinas there is power, and THAT is where you need the AC. We installed AC on our PDQ cat, and it was a delight.


As for portables, I've had them and can't say enough bad about them.


----


And everything BillKnny said.

[MountainKing]

I found it was most needed when you'd get a storm moving in and had to close the hatches to not get wet, but the cabins were still hot. Just laying in a puddle of my own sweat isn't conducive to good sleep for me. I can understand if others like that though...

[iyamwhatiyam]

BTW, we installed a Dometic DTU16-410A, 120 volt. That comes in at 12,000 BTU. We are moving toward a Honda EU2200i generator. Any generator advice is most welcome.

[jump12k]

How did you get photos to upload here...I have tried everything...

[iyamwhatiyam]

Use the "Insert Image" icon. It looks like a postcard.

[john61ct]

can also upload to a site like Imgur, then post a link here

[iyamwhatiyam]

When the A/C unit was installed as I related above, the tech used a plastic thru-hull for the raw water output. It's above the water-line, so I didn't think anything of it. However, I just saw here that a similar setup, (plastic thru-hull above the waterline), failed with unhappy results. Should I be concerned?


Raw water is entering thru a pre-existing thru-hull, (macerater output).