Mahe 36: Air Conditioning

[Wayward Wind]

I am thinking of putting AC in our Mahe 36. We have specified for a freezer to be placed under the dining seat, but still have time to change that? For those of you who have installed it, I would appreciate your comments. Has it worked for you, pros, cons? If you had to do it again, would you do it differently?

If we have to move the freezer to make room for AC, any suggestions on where freezer can go?

Cheers!

John

[jean1146]

John we have installed 2 Ac units,one on each side under the dinning seat.we have lost some space but there was no other way.each unit does one side of the boat.I think you could have an ice maker on the side where the fridge is,we are looking at a portable icemaker.
JC.

[IrieCat]

Which A/C units did you install?

[jean1146]

We have installed Mermaid units,one 12000 btu on port side and 9000 btu on starboard side.Therapy the boat is in Apollo beach.
JC.

[Therapy]

Originally Posted by jean1146

We have installed Mermaid units,one 12000 btu on port side and 9000 btu on starboard side.Therapy the boat is in Apollo beach.
JC.

I can be there in 45 min.

3 mi. from 75/56

[Mahe-Mahe]

Hello All,

I am about to send my Mahe 36 to the USVI. Currently, I do not have the A/C option. 4 cabin fans is all that I am equipped with at the moment.

Is there a need for this option? If so, please let me know cause I figure I can have the work done in the states much cheaper.

Thanks!

[GordMay]

Air-Conditioning will be very welcome in the Virgins, Spring through Fall, but un-necessary in Winter.

April through June: Daytime highs range from 90 degrees, with night time temperatures only ten degrees lower at approximately 80F.

July through September: Daytime temperatures usually range between 80 degrees and 95 degrees . The nights are typically cooler with temperature ranging usually in the low 80s.

September through November: Daytime temperatures can rage in the 90s dropping to 75 to 80 degrees at night.

December through March: Daytime temperatures up to mid 80s, dropping to low 70s.

[pguillemin]

Air conditionning
If you are anchored out and have an awning which allow you to leave some hatches open you will not need air conditionning.
The trade winds blows 85% of the time andthey will keep your boat cool and dry. A/C will be needed however in the Summer if you are at the dock

[Mahe-Mahe]

Does anyone out there have AC installed in their Mahe? I am hearing that additonal equipment (larger inverter) needs to be installed as well. Where does the AC unit go? Any idea on price? I have been told that I will need a 16,000 BTU unit for the entire craft.

Thanks!

[Therapy]

Originally Posted by Mahe-Mahe

Does anyone out there have AC installed in their Mahe? I am hearing that additonal equipment (larger inverter) needs to be installed as well. Where does the AC unit go? Any idea on price? I have been told that I will need a 16,000 BTU unit for the entire craft.

Thanks!

The person that started this thread has AC.

[Scott730]

I have installed A/C and a generator on my Mahe. In Florida I found that I needed 2 12K BTU units to cool the boat nicely. I installed the new turbo Marine Air units under the sette, one on each side. The Generator is a NexGen that puts out 30 Amps, it is more than enough to run the 2 A/C units with a little more to spare. The gen is in the Starboard engine compartment. I think 16K BTU is a little light for a southern climate.

[JerryF]

8/3/2008

Hi folks,

I'm new to this forum as of today. To introduce myself we used to have a fiberglass Tradewinds 28 trimaran in San Francisco Bay. Currently we are motorhoming in a Monaco 40 foot motorhome. I love the discussions you've had re the Mahe 36. They're VERY informative and the boat sounds great.

Will you please comment on this A/C idea. A 15,000 BTU motorhome roof A/C costs about $900 and it may solve the space problem for A/Cs that must be located inside the cabin.

If you could put the A/C on the cabin roof (they are only 11" high) it would blow cool air horizontially fore and aft along the overhead. For at-dock and when sailing on smooth seas there would be no problem because motorhomes travel at 60-70 MPH in VERY hard rainstorms and crosswinds with NO water leaks inside the coach.

For rough seas you would have two other choices.

First if lots of sea spray is blowing over the cabin top and you're concerned these A/Cs have fitted soft plastic canvas backed water resistant covers.

Second, you would have to fabricate a hard shell plastic cover that has a gasket and could be secured, probably with screws, to the cabin top if you expected green water over the cabin top or for a long passage in the open sea just to guarantee that NO water enters the cabin.

I don't know what marine A/Cs cost but these motorhome A/Cs cost about $900 so if you have to replace it every 3-5 years it still may be worth it costwise.

Our motorme has two 15,000 rooftop A/Cs and they keep it nice and cool in the Las Vegas heat at 108 degrees. For comparison purposes re cooling, our motorhome has 10 times more window square footage. I would guess that the front one-piece windshield itself is more single pane glass area for heat loss than in the entire Mahe 36. Also, there is 320 sq feet of floorspace to be cooled.

Anyhow folks, just an idea for you to ponder.

Best regards,

JerryF AKA: Jerry FitzGerald

[Jef & Marin, Netherlands]

Hi all, I intend to install hot air heater running on Diesel fuel, and am currently considering about the set-up (where to put the heater, the air ducts, the air outlets, the exhaust).
Does anybody have a hot air heater in his/her Mahe 36, or ideas how to install this? I would be very much interested to exchange facts and ideas.

I understand most of you are more interested in how to install air conditioning. Well, we were sailing here in the Netherlands 2 weekends ago and in the morning the temperature in the saloon was 5 degrees centigrade. Next year we might go to the Baltic including Scotland and Norway.

Hoping for a few reactions,
Jef

[jean1146]

Jeff.
My boat is equiped with reverse cycleAC wich means we have heat and cold with the same unit. I have two units installed under the seating area in the salon,with ducts going to the 3 cabins and bathroom.I am not familiar with the kind of unit you are talking about,I am sure there are qualified people on this forum to give you some advices. Happy sailing.
JC.

[Jef & Marin, Netherlands]

Jean, thanks for your answer. Is this mounted under the centre part of the seating? (I noticed there is a big block of foam in the centre part; access is from the sides) Is it a 110 V unit? What do you do if you don't have shore power?
The unit I am considering just uses 15-36 Watts of electricity. It runs on diesel fuel. So you can use it also without shore power. Brand name is Eberspacher, model D4 (4 kW). You need a small exhaust for it, so I am considering mounting it either in one of the engine rooms or (most probably( in the aft beam, below the mai sail sheet runner.

Somebody who has information about this? Thank