Adding A/C and generator to a Cat

[POH]

Thanks Sandcrab - is it just me or are there no prices on that site?

[Sand crab]

They come up on ebay.
Marine Air Conditioner - Mermaid -Boat air conditioning | eBay
And check West Marine and Defender.

[Gungnir]

Originally Posted by kevtamus

I've been pooling my money in the past few months and making preparations to pull the trigger on a catamaran. The question I have is that there seems to be quite a few cats that we run across that don't have a/c or generators, which are on our "required" list. Keeping in mind that we have a budget of 150k, I'm wondering if these items can be added to an existing boat without completely gutting it. Surely this has been done before and somebody else has come across this predicament. I'd hate to pass on a solid boat (looking for one between 38' and 42') just because it is missing something that I could add after the purchase. Thanks for any and all help.

I just bought a ProKat 2860 and it has an AC unit already installed. The AC was part of the "weekender package" that included a 30A shore power panel, a GFI outlet in the cabin, a hot water heater and a battery charging system. The idea was that you could spend the night at the marina. Anyway, I bought the boat with the intent of overnighting on the Gulf, so I am buying a Yamaha generator and after we anchor I will just pull it out, set it on the deck and go for it. Super quiet and runs 10 hrs on a tank of gas.

If it gets too rough to run the generator, it will be time to head back to shore anyway.

[geoleo]

Originally Posted by Sand crab

These are the units I was talking about.
seaboard marina

SO where is the "smart start " details?? I just saw standard Mermaid specs................ Mermaids are good units

[Sand crab]

Dometic has the rights to the name but just about all the companies are going this way no matter what they are called. House A/C units are doing this too so you shoudn't see your home lights dim when the big central air unit kicks on. You can see the specs in the startup amps or locked rotor amps.
Dometic Marine releases the SmartStart

[myocean]

Originally Posted by kevtamus

I've been pooling my money in the past few months and making preparations to pull the trigger on a catamaran. The question I have is that there seems to be quite a few cats that we run across that don't have a/c or generators,

We are about to uninstall the Fischer Panda generator from our cat and will install more solar power instead. We don't have AC, no freezer and no microwave or similar and like to have a technically very simple (and silent) setup. And we like to save weight.
If you like you can send me a PM, the generator will be for sale (it's from 1999)

[LunaPR]

Originally Posted by JusDreaming

it cost us approx. 10k for diesel generator and all the needed acc and install. A good A/C will cost around 3k for a 16k unit. Not sure about install for the AC. We found we barely ever use the A/C while cruising. Basically just use it at marinas during the summer mionths. As far as the generator, if I had to do it over again I would buy two Hondas and bridge them together to run all ac electric items. With two bridged together, I think they would run the A/C.With two of the 2000 units you would have almost the same as a 4.5k generator.
It looks like the Hondas are running around $1500, so for the price of a diesel gen and install you could almost have A/C and generator
Honda Generators - EU Series Parallel Capability

Hello JusDreaming,

I realize this is an old thread but I am currently looking into purchasing a Lagoon 37 as well but does not have a generator / AC. I've looked into the honda generators setup as you mentioned but would also like some input on the specifics of your install. Where did you place the actual generator, what brand, capacity, ac system setup location, etc? I'm trying to figure how it would work out to further analyze costs and convenience. Would appreciate any details, maybe pictures if its not too much trouble. Hope this message reaches you, Thank you!

[Pat Ross]

Originally Posted by LunaPR

Hello JusDreaming,

I realize this is an old thread but I am currently looking into purchasing a Lagoon 37 as well but does not have a generator / AC. I've looked into the honda generators setup as you mentioned but would also like some input on the specifics of your install. Where did you place the actual generator, what brand, capacity, ac system setup location, etc?

I think the Honda setup is used by a lot of Gemini folks, my question is since it must be placed outside of a compartment, on top of the deck essentially, it would seem salt air and wet conditions would be limiting in its use and its longevity, while initially it maybe cheaper, an internal diesel generator would be protected from the elements and thus last longer, it would seem a wash to me - over time, therefore I would go diesel. My 2 cents

[rabbi]

A Honda generator may be quiet for you when you are inside but it's annoying to all neighbors in the anchorage.
Get a decent diesel genset or better go solar.

[a64pilot]

Weight being such a real concern with a Cat, look at a Nexgen 3.5 KW gen. They are lightweight, maybe not as rugged as a low RPM unit, but much less weight and $$

Your not running AC off of Solar for any significant time

[LunaPR]

Thanks for the input all. The idea is to pretty much run just the AC during hot nights here in the Caribbean with the generator. The boat comes with what looks like a decent array of solar panels and wind generator installed and working. Still haven't finalized purchase and I'm also new to the idea of solar panels and such so I don't have much knowledge yet on what capacity they have but the boat also has a 2k inverter to run things off.

Not really considering the portable generators as Pat Ross mentioned would probably suffer a lot in the salty conditions down here. Also the outside noise factor.

[smj]

Originally Posted by LunaPR

Thanks for the input all. The idea is to pretty much run just the AC during hot nights here in the Caribbean with the generator. The boat comes with what looks like a decent array of solar panels and wind generator installed and working. Still haven't finalized purchase and I'm also new to the idea of solar panels and such so I don't have much knowledge yet on what capacity they have but the boat also has a 2k inverter to run things off.

Not really considering the portable generators as Pat Ross mentioned would probably suffer a lot in the salty conditions down here. Also the outside noise factor.

Many people run the Honda 2000 generators and I haven't seen much degradation in them due to the salty environment. We keep a cover over ours when not in use which probably helps to keep the salt of.
The Honda 2000 is pretty quiet, and personally I would rather hear the slight hum of the Honda rather than deal with diesel exhaust fumes entering my hatch.

[rabbi]

Originally Posted by smj

Many people run the Honda 2000 generators and I haven't seen much degradation in them due to the salty environment. We keep a cover over ours when not in use which probably helps to keep the salt of.
The Honda 2000 is pretty quiet, and personally I would rather hear the slight hum of the Honda rather than deal with diesel exhaust fumes entering my hatch.

The Honda is relatively (!) quiet, but still annoying to anyone in line of sight within some range.
The only ones affected by a well installed diesel generator might be the guy moored downwind.

But with 150k budget this is all just speculation. The threadstarter has to accept whatever he will find on the boat in question.

[smj]

Originally Posted by rabbi

The Honda is relatively (!) quiet, but still annoying to anyone in line of sight within some range.

The only ones affected by a well installed diesel generator might be the guy moored downwind.



But with 150k budget this is all just speculation. The threadstarter has to accept whatever he will find on the boat in question.

Why am I always the downwind guy!

[InTheDish]

There should be a signal flag that indicates, "We will run our generator tonight, (in the AM for two hours)", etc.