Southern heat and keeping cool

psneeld said:

When I lived on my sailboat in Ft Lauderdale back in the 80s....none of the boats near me had air.

My poor man's air was a cool shower before lying down, towel off, pull the damp towel on me....by the time it dried it either fell off or I pulled it over me as it had cooled off enough to need it.

That was Ft Lauderdale...not sure if it would work along the gulf coast...or inland...my 5 years between Pensacola and Mobile reminded me that hell will be a cakewalk, the humidity is a lot lower....

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In the 80's I was spending time in deserts and tropical islands in my early 20s with no AC in the USMC, but I'll be darn if I'm gonna do it now! Genny + AC = Sleep

I never slept in a tent in the desert that wasn't air conditioned. I knew there was a reason I joined the Air Force.

BlueYonder said:

I never slept in a tent in the desert that wasn't air conditioned. I knew there was a reason I joined the Air Force.

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Y'all had good chow too! Spent a lot of time on Air Force bases and ate like a king when we were there.

They were pretty good. They really put in a lot of extra effort during Thanksgiving and Christmas.

BlueYonder said:

I never slept in a tent in the desert that wasn't air conditioned. I knew there was a reason I joined the Air Force.

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We've talked about perhaps spending a night in a tent one day, but never done so yet. I had friends in Scouts and the they'd camp out sometimes in awful weather. I never quite grasped why they did that. lol

BandB said:

We've talked about perhaps spending a night in a tent one day, but never done so yet. I had friends in Scouts and the they'd camp out sometimes in awful weather. I never quite grasped why they did that. lol

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You don't know what you're missing.
I've camped out in snow caves we'd build while backcountry skiing in Canada. I love it, but we all get our thrills in differing ways.

It does not help to blow 95 degree air in your face.

Indeed , the best that can be done for comfort is to lower the boats internal air temperature to the temperature of the water.

IF this , with a small fan, is enough for comfort there is no need for a noisemaker.

A good deck wash of high volume at sunset can cool the hull, screens can keep out the bugs , and a small fan can circulate a bit of air.

During the daylight only a complete sun cover , with side curtains for early AM and late PM is all there is.

The standard in the Carib.

As most noisemakers are $5.00 to $10.00 per hour for all costs , for most a marina slip at $5.00 a ft would be cheaper than anchoring out.

95F stinks , but 80F with a fan is fine.

BandB said:

We've talked about perhaps spending a night in a tent one day, but never done so yet. I had friends in Scouts and the they'd camp out sometimes in awful weather. I never quite grasped why they did that. lol

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That's funny! I have a friend who says the same thing about sleeping on a boat. When talking about my cruising plans, he responds that his idea of roughing it away from home is to go somewhere that doesn't have a Hilton or nicer. Different strokes for different folks.

Ted

When my wife and I are the only ones aboard, we cool only the main cabin aft in the evening. Several years ago I bought a 5.4K BTU window unit for $110 and mounted it in our aft companionway hatch for use on those sweltering summer nights. Our little Honda 2000i, mounted on deck, provides ample power for it all night on 1 gallon of gasoline, simultaneously powering our refrigerator and battery charger; cool and cheap compared to our 8kW genset which burns about .6-.7 gph.

Florida boy here... I've lived and boated on the coast for all my life and you do get acclimated to the heat/humidity (I'm amused by my northern friends' perception of hot as they are of my perception of cold). Anyway, ventilation and wind-scoops work very well at anchor--make sure to use screens to keep the no-see-ums and mosquitoes out. Dress lightly at night and use light weight sheets. Fans help with the circulation but seem to turn the cabin into a convection oven on really hot nights.

I have A/C on Sherpa and contemplated a small Honda generator but am averse to noise on a small boat.

Vashon_Trawler said:

Florida boy here... I've lived and boated on the coast for all my life and you do get acclimated to the heat/humidity (I'm amused by my northern friends' perception of hot as they are of my perception of cold).

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I am a Florida boy too and when growing up, air conditioning was rare. My parents first house didn't have it and I lived there until about 12. Remember going to camp in Osteen (central FL) for 4-6 weeks at a time and lived in bunk houses without air. Man, it would get hot but we got to swim twice a day in the lake and that made it tolerable.

But after working 40 years in air cooled offices and spending three summers up in MI, my body has succumbed to Northernitis and will no longer tolerate the heat. Fortunately, it is rare to need A/C up on the Great Lakes although our boat has A/C.

+1 ER blowers suck air out, or should.

n36511 said:

I have searched the forum but was probably not typing in the right things. Interested to hear how you southern boaters keep a tolerable temp on the boat overnight on the hook in the summer months. We run the genny for an hour or two just before bed and run the AC. By the time 4am rolls around it is already really warm and stuffy on board. No inverter. Considering buying some DC fans. Any recommendations. Before I buy, how do some of you beat the overnight heat?

Scott

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To me it is all about shade glorious shade and lots of fans. With our awning over the bow and the bimini over the FB the temp inside the boat stays the same as the outside temp and with out AC that is the best you can hope for. We also removed two fixed port windows and installed opening hatches which helps the air flow alot.

On the really hot nights we have a 5500 btu window AC that we put in one of the hatches and fill up the Honda 2000 which runs it at low idle. We turn it on when we go to bed at 9 and it runs till about 4 or 5 in the morning before running out of gas. The boat cools down enough to sleep comfortably. We rarely run the AC during the day. If it is that hot then that means it is time to swim, snorkel, clean the waterline or come up with some other excuse to get in the water.









We put the AC in this hatch when it is needed. We had a boot made that goes around the AC unit and snaps to the boat to fill in the rest of the port. When not in use or underway the AC is stored in the hold.

These guys didn't need A/C. Do we?

"the boat stays the same as the outside temp and with out AC that is the best you can hope for."

Actually it can get better,

IF your hull is solid glass under the waterline a very small fan can lift bilge air (outside water temp) up into the living spaces.

With practice in a slight breeze, enough hot air can be sucked away with port openings that, the cool air can rise to the lowest window opening.

And that is as cool as you can get in silence..

MrJim said:

These guys didn't need A/C. Do we?

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Judging from the looks on their faces, I'd say yes!

FF said:

"the boat stays the same as the outside temp and with out AC that is the best you can hope for."

Actually it can get better,

IF your hull is solid glass under the waterline a very small fan can lift bilge air (outside water temp) up into the living spaces.

With practice in a slight breeze, enough hot air can be sucked away with port openings that, the cool air can rise to the lowest window opening.

And that is as cool as you can get in silence..

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You need to spend a summer in SC where the water temp is about 90 degrees.

caltexflanc said:

Judging from the looks on their faces, I'd say yes!

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good point!

I bet they slept on deck as much as possible. It must have been pretty stuffy below decks in that steel can.

MrJim said:

These guys didn't need A/C. Do we?

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They also didn't need gps, the internet, a phone, email, 401k, and trawler forum.com. I personally like the forward progression mankind has made in life and would like to capitalize on it .

Too hot and humid in the South. We run the genset and 4 AC units, 68 feels good. I justify the cooler than normal temp as my generator tec says to load the generator up.

I am sitting here, at anchor, watching the morning news on TV, drinking coffee while reading/posting on TF. Yep the A/C's are on. I am anchored in Lake Charles surrounded by oil refineries. Now anchor me offshore in the Bahamas with a nice breeze blowing and I probably would not have the generator on. However, after spending all this money for a boat with all the modern conveniences, I think it's nice to be able to choose. These are pleasure boats after all. For those that want to go the simplistic route....my hat is off to you. That is why we have camp sites and hotels, it's a matter of choice.

"For those that want to go the simplistic route....my hat is off to you. That is why we have camp sites and hotels, it's a matter of choice. __________________

Indeed , but simplistic route folks in the anchorage or downwind, have the limited choice of leave , or button up , spend $100 a day on a noisemaker and breath canned air.

FF said:

"For those that want to go the simplistic route....my hat is off to you. That is why we have camp sites and hotels, it's a matter of choice. __________________

Indeed , but simplistic route folks in the anchorage or downwind, have the limited choice of leave , or button up , spend $100 a day on a noisemaker and breath canned air.

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While being considerate of others is a given, I am fortunate that if you can hear my generator, you are anchored far to close. I have no idea of your cruising style FF but have seen your house and boat and neither looked like you rough it

Pura Vida said:

Too hot and humid in the South. We run the genset and 4 AC units, 68 feels good. I justify the cooler than normal temp as my generator tec says to load the generator up.

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Wow! I complain to my wife if the house A/C is below 76--too cold for me! My home A/C is kept at 77 or 78 and is quite comfortable (at least to us thin blooded Floridians) and keeps the A/C from running all day. I have a 5000 BTU A/C on the boat; but without a generator, I only get to use it at dock. My 38 years living in Florida must have turned me into a lizard!

There have been times that we have been anchored during the summer and need a blanket during a windy night--we joke that the wind scoop will blow us out of the boat!

Sleeping on Sherpa is more of "camping" experience, which I enjoy; but I'm sure we'd be running the A/C at anchor if the boat had a generator! Maybe that will be the next upgrade?

I finally got in a situation where my "noisemaker" was an issue. I took a mooring in Hope Town in the Abacos, and the balls were pretty close. My gen exh is on the port side water line, and there was a couple on a sailing cat right next to me. Those balls are CLOSE. Without being asked, I moved to another ball where my port side was exposed to no one close. Later I joined the couple for a beer and they asked why I moved. Told them I would need to run the gennie later for a few hours to top up batts, and worried it would bother them. They thanked me repeatedly!!

That's the first and only time it was an issue in several years of cruising. Usually I try to keep away from others for all sorts of reasons.

"boat and neither looked like you rough it"

Roughing it is an opinion , we have no noisemaker , and not even shore power , a single 85W solar , and a propane reefer take care of on board needs dockside or cruising.

AM-FM radio , VHF and autopilot , is about it,for toys.

Not an extravagance , but we do have 2 ranges installed.

A gymboled propane unit with fiddles for southern living and a Dickinson Pacific for winter operation.

The sailboat cruisers have discovered a product to keep their boats cool. It's a rigid hatch cover made by a North Carolina company. I am using one of their covers on my trawler siding doors, and we love them. Helps reduce the solar heat gain, works a lot better than curtains. www.outlandhatchcovers.com . I have no financial interest in this company. I do know the owners and some very nice folks.

Here is what I was talking about

I have to laugh at the "Southern heat" part of the title. Official record high, Fort Lauderdale 98 degrees, NYC 102 degrees, Charlotte NC 104 degrees, Houston 106 degrees, Dallas 110 degrees, Atlanta 105 degrees, Chicago 104 degrees.

I would pretty much say the entire Eastern half of the country.

The only part of the US I would consider boating in the summer without air would be the PNW. Record high, Seattle 96, Juneau 90. While every day isn't a record day, these records do indicate the heat many areas experience. And my luck has been bad it seems for I can't tell you how many times in my life I've been somewhere that the weather was extreme and the locals always told me these are record highs, record lows, record snowfall, record rain, record drought. "We never get weather like this." My response, "Well you have it now."

Ronald said:

The sailboat cruisers have discovered a product to keep their boats cool. It's a rigid hatch cover made by a North Carolina company. I am using one of their covers on my trawler siding doors, and we love them. Helps reduce the solar heat gain, works a lot better than curtains. Outland Boat Hatch Covers - Prevents Hazing, Crazing, Cloudy and Fractures . I have no financial interest in this company. I do know the owners and some very nice folks.

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Those are great!