Marine Air Conditioning - Plan B

Miz Trom said:
Janet is amazing
Oldhatt , I agree with you; Janet has has come up with a charming solution for a limited budget. Janet is a true gem amongst us. Thank you very much for sharing this.


I agree, Miz Trom. She is a gem and probably has more miles under her keel than many of the 'experts' here on this forum. She offered a simple, inexpensive AC solution and she is to be lauded for it. No other reaction is warranted.

Aw shucks... thank you oldhatt... I appreciate the kind words and sharing the article. That's real nice of you.

And thanks for the compliment Miz Trom.

Air conditioning is a hot topic around the docks here too. Being cool is a big deal when the inside temperatures top 90 degrees. It is hard to think or do anything when the humidity and temps are that high.

I grew up with air conditioning. Our 40'er didn't have it and Mother liked it h-o-t. Blazing hot. When Daddy was mad he'd get out his charts of Hudson Bay planning a cruise there. We'd not need a/c up there for certain.

Here is a different matter entirely.

Like others I've seen the split units. They are intriguing. On Seaweed even if the budget could swing one there really is no place to install it. For me it was either an RV unit (11k btu is the smallest rooftop I could find) or a 5k wall-banger.

I absolutely hated having it in my doorway for all the reasons listed in the article.

For me on the rooftop works. I like that it is virtually hidden.

Here we are heading west:


A few weeks ago I met a website reader (he and his wife are shopping for a bigger Schucker) at a local dock. The gent was aboard my boat. We chatted, had lunch at a restaurant and then the couple left. In the time between the two articles posting he sent a note saying "let's see the a/c"

He'd been ON THE BOAT and had not noticed it. In my view that made my solution a win for me.

A rooftop RV unit has a lot of merit for those with $500+ to spend. They look better, are lower profile and have a lot of good things said for them. Ted and Sarah installed on on their pilothouse of their Manatee.

I like that Ted plumbed the water discharge (filtered) into a water tank for showers. If memory serves me he gets 11 gallons of water per day via the a/c. That article is here:

Janice142 article Manatee Moves

There are a lot of cooling solutions. The best one is to head for the poles as the summer approaches. That's not always practical.

For those with yachts I'm sure the built-in marine units are a good choice. The percentage a unit costs in relationship to the boat value is appropriate. Others such as self have found low-cost solutions. I could not see spending a lot on an inexpensive boat.

Question for the yachtsmen: What percentage of purchase price did you spend to make air conditioning a reality? I do not want to know the purchase price of your boat. If you have a $100k boat and spent $5k that's 5%. That's the number I'm interested in.

I'm curious. I wish someone like BandB would start a thread about that! (hint!) WifeyB understands polls...

My Moby-Cool.com,barnacle antifouling,paint,a/c hood/hatch is not for everyone. It is one option for those with smaller budgets and ought not to be discounted immediately because it is not 100% marine.

Note to Capt.Bill11: Rust would not normally be an issue for the wall-banger solution I detailed. For several months I was downwind (across the dock) from an 85' steel shrimp boat doing a major overhaul. Between the grinding, chip hammers and more, well, it rained steel dust on my Seaweed. A year later I still am finding more rust spots.

Eventually I'll track down all that steel but in the meantime I'm having too much fun to pull out the ospho every time my boat gets spots. Someday the 30 year old gelcoat will be spiffy and shiny. That's not going to happen today.

That film looks interesting... Larry: I read your baby shampoo and water hint. I've always used straight Dawn detergent -- not much mind you. Just an aside, in case you're ever out of baby shampoo. J.

To those of you looking for an economical solution, consider Moby-Cool. It's not perfect. For me however it is plenty Good Enough.

janice142 said:

Question for the yachtsmen: What percentage of purchase price did you spend to make air conditioning a reality?...

My Moby-Cool.com,barnacle antifouling,paint,a/c hood/hatch is not for everyone. It is one option for those with smaller budgets and ought not to be discounted immediately because it is not 100% marine. plenty Good Enough.

Click to expand...

I'm not sure the percentage is the way to look at it. It's more a question of the perceived value you get for what you spend.

I think the Moby-cool and a home AC is a great value for you. I'd do exactly the same thing if I had your boat. You get to stay cool and the install was simple. The big benefit was you fit it into an unused, unobtrusive location. Doing it all at such a low cost was just gravy.

janice142 said:

For those with yachts I'm sure the built-in marine units are a good choice. The percentage a unit costs in relationship to the boat value is appropriate. Others such as self have found low-cost solutions. I could not see spending a lot on an inexpensive boat.

Question for the yachtsmen: What percentage of purchase price did you spend to make air conditioning a reality? I do not want to know the purchase price of your boat. If you have a $100k boat and spent $5k that's 5%. That's the number I'm interested in.

Click to expand...

Replaced the 3 AC units and half the plumbing during my refit project. Would guess I spent between 1 and 2%. I did all the labor, so it would have been 3 to 5% if I had contracted out the job.

Ted

Correction to Post #32. We did NOT have air conditioning on our 40'er. Back then (50's onward) well, a/c was not something found on "regular" boats. And I surely did want it!

janice142 said:

Correction to Post #32. We did NOT have air conditioning on our 40'er. Back then (50's onward) well, a/c was not something found on "regular" boats. And I surely did want it!

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Hello Janice !
As you can see I signed in TF on myself . Many thanks for your nice friendship since months. I don't want to bother the thread then I will send you email over the weekend, just wanted to let you know I'm a TF newbie, so far
Stunning picture of Seaweed
Big hug
Pilou

For Bucky, this is Manatee with the RV unit on the pilothouse:


And to show my girl from a similar angle:


Looking carefully I'm sure you and everyone else can tell I have an air-conditioner up top. You can note the Manatee has one as well. Theirs is more elegant. I like that it has a lower profile than mine.

It is my belief however that most folks do not examine critically boats they see. I might note the brand and length, and perhaps the placement of a tender, but otherwise... well, not so much. I suppose I'm an optimist. Because I look at your boat with admiration, I guess I hope you like will like mine as well.

Each of us is out here enjoying the same waters. Fortunately for me there is a choice that is affordable. To OC, my solution is in line percentage-wise with yours, at less than 5% total. Thank you for answering my question. I'd wondered.

I'm not a big guy so of course my scale will be smaller. I rather like that. Seaweed is plenty enough for me and my First Mate.



Side Note for those of us with smaller boats: The RV units when I was investigating could not possibly run from my 1200 watt inverter. Mine can, though not for long! The Haier 5k btu a/c uses 455 watts according to the company stats. I've shown up to 475 and down to 55 with just the fan running. Normal a/c cooling is between 435 and 475 on the Kill-A-Watt meter.

I assume the difference in company versus my readings are either the line length (12' from panel breaker) or the quality of my meter.

Janice: I looked longingly at those so-called Marinized Roof-top units at the last boat show, but the darned things are 175 lbs., noisy, expensive, and require a big ole hole in my roof that has been re-skinned and left clean for 1200 watts of solar. I agree that it is an unobtrusive and practical solution. My local A/C guy says that the fishing fleet up in Cortez order standard R/V units and just figure to replace them when they rust out....usually about three years.

Pilou said:

Hello Janice !
As you can see I signed in TF on myself . Many thanks for your nice friendship since months. I don't want to bother the thread then I will send you email over the weekend, just wanted to let you know I'm a TF newbie, so far

Click to expand...

Hi Pilou... Gosh it is wonderful to see you here. I will look for your email this weekend. I do not know where the days go. It is already four here and I have accomplished little.

I did read though. My kindle is such a source of pleasure. I can get caught up in books so easily. And one will lead to another and yet another.

It is "island time" here in the summertime. My get up and go is grateful for a cool boat.

Yours is beautiful. One couple we traveled with in the 1970's had a Grand Banks named YOLO. I remember liking the split design with a galley aft and dinette to port. Yours is a wonderful boat.

Take care and hello to your brother too. I miss him. The next time you're in Florida we must visit.

J.

healhustler said:

Janice: I looked longingly at those so-called Marinized Roof-top units at the last boat show, but the darned things are 175 lbs., noisy, expensive, and require a big ole hole in my roof that has been re-skinned and left clean for 1200 watts of solar. I agree that it is an unobtrusive and practical solution. My local A/C guy says that the fishing fleet up in Cortez order standard R/V units and just figure to replace them when they rust out....usually about three years.

Click to expand...

With your top so high I suspect the longevity would be better than those guys. Weight though... Wow! That seems like lot.

I would write Ted and Sarah and see what their experience is...

For some reason I thought the replacement cycle for the cheap ones was a minimum of five years. I remember thinking $500 for five years was acceptable. This was not a marine version.

Boeshield is your friend. Spray, let dry. Spray again. Call it Good.

oldhatt said:

So I was pleasantly surprised when Janice aboard Seaweed showed in great detail how she solved this problem.

She used a simple $100 Haier air conditioner coupled with a Moby-Cool AC cover. The result is an inexpensive, effective way to keep her boat cool.

Click to expand...

Great write up. I didn't catch how Janice mounted the Heier unit to the roof though. Got to be more than double sided foam tape to the Moby-Cool?

janice142 said:

Note to Capt.Bill11: Rust would not normally be an issue for the wall-banger solution I detailed. For several months I was downwind (across the dock) from an 85' steel shrimp boat doing a major overhaul. Between the grinding, chip hammers and more, well, it rained steel dust on my Seaweed. A year later I still am finding more rust spots.

Click to expand...

My comment wasn't directed to you and your installation.

It was directed at the split unit installation.

HeadedToTexas said:

Great write up. I didn't catch how Janice mounted the Heier unit to the roof though. Got to be more than double sided foam tape to the Moby-Cool?

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Oops Tex. I missed that part. Thanks so much for catching it. I did update the article. http://janice142.com/Articles/Moby-CoolInstalled.html

For your convenience here is what I said:

First the picture:


On hand I had another piece of teak the width of the Moby-Cool approximately 1" by 1/2". That was used as a backing plate. (blue arrow)

Four screws (green arrows) hold the air conditioner in place. They go through the cover, teak backing plate and then into the air conditioner.

Still I was concerned that in rough seas the a/c might bounce back. Thus I used a piece of aluminum angle iron ("L" bracket) as a brace to prevent the a/c from moving aft. It is wedged in and won't wiggle.

When the Haier finally gives up the ghost I'll simply remove the four screws, lift up and pull aft. Replacement will be easy with another similar unit. Because Edwin wired in an outlet swapping air-conditioners could not be simpler.

Truly I am blessed.

P.S. - Thanks again for pointing out I missed the most obvious thing. That's very helpful.

J.

Folks that want to install a more perminiant RV thru the roof style unit will need a 14x14 hatch it can work thru.

The RV units will last , as long as salt spray is not a constant with the boat in motion.

Folks that are put off be the price , $500 - $600 can find a $929.95 unit from Flagship Marine (almost a boat buck!) they claim is marinized.

Stuart Fl ,,,,,,,.,flagshipmarine.com

Just installed a 12000 btu mermaid air unit into my 32 grand banks. Very little trouble, and well worth it.

These guys proved to be very helpful during my install: https://citimarinestore.com/en/184-marine-air-conditioning-boat-ac

Never heard of any boat drowning from a badly installed AC system... this has to be a great exaggeration...

Boat came with some tint on the windows, not sure what brand, but starting to come up in some areas. Considering redoing whole thing with V-Kool