HeadedToTexas
Guru
My wife and I hope to be out there with you folks someday in the coming years. Until then, we are enjoying the research and preparations. Reading about the Loop first attracted me to the trawler scene and reminded me that I thought about sailing the loop as a kid when our 17' Whaler was a big boat.
We have always been land lubbers and as such have grown accustomed to certain things. Some are easier to trade on boat life than others. As we endure dreary day after dreary day here in the upper Midwest, heating and air conditioning are near the top of the list.
I appreciate that the well orchestrated Loop traveller will manage the pace to be in the right latitude during the right season, but each season has outliers and every boat I look at has heating and air conditioning systems. I work in the HVAC industry and understand how the equipment works, but as a couple who sees themselves spending most nights at anchor and few in marinas connected to shore power, I'm wondering how much our tolerance for varying "room temperature" needs grow?
So during days where the low is in the mid 40s and the high in the mid 70s, do you heat the boat at night? Does that mean a diesel heater running on 12 volts, or reverse cycle systems running on batteries, or did I miss the common approach?
And similarly, does the breeze keep the interior of a boat cool enough on days where the high approaches 90 and the low only dips into the upper 60s, or do you run air conditioning to keep the boat cool during the day?
We have always been land lubbers and as such have grown accustomed to certain things. Some are easier to trade on boat life than others. As we endure dreary day after dreary day here in the upper Midwest, heating and air conditioning are near the top of the list.
I appreciate that the well orchestrated Loop traveller will manage the pace to be in the right latitude during the right season, but each season has outliers and every boat I look at has heating and air conditioning systems. I work in the HVAC industry and understand how the equipment works, but as a couple who sees themselves spending most nights at anchor and few in marinas connected to shore power, I'm wondering how much our tolerance for varying "room temperature" needs grow?
So during days where the low is in the mid 40s and the high in the mid 70s, do you heat the boat at night? Does that mean a diesel heater running on 12 volts, or reverse cycle systems running on batteries, or did I miss the common approach?
And similarly, does the breeze keep the interior of a boat cool enough on days where the high approaches 90 and the low only dips into the upper 60s, or do you run air conditioning to keep the boat cool during the day?