Hot overnighting at the marina: room AC for the 23?

[BruceW]

So, there are some folks at the club who have put small air conditioners in the companionway of their boats. They plug in to the dock, and can sleep cool.e

They all have bigger boats.

I guess I'd need this for the 3-4 more times this summer I will be there. And then, if I get one, the several each summer, hoping it lasts.

Any experiences to share with doing this? I see that if I buy one now, it will run me plus or minus $100.

[captronr]

We have two experiences, mostly good.  (This is on a Macgregor 26X, but concept should be similar.)

We bought a cheapy Lowes 5,000 BTU window A/C for a little over $100.  Built a 6" tall base for it to sit on.  Had made some acrylic smoked panels the size of our hatch (which was fiberglass).  Had that large panel cut in half horizontally, so there was a bottom half and top half. 

Next, bought some starboard (plastic like stuff) that would fit the width of the hatch track.  Using the lower half of the acrylic panel, cut out a starboard piece that would fit the opening.  Then cut out the center so it would go around the A/C sitting on its base.

It worked GREAT (you could freeze yourself out!), but....................  Every time you wanted to go in/out, you had to unplug the A/C, lift the hatch boards out , shove the A/C aft, climb in or out, then reverse the process.   Not difficult, but a pain.

The bigger pain was lifting it in/out of the boat and putting it on the dock.  Wasn't that heavy, but awkward.  I finally took the case off, bought some large handles, and bolted them on top of the case. Made it much easier.   So every time we left the dock/returned, had to set the A/C and base either on the dock or in the boat.  A pain............

One thing I learned was you have to have the unit slope AWAY from the opening, so the condensation doesn't drip into the boat. 

2nd experience and we never got it on the boat.  We bought one of these free standing room A/C units (about $300).  It came with an exhaust tube about 8" in diameter.  We could have set it on the countertop in the boat, ran the water drain down the sink drain, and installed the exhaust tube in the hatch opening.    It would have worked better, but still awkward.

Hope this helps.
Ron

[Shawn]

The stand alone ac units don't work well in a boat. To exhaust the heat they suck air from inside the boat and then send it out the exhaust tube. That causes outside air to get sucked in to replace it so the ac then has to cool that too. Very inefficient and doesn't cool the boat much. I tried one on my Sabre and it wasn't worth the hassle. If they were available yet they would be great.

http://www.noriahome.com

Shawn

[Shawn]

BTW, the Sailboat Company had a 23 years ago with an interesting way of handling AC. They installed a small window unit into the builkhead at the rear of the port quarterberth. When it was running they left both seat lockers opened for cooling air to get in. I am kinda kicking around that idea on my Sabre or possibly doing the same thing between the old engine compartment and the area the fuel tank use to be in. I've found a few window units that are only 11" high so I think they might fit in the area I have. The Noria would be great for this too... if only it were shipping.

Shawn

[BruceW]

I figured the standalone unit wouldn't be good for me. Seems like the small window unit as described with a back slant, and something to hold it to the hatchboard um, whatchacallits on the side, with another hatchboard above, maybe a towel to fill a gap. That would probable do fine.

Now to decide if the few times I need it would be worth the bucks & effort.

Oh, and I bet that Noria would be good, but I bet it's not going to be $100.

[deisher6]

Hey Bruce I have had some luck using a large window fan (on a C-27) when I had shore power. 
Walk the docks at any marina and you will see many combinations of A/C units on sailboats.
Anchoring out, If you can catch a breeze it was not really too bad this past week.
Good luck.
regards charlie

[TJ]

Used a 5'000 btu window unit on an O'Day 25, set it to one side of companionway hatch tilted slightly toward cockpit, covered rest of hatch with beach towel, only way my bride would stay for weekend.  Worked great, just unplugged and set on dock when I went out and put it back when we came in.  I did have a couple of handles, one on each side of the casing for ease of handling.  Would guess the hatch on Com-Pac 23 pretty close to same size as O'Day.  Been wondering if I can do same on my '19 after the last couple of weeks, fan doing o.k. but a.c. would be great.    tj

[Razor]

Hey Bruce,

When I had my CP23, I installed one in the bulkhead at the rear of the port quarter berth as Shawn mentioned. The unit came with a remote control which made it easy to control. As Shawn mentioned, when I operated the unit, I opened the seat lockers so that it could exhaust the hot air. It worked decent, and was out of the way. I liked that location because it was secured in place therefore I did not have to lug it from the companionway to storage.

[BruceW]

Well, I don't use the space at aft of port quarterberth much, so I could try that approach. Maybe put a plywood base, and slide it back to test it out.

I see a bunch of these in companionways.

I really don't know if I need it often enough to part with the $ at this point. Also, I like the idea of not lugging it back and forth all the time, just for a few nights; when the unit is in the quarterberth, do you use a hose into the bildge to drain water?

[blighhigh]

I investigated a portable air conditioner that has two hoses.  One is for exhaust while the other is an intake hose for outside air. This setup is more efficient and prevents sucking in air from inside the boat. It weights about 65 pounds and I plan to put it in the cabinet for the head in the Horizon Cat.  The hoses will be led through the overhead hatch while the existing port potty will be moved to an alternate location for the hot summer.  The downside of course is the weight and expense--about $360.00.  Another advantage is the ease in getting into the cabin without having to worry about the air conditioner in the hatch boards.

[Tom L.]

Sounds Like a good solution. Can you share what type AC you were looking at? $360 is more than a window unit but but seems on power with other units that use air from outside but as you said it brings in outside air and sends it back out with out using your internally cooled air.

Tom L.

[tmw]

http://www.noriahome.com

Looks pretty cool, if it weren't imaginary.  I'm bitter after spending money on several zsnaps connectors that never arrived.  Kickscammed.  I only "lost/invested" $22, and would have trouble justifying $300 for the noria based on the track record for campaigns like this.  Again, i'm just bitter.

[blighhigh]

Whynter 11,000 BTU Dual Hose Portable Air Conditioner (ARC-110WD)

[Tom L.]

Thanks for the info. Looks like a good solution for AC.

Tom L.

[BruceW]

I just heard from Keith Scott, who says the inside installation seemed to have been too complex. He recommended I find the smallest room AC possible and just put it into the entryway.

Now, to find one, har har.

I have a week or two before I go to the club.