Air conditioning feasibility?

2009-03-04 00:45:35

Does anyone have any info/suggestions for installing air conditioning in a 27? I am a northerner living in FL and would spend a lot more time on the boat in the summer if I could get some cooling!!

GRAFX MkII

Tampa-St Pete area

davidww1 · 2009-03-05 06:53:15

Last summer, I saw a C&C 25 moored at Hanlan's Point in Toronto with a room air conditioner balanced on the foredeck. The owner had constructed ducting of cardboard held together with -- naturally -- duct tape. I'm not recommending this (even though I was deeply impressed); I'm just putting it out as a point on the cost/functionality/overall practicality continuum.

David Weatherston
Towser, Toronto
C&C 27 Mk IV

2009-03-05 09:10:24

Thanx for the reply. I see most of the boats on this forum are up there in the "higher lattitudes" and therefore A/C is probably not a big priority. I think I'll take a pass on the Duct tape, but I have seen a similar installation on a Beneteau (???).

Maybe I'll just continue to use my Wind Scoop and put the money towards bigger winches, new main, folding prop....you get the idea.

davidww1 · 2009-03-05 11:31:52

There's something called a Cruise-Air (or something like that) that's actually supposed to fit on a hatch, but I don't really know much about it (as you surmise, a/c isn't a priority with us). But it might have been what you saw on the Beneteau.

David Weatherston
Towser, Toronto
C&C 27 Mk IV

pura vida · 2009-03-07 01:13:15

Reelez,
 There is a MKIII, Stars and Stripes, that has a small built in unit fitted in the bottom of the hanging locker that will make the boat meat locker cold even on the hottest days.
Wind Horse came with a Cruisair portable. The units are bulky and designed for the big Catalina style hatches. To use mine, I had to pull it up vertically though the companionway with a tackle and then wrestle it along the side decks. I sold it for $250 and bought a tiny 5000 BTU Samsung for $80 at a local department store. In use, the Samsung sits on a small plywood and scrap platform I made that allows it to sit over the hatch without rocking. The hatch drops down on the top of the unit and the open sides are filled in with a hood, ala the Cruisair, made from canvas left over from making a deck shade. Two Velcro strips sewn inside of the hood allow a baffle to be inserted to direct air toward the cabin. The fist hood I made was a little too small. The next one will be quilted for insulation.
A webbing harness with a handle and anchored with one of the housing screws puts a lifting point over the compressor and makes lifting the unit through the forward hatch easy. It is small and sits on the floor of the v-berth while underway. Best of all, it will run on a Honda EU1000 generator so you can have AC while at anchor.
This system is not as cold as the built in unit on Stars and Stripes, but it takes the edge off of the Gulf Coast summers and makes sleeping easier. I may have some construction photos if you want to see them.

Mike M
SV Wind Horse
#375
Galveston, Tx
[A few pics of the salient details sound like a nice addition to the Various Projects page. - Admin]

Last edited by (2009-03-07 01:47:56)

pura vida · 2009-03-07 01:45:22

David,

That rig and its varients are all too common down here. The popular fix on the "economy live aboard docks" is to use blue board foam insulation for the box. One fellow, an engineer no less, built a complex cabinet for a Columbia 26 that must have weighed over 100lbs. After looking at those set-ups, my thoughts were it had to be light, cheap, very small, actually work, and not delay leaving the dock more than a few minutes. My biggest gripe is that I have to string the shore power cable everytime I want to use it, so unless it is really hot and still, I continue to use a windscoop.
Mike M
SV Wind Horse
#375
Galveston, Tx

danagle · 2009-03-09 05:36:32

Hi,

I'm just down in Sarasota and have an air-conditioner on my Mark I. When I bought the boat it was already in there, so I don't have the details in my head. I'll look at it tonight when I get back to the boat and write down any details I see.

I'm not sure how different the interiors are between and MKI and a MKII, but since your practically next door to me you could come on down and check it out.

Dan A.
s/v Juno

2009-03-14 05:54:58

Dan A-

I would love to come down to check out your installation. In fact, I would love to actually SEE another C&C27 in the flesh. Not many around here in "skinny water world".

Kid's are going away for Spring break in April, so maybe a road trip, maybe a mini-cruise!!! Let me know, OK?

[email]reelez@earthlink.net">reelez@earthlink.net</a>

Thanx

Skip B

S/V GRAFX

# 253 MKII

chriswheat · 2009-03-18 11:45:42

Dan A

I'm on the Chesapeake (not exactly down the road from you) so I can't pop in for a look quite as easliy. I would love to see a photo of your AC installation if you get a chance to take one & e-mail it to me, or maybe post it in Black Arts.

Chriswheat

Second Wind
</blockquote>

[Our Forum software doesn't offer you the option of posting photos in the Forum directly (and Black Arts is exclusively the Admin's playground), but an effective indirect method is suggested here. Thank you. - Admin

Last edited by (2009-03-19 01:53:02)

chriswheat · 2009-03-20 02:11:43

Sorry David. I've just re-read "Using the Forum" and will try to stay on course in the future.

Chris

Chriswheat Second Wind

Chesapeake Bay MD

That wasn't intended as a rebuke; more a correction before someone tore his hair out out trying to post a photo in what has become the 'normal' way. What we have is a workaround, but it works. Thank you. - Admin

Last edited by (2009-03-20 07:53:58)

danagle · 2009-03-20 08:27:19

Hi Chris,

I just placed some AC images on my Picasa site. The last 5 images are the ones in question. I couldn't get a really good shot of the AC unit itself, I didn't weant to tear apart the cabinetry there, but I took shots of all the visible parts.

Here is the link: http://picasaweb.google.com/danny.agle/MyBoat#

You can click on the images there to zoom in. Doing so well let you read many of the details on the AC unit itself. I didn't take a photo of both vents... only the vent blowing into the V-berth is shown. There is also a vent blowing into the salon.

Hope those help.

chriswheat · 2009-03-21 00:26:00

Thanks so much Dan! Being a newbie I also see many other good ideas throughout your boat. Very helpful.

Chris
Chriswheat Second Wind

Chesapeake Bay MD

C&C 27 Association Forum

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#1 2009-03-04 00:45:35

Air conditioning feasibility?

#2 2009-03-05 06:53:15

Re: Air conditioning feasibility?

#3 2009-03-05 09:10:24

Re: Air conditioning feasibility?

#4 2009-03-05 11:31:52

Re: Air conditioning feasibility?

#5 2009-03-07 01:13:15

Re: Air conditioning feasibility?

#6 2009-03-07 01:45:22

Re: Air conditioning feasibility?

#7 2009-03-09 05:36:32

Re: Air conditioning feasibility?

#8 2009-03-14 05:54:58

Re: Air conditioning feasibility?

#9 2009-03-18 11:45:42

Re: Air conditioning feasibility?

#10 2009-03-20 02:11:43

Re: Air conditioning feasibility?

#11 2009-03-20 08:27:19

Re: Air conditioning feasibility?

#12 2009-03-21 00:26:00

Re: Air conditioning feasibility?

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