MacGregorSailors.com

That's Cool
This AC installation from Zenos Arrow appears the least unsettling for overall use of the Powersailor. I like the low cost AC Unit exhaust vented outside with a Combination AC shore power and Hard Start DC upgrade for Battery inverter/Generator operation

Maddmike wrote:
The A/C unit is vented into the port cockpit storage locker usually used for gas (I have internal tanks). This was done by drilling multiple 1" holes in the bulkhead, sealing the unit against them & supporting the unit on SS all-thread. A 12 V exhaust fan helps move the hot air out into the cockpit. The holes are covered with a fiberglass & rubber gasket system when sailing. This is removed when the unit is in use. The actual A/C unit is a K-Mart ($59.95) 5200BTU unit that I fitted with a hard start kit ($29.95) so that I can get it started off the inverter (which will run the unit with my 2 4D batts. for about 4 hrs. before reaching 50%). Usually, the unit is run using the Genset when charging batts. In most cases with the boat sealed I can switch from low A/C to high fan after about 1 hr., then usually about 4/5 hrs later I turn it back on for an hr. (on the inverter) & then back to fan until morning. This system worked great on the Amazon where sleeping without a breeze & lots of bugs made the system a godsend. It has been in place for about 3 years & when the ($59.95) unit dies I'll just remove the hard start kit & replace the A/C with another like unit (much less than fixing an expensive 'marine A/C unit). MM

Check with any HVAC guy or shop. Basically, compressors like those in A/C units take about 2.5 times the amp draw to start as they do to run. Thus, many inverters & gensets can not 'start' a unit, but could keep them running after being started. A hard start kit is basically a capacitor (sp) that stores enough 'juice' to kick over the unit. These come in different sizes based upon the hp (amp draw) of the compressor you are trying to start. Most are pre-wired & color-coded for simple installation (but, they may void any warranty you may have on the unit). I'm sure a 'real' HVAC guy out there would cringe at my quick description but this should get you pointed in the right direction. MM

Air Conditioning
Hard Start Kit

I am impressed with the various ways each of the contributers on this thread have installed a "real" airconditioner, but I already have this portable, so I'm trying to see if I can get to work effectively. It is clear thus far that the portable is NOT giving the kind of cool down service you are getting from the standard room units even at ones rated at the same BTU or less. Since it is turning into somewhat of a mission, I thought I would give my latest update. Again, 2-5 PM, a central Florida, typical hot afternoon. Started at 101, but this time I placed a tarp over the fordeck and the dodger over the main cabin. Also, got the hatch opening secured with thick foam supplied with the unit and cut to shape. Got the cabin down to 90 this time. Really like how the condensation can be drained into the freshwater tanks. That part works well. Seems the exhaust tube that runs from the unit out the forward hatch opening is getting quite warm. I may need to insulate it so I'm not heating while I'm cooling. The quest goes on!

I am planning a portable upright AC/heat that is self-evaporative. 30" tall fastened to the boat. 10,000 BTU. Depending on where I end up placing it, the exhaust hose would go out through the forward hatch, or if placed aft, pipe out to the gas compartment in the cockpit.

I like all the ideas people have some up with, but my number 1 requirement is to have it tucked out of the way and does not hamper getting in/out or around in the boat.

Randy,
That sounds like the same kind of portable 10,000 btus that Herschel is testing right now - with less than optimum results. My son has a similar upright portable that we used in his travel trailer a month ago. It too seems to deliver cooling results "less than comparable" to 5,000-rated window units.

Agreeing w/ TT, I haven't seen another AC installation
that's as simple, unobtrusive and tidy as Maddmike's.
(though I grant it requires a large hole in the boat!)

Frank, I saw that and it looks like a nice way to tuck it up out of the way. I guess you could go to the sheet metal shop and have some kind of box made to slide a window unit into so that you could collect the exhaust and duct it out to the cockpit. Don't know how you would get fresh air to the heat exchanger. If you mounted it on the port side of a M any condensation could pipe down through the sink drain tube. So yes I have been kicking that option around.

I have been surfing all the sites that sell the portable air conditioners, along with Amazon, Sears, Target, etc. When you look at sites that have user reviews, the reviews for the portables are very encouraging.

The West Marine "drop in the front hatch" model looks cool, but the price is not so cool.

I guess my only choice is to sell the Mac and get a 40' Hunter with air already built in. I wonder if my 90 horse would fit on the back of the Hunter?

Can you run a small portable in sideways at the same location as mm's? Then you may not have to cut any holes, just route the exhaust tube out the hatch.

RandyMoon wrote:Frank, I saw that and it looks like a nice way to tuck it up out of the way. I guess you could go to the sheet metal shop and have some kind of box made to slide a window unit into so that you could collect the exhaust and duct it out to the cockpit.

Not sure that I understand.
You realize that Mike's AC is ducted thru the port fuel locker, right?

Right. So you need some kind of collector on the back of the unit to connect the duct to. The collector would have to seal the back of the AC so the exhaust could not get blown into the cabin.

Thats why I was wondering about a portable unit versus a window unit. The ducting (and water removal) is already there so you wouldn't have to cut holes in the fuel locker (which make me wonder about gasoline fumes getting in the cabin). If I remember correctly, MM may not use that locker for fuel any more.

Why not just get a proper marine A/C with salt water running over the coils. It would be put somewhere out of sight. The amp draw is still too much so you will need some sort of generator. West Marine has some A/C units like this.

A problem with a small boat is that you cannot put all the stuff in it that a big boat has and still have room to live.

James V wrote:Why not just get a proper marine A/C with salt water running over the coils. It would be put somewhere out of sight. The amp draw is still too much so you will need some sort of generator. West Marine has some A/C units like this.

Well, thats what I suggested earlier, but of course it ain't cheap! I like the small footprint, and also the ability to also supply heat while docked, providing the capability to work on the boat thru the winter.

I would be more than happy to accept donations to pay for one of those $2k units.

I have been pondering either a RV-type air-conditioner or a small window unit with a fabricated scoop. But my thought is to have it sitting on top on the sliding hatch (and integrated therein either via a 14" opening or the fabricated scoop to get cold air into the boat).

I have thought of a couple of issues: seeing over it while driving, might interfere with boom vang, hatch might not support such weight. The first two can be determined with a cardboard mockup, but I'm mainly curious whether thoughts are that the hatch could support such weight especially with a 14" cutout in the middle of it.

Thanks for the thoughts,
Greg

I think it would support the weight, but how hard would it be to slide the hatch open and close. They weight ~75 lbs so you might need to put 75lbs up there and try to move it. I had thought about a Coleman roof top model but I think it would block too much view.

Here is another approach for an airconditioner on the forward deck

http://www.sailboatowners.com/upload/di ... 101&fno=79