Med Airconditioning Yes or No?

[whisperjet]

Hi All, Sorry if I have missed this somewhere, but thinking of moving boat down to med, probably Spain, Current boat, Princess V45 has no Aircon, could we get away with a good Fan or is Aircon essential, staying 3 to 4 weeks onboard at a Time. So working out what to buy, New Boat, Fan or Aircon. many thanks

 

[jrudge]

for me it is 100% essential.

I have a friend with a V42, not AC, and he lives with it using fans, but be under no illusion just how hot a cabin of a grp boat can get with the sun on it all day.

The cost of retrofit is quite significant ( Jimmy The Builder did it) espec if you dont have a generator.

 

[AIDY]

Hi All, Sorry if I have missed this somewhere, but thinking of moving boat down to med, probably Spain, Current boat, Princess V45 has no Aircon, could we get away with a good Fan or is Aircon essential, staying 3 to 4 weeks onboard at a Time. So working out what to buy, New Boat, Fan or Aircon. many thanks

my view as a yachty with a 50 foot boat..... yes airco essential as long as its not noisy and the outlets / pipe runs are sensible... my previous boat the airco was rubbish and very noisy.

 

[Nick_H]

We spent the whole of August on the boat in W Med and didn't turn the aircon on once, but that's quite unusual. Most of the time you could manage without it, but sometimes, during the really hot spells, it would get very uncomfortable and you'd probably be wishing you spent the money. It's even more impotant if you plan to spend time in port, as there is less airflow and the heat builds up more.

 

[jrudge]

And this thread was on the same topic....

http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?360686-Air-con-essential-in-the-Med&highlight=aircon

 

[KevB]

If it's generally for when you're moored up you could just use a portable unit or two. Much cheaper

 

[SammyB]

We were in the Med for our first season on our boat and used our aircon all the time! In Ports it makes all the difference although we are considerate and never have it on at night.

 

[mhph]

We have just spent the first full summer continually on the boat here in Spain. I am waiting for an engineer to come and quote us for retro-fit. Why ? well although we had fans going pretty well all the time, it has got to be much more comfortable with it.
It was especially difficult for my wife, going through the hot flush syndrome and everything that that entails.We ended up sleeping in separate cabins (unless we had visitors), to avoid close proximity body heat.
Yes of course it is do-able, but as I said it`s all about being comfortable.The cost may be prohibitive I don`t know yet.The guys on the next boat to us has just got new (to him), sports cruiser (from a yacht), and sitting in his saloon with it on was just bliss !.

 

[Hurricane]

We have just spent the first full summer continually on the boat here in Spain. I am waiting for an engineer to come and quote us for retro-fit. Why ? well although we had fans going pretty well all the time, it has got to be much more comfortable with it.
It was especially difficult for my wife, going through the hot flush syndrome and everything that that entails.We ended up sleeping in separate cabins (unless we had visitors), to avoid close proximity body heat.
Yes of course it is do-able, but as I said it`s all about being comfortable.The cost may be prohibitive I don`t know yet.The guys on the next boat to us has just got new (to him), sports cruiser (from a yacht), and sitting in his saloon with it on was just bliss !.

Definitely YES
But we also use fans in the cabins (12/24v wall mounted thingies) when at anchor throughout the night.
At anchor we give the batteries a 2 hour charge and whilst the generator is running - on goes the A/C (cabins mainly)
Then the rest of the night it is usually just fans.
But once we are in a marina - (Particularly July/Aug) the A/C goes on - virtually all the time.

Currently, I am typing this in our home marina - been very rainy today but the A/C has been on all day.

So get some A/C fitted - you won't regret it.

 

[RupertW]

I would agree with the others and have it, but use it considerately.

We don't (Adriatic and Ionian) and spend most on board nights at anchor and are comfortable almost all the time with open hatches and the odd bit of windscoop/fan use. However there are nights, particularly in marinas where I would love it.

The one thing that can spoil a cooling breeze at night, whether at anchor or in a marina, is somebody else's generator or airconditioning. So to those of you who charge your batteries then switch off generator at night - Thank you. Also those who ensure their aircons water ouflow isn't well above the waterline to provide a noisy water feature near the open hatches of those enjoying the fresh air.

But yes, a good thing to have if installed and used well.

 

[Portofino]

I would not be without it .
As others have said - also humans wake up above 23oC .
We run ours all Pm in the marina it's pretty quiet set at 19 oC -otherwise everyones a bit grumpy next day -sleep disturbance
At anchorage usually cooling breeze through open ports -but can Geny up as its got a super silent exhaust kit ,water exists below the W/ L so no burble and engine room extra sound proofing .
Guess these details depend on quality of the instal of both systems ?

Anchored 50 M from a Ferreti 83 on Saturday it's Geny was real loud and burbled as it rocked in the waves ( no stabs )
2m swimming Oppersite my Geny exist = no sound at all - We moved on as a result

 

[jfm]

I'd struggle without a/c in the Med. We use it most afternoons, but not overnight. On the "considerate" thing I'm constantly amazed how many a/c systems are installed with the seawater discharge above the w/line, so making a noise in the marina. The water discharge should be discharged under the w/line, then it is silent

 

[pan]

+1 definitely :encouragement:

 

[jrudge]

Above waterline discharge has always baffled me.

 

[jfm]

Here's that boat I love, only it has 150k btu worth of Niagara Falls a/c discharge about a foot and a half above the w'line, at the stern, so when you're in a marina you inflict maximum possible annoyance to the folks on your neighbour boat trying to have dinner on their aft deck.

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

I wouldn't be without aircon in the Med, even this year which has been a particularly cool year. If you're anchoring overnight its not essential but if you're in a marina, it's definitely worth having

 

[jimmy_the_builder]

I'd struggle without a/c in the Med. We use it most afternoons, but not overnight. On the "considerate" thing I'm constantly amazed how many a/c systems are installed with the seawater discharge above the w/line, so making a noise in the marina. The water discharge should be discharged under the w/line, then it is silent

Is there some reason why they install the raw water outlet above the waterline? Is it just to avoid another seacock or something? When I had mine retrofitted I wasn't given any choice at all about where the outlet should be, so they stuck it in the most convenient place for them - which is just above the waterline (like, an inch) but in the mid cabin, so a bit annoying for guests, let alone neighbours. If I was doing this again I agree it should be under the waterline as first choice, and outlet at the transom as second.

Ps to the OP, yes you need it. Unequivocally.

 

[jfm]

Is there some reason why they install the raw water outlet above the waterline? Is it just to avoid another seacock or something? When I had mine retrofitted I wasn't given any choice at all about where the outlet should be, so they stuck it in the most convenient place for them - which is just above the waterline (like, an inch) but in the mid cabin, so a bit annoying for guests, let alone neighbours. If I was doing this again I agree it should be under the waterline as first choice, and outlet at the transom as second.

Ps to the OP, yes you need it. Unequivocally.

I dunno what the thinking is. Yes, maybe to avoid a seacock, but if that is the reason then it needs to be balanced against inflicting discomfort on neighbours. The noise generally seems louder on the neighbour boat than the offending boat, especially when the neighbour boat is silent

If the answer is seacock avoidance, then the above w/line outlet should be fitted with a chute /cover/lid to take the discharge water down to below the w/line; that's a well tried method to eliminate the noise

As for one inch above w/line, you must surely have a seacock for that (?) and it is so close to w/line that it might as well be under it imho. I realise there is nothing you can easily do now; I'm ranting at builders and installers not customers who have been given this problem, and my ranting is prompted by comments such as Sammi's above when she said they felt need to turn their a/c off out of consideration for neighbours

 

[jimmy_the_builder]

I dunno what the thinking is. Yes, maybe to avoid a seacock, but if that is the reason then it needs to be balanced against inflicting discomfort on neighbours. The noise generally seems louder on the neighbour boat than the offending boat, especially when the neighbour boat is silent

If the answer is seacock avoidance, then the above w/line outlet should be fitted with a chute /cover/lid to take the discharge water down to below the w/line; that's a well tried method to eliminate the noise

As for one inch above w/line, you must surely have a seacock for that (?) and it is so close to w/line that it might as well be under it imho. I realise there is nothing you can easily do now; I'm ranting at builders and installers not customers who have been given this problem, and my ranting is prompted by comments such as Sammi's above when she said they felt need to turn their a/c off out of consideration for neighbours

Nope, definitely no seacock. It does have an angled outlet so that the water flows down the hull rather than straight out of the side of the boat - but you still get enough water splashiness to annoy my visitor neighbours on q2 in pv last summer (mind you, this was the same guy that had previously properly clouted my boat when attempting to reverse into the berth, so I'm afraid I was less than sympathetic to his complaints about my aircon). I don't understand why the chute thing can't be sufficiently long to exit under the waterline, as you've suggested.

What is the correct name for these angled skin fittings? Maybe I could just replace the one I've got with one with a longer spout.

Edit: Here's a picture of mine (taken when the boat was on the truck, about to leave the Hamble):

 

[jimmy_the_builder]

What is the correct name for these angled skin fittings? Maybe I could just replace the one I've got with one with a longer spout.

Answering my own question, perhaps - is it 'scupper'?