Sleep on hot boats

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oldvarnish

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Anybody with any Pacific or equatorial experience? I'm looking for advice on sleeping on boats when you're experiencing high night time temperatures - say, above 25C. Best bedding, fans, ventilation tips, that sort of thing
thanks
 
hatches hinged at the back so you get a flow of tradewind through the boat. Mozzie nets are useful in some places but not needed if you anchor a little way off the beach.
 
I use 230volt fans though an inverter when at anchor, much quieter than the Hella fans and also have the luxury of choosing the fan speed if you get 3 or 4 speed units as most are anyway. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
If you can get hold of Caframo 12 volt fans, they are the best, used by all of the charter fleets worldwide. They use just .4amp and give an awful lot of breeze. We have used them in our boats always and are in the USA at the moment with temperatures of 95F + in the high 70's at night. We actually get cold and have to use sheets with the fan on. They are about $40 here but we bought most of ours in UK. They are also quiet.
 
(Commercial declaration - we sell Caframo fans.)
We used them in Florida and the Caribbean and they are the best - powerful, 2-speed and quiet. You'll be amazed at what a difference a fan makes to comfort on board.

A wind scoop is a good idea - make sure you lock the base securely in the hatch so it doesn't rattle around noisily.

On ventilation, remember you need to create an air flow so make sure there is a way in and a way out for the breeze. In tropical climes heat is often accompanied by rain so an awning over the forehatch and the companionway helps.
 
While the boat is on the water, sleeping in hot climes has never been too much of a problem, except perhaps in one or two of the most sheltered anchorages surrounded by forest (mozzies are more troublesome than heat in such spots). You soon get aclimatised.

The heat can be more insufferable aboard during the day, as the sun beats down on the deck. I've found that good insulation helps as well as ventilation - I have 2" sheeting beneath the deck. A fridge and a fan unit are real plusses. My 12v fan unit draws 1.4A. Consider installing a security bar across your front hatch if you plan to leave it open with a wind-scoop.

If the boat is laid up ashore though it is a different story. In order to sleep aboard in Trinidad, I resorted to renting an air-conditioning unit for the boat.
 
This is our third season in the tropics. We rely heavily on Carframo fans, one at the foot of our berth, one over the saloon, one over the nav station, one at the galley and one in the aft cabin. They are very low power usage and as we have only a wind generator, KISS, on board that is vitally important. One trick we have is to keep a spray bottle, the sort for misting flowers, full of water by the berth. When things get really unbearable spray yourself down, lie under the fan and experience some minutes of cooling bliss!

We stow our dinghy upside down behid the mast. This gives great insulation and enables us to keep the two centre hatches open at all times when we are anchored out. It means we don't have to leap up and down everytime it rains, or worry about a big piece of sun awning if the wind gets up. It also means that the secuirty of our dinghy, often an issue in tropical anchorages, is never a problem. Bit of a pain sometimes to haul but we have got used to it and a couple of times when storms have blown up out of nowhere we have been very grateful for the discipline.

Keep all curtains drawn during the day and wash the decks, particularly if they are teak down, this will ower the temp in the boat a degree or two.

We tried aircon when we were at the dock but found that came with its own set of problems, high cost of running, very drying which encouraged eye infections and made adjusting to the ambient temperature a real problem when leaving the boat!

I only have pure cotton or linen sheets to sleep on. They don't look so wrinkle free as the mixture ones but they are much cooler. Pillows are synthetic so they can be washed regularly, nasty smells abound when it gets REALLY hot and sweaty.

Its 9am here in Guatemala, the internal temp on board is 84.7.External is 89.Humidity is 60%. Not too bad for the rainy season. I slept well!!

www.gerryantics.blogspot.com
 
I'm with Horatio.
I have both and believe the Hella produces more breeze - it's certainly more directional.
Downside is the two speed switches can be iffy and they are harder to clean.
I have Carafamos in the heads which is a great location.
Becuase the Carafamo has a spring loaded base for easy adjustment it can vibrate quite a lot - they seem to vary. But then so can Hella's sometimes.

As HoratioB says the white noise can be very handy if anchored near a disco!
 
Another vote for Hellas fans, of which we installed about 6 to push a good breeze through the boat. In the midsummer sun we always put a makeshift awning over the boom and even put tin foil in all the portlights to reflect the heat back (SWMBO's idea, with a few small holes punched in the foil to let light through). In the Chesapeake in July we just about kept the cabin to 80F with all this and the aircon on full in the marina. At anchor, I'm afraid, there were nights were you just couldn't move 'cos it was too sticky and there was no breeze at all. This is where a large shower and lots of water came in handy.
 
Read or heard somewhere about fitting 24v truck heater fans running off 12v - quiet, low current and will last forever; anyone tried this?
 
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