Where should I fit fans?

[Cardo]

We're prepping the boat for living aboard in the Med. I've bought three Caframo fans to fit to hopefully cool things down in the summer. The boat is a Southerly 105, so rear cabin, saloon/galley and forward cabin.

I was thinking of putting one fan in the rear cabin, one in the galley area and the other not fixed so can be moved around to suit.

Question 1 -
In the rear cabin, which is our master cabin, where would be the best location to place the fan? The master bunk is on the starboard side with head forward. The large ceiling hatch is port side aft.

Question 2 -
Is it worth having a fan in the galley? My thought was to have it in the corner blowing air towards the standing space so the cook gets a breeze.

Question 3 -
Should the fans be near an opening hatch, or does it not make a difference?

Thanks!

 

[B&M]

I tend to use fans only at night and site them so that they can be directed towards your head. The most important thing to consider when siting then is to locate it on a solid backing that will not resonate when the fan is rotating. I also have a stand alone 230v fan that I run occasionally via an inverter and is used in the galley. Some people in the med have wind scoops but I have found them pretty ineffective as there is little wind of a night.

 

[GrahamM376]

We don't bother with one in the aft cabin. Have a free standing 240v one which can be moved around, plugged in to the inverter and a 12v one which I clip on to the companionway to expel galley heat/fumes.

 

[TQA]

I liveaboard in the Caribbean and also use Caframo fans.

I set the ones in the bunks to blow on the chest area not the face, this seems to suite me.

I have two in the saloon that are can be adjusted. They are mounted on the centerline.

I do have another than can be plugged in and clipped on anywhere but rarely use it. However my boat does have 7 large front opening hatches so there is good natural airflow. I usely only need the fans on the rare nights the trades fall calm or it is raining.

 

[vyv_cox]

We only have one, in the galley. The cook would not be without it.

 

[rigpigpaul]

I have two in the fore/master cabin either side at chest height and one in each aft cabin again at chest height. We also have one in the galley which is a must for the cook. It may be worth buying a cheap 240volt stand alone fan for the very hot and humid days/nights. We used it several times while drinking our Sundowners in the cockpit then transferred it down below in the evening. It cost thirty pounds in Bodrum. Not bad between six of us.
RPP

 

[tokoloshe]

I use a wind scoop for general thu'flow of air but a solar powered galley vent is quite handy.

 

[jrudge]

I don't know of your chosen brand but in my experience 12 v fans are very noisy, whereas 240 are pretty silent.

 

[michael_w]

I've got 4 fans. Most used are a pair of Caframos in the saloon; they can be altered to blow at the settee berths or chart table and galley. There's another one above the main berth used when it is particularly muggy. Finally there's a Hella in the saloon, not used much as it's a bit noisy and SWMBO tends to park her handbag behind it.

If you fix them to the deckhead, make sure they are out range of your head! My saloon ones are shielded by posts.

 

[AndrewB]

I had several, but the only one I really used was above our bunk, at night.

 

[ccscott49]

I had 24v fans, computer fans, the lot! But now I run mains fans through inverter, they are quiet, much more powerful and use basically the same amount of amps, only use at night, daytime there is often a light breeze which is enough to cool one and with a couple of windscoops, cools the boat and keeps air circulating. Sorry, base meddy, Greek islands.

 

[vyv_cox]

We have experimented with the same idea. We have a mains fan that is excellent in the marina, bought when I was recovering from surgery. Since then I have experimented with it on a 600 W 12 volt inverter, where it seemed to perform very well. Power draw seems low but I didn't want to persevere with using it because the inverter supply does not go through the ammeter, so difficult to monitor usage.

 

[ccscott49]

We have experimented with the same idea. We have a mains fan that is excellent in the marina, bought when I was recovering from surgery. Since then I have experimented with it on a 600 W 12 volt inverter, where it seemed to perform very well. Power draw seems low but I didn't want to persevere with using it because the inverter supply does not go through the ammeter, so difficult to monitor usage.

I had a look at them, before I bought them. It states on the label 40w, so at 24volt, allowing a bit for losses, 2-2.5amps, which is what I saw on my battery monitor, not bad for a fan, which will blow you out the hatch! (on full chat)

 

[tri39]

Caframo's are hard to beat since they're quiet and finger safe. They also draw so little current that they can be left on all night.
One aimed at each bunk and one at the chart table. Also a much larger and noisier "lorry" fan at the galley, it does get used, especially when we return onboard in July/August.

 

[KellysEye]

We had them in the aft cabin, saloon and forecabin.

 

[sailinglegend420]

Forget about the crew - fit extractor fans in the engine compartment - especially if some ignorant boat builder has put your batteries in there.