AC Installation
Moderator: Jim Walsh
AC Installation
I would like to install air contitioning on my CD27 Troika. Something temporary that I could plug in at dockside. I am thinking of a small unit fitted in the companionway. I would use shore power. Any thoughts out there?
Re: AC Installation
My boat came with a Cruise Air unit that fits over the hatch above the main cabin. The controls are on the bottom of the unit so you can control it from inside. I think they are out there on the used market. Mine works great but I'll never use it. Not sure of model numbers right now but I've seen them at marine flea markets. Won't mess up your companionway either.
CD 30 MkII Hull # 8
Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Re: AC Installation
also the cruise air AC is easier to handle .. if you want to unload it from the boat to go sailing. i had one of these once and they do indeed work well.
Re: AC Installation
I used to have a free standing a/c unit that had a condensation hose going to the bilge and a large vent (almost like a dryer vent) fitted to a port light. Very easy to store while sailing and set up at the dock.
In retrospect I should have paid a little more and gotten a unit that both heated and cooled, but I got a lot of use out of it in the hot humid North Carolina summers.
In retrospect I should have paid a little more and gotten a unit that both heated and cooled, but I got a lot of use out of it in the hot humid North Carolina summers.
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frankfurder
- Posts: 125
- Joined: Feb 11th, '06, 11:47
- Location: Cape Dory 25dLake Grapevine, Texas
Re: AC Installation
I got a cruise air unit with the 25d, does work well but was too heavy to manhandle to the forward hatch by myself. Got a window unit that sits on a small frame it fits in the companionway, easier to lift out of the quarter berth. With a plywood dropboard it seals out the Texas heat pretty well, could have better insulation if I used it much.
The condensation that accumulates can be messy when moving back to the quarter berth.
The condensation that accumulates can be messy when moving back to the quarter berth.
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wikakaru
- Posts: 837
- Joined: Jan 13th, '18, 16:19
- Location: 1980 Typhoon #1697 "Dory"; 1981 CD22 #41 "Arietta"
Re: AC Installation
I used to live aboard in Florida and have had several different air conditioning setups over the years. I have used small residential window units in both the companionway and forward hatch, a Carry-On over the forward hatch and cabin top hatch, and a fully installed belowdecks marine A/C unit. They each have their pros and cons.
A window unit in the companionway hatch is the cheapest and easiest way to go--you can probably drop one in place with no additional parts needed except perhaps a 2x4 on the bridge deck to support the back end of the air conditioner. The problem with this setup is that it is a real pain to climb over it every time you get in and out of the boat, especially if you have a dodger that keeps you from being able to just slide the hatch open and step inside from directly above. If you are going this route, look for a unit where the side slide-out panels that are meant to fill the air gap of the open window can be adjusted differently at top and bottom to fit the angle of your companionway sides, otherwise you will have to fabricate your own wedge-shaped panels to fill the air gaps. The advantage of putting the unit in the companionway is that the noisy unit is farther from the V-berth so it is quieter when you sleep.
I think the CD27 has a hatch on the cabin top, and you could also fit a unit there, though this would be harder. You'd have to rig up a support for the A/C unit on the foredeck and rig up some kind of "lean-to" out of either canvas or plywood to keep the rain out of the hatch. The CruiseAir Carry-On mentioned by Frankfurder has its own canvas "lean-to" cover built-in. I don't know if they are made anymore though.
Another option is an RV style overhead unit fitted over the cabin-top hatch rather than the companionway. I've never used one myself, but it seems like a good choice if you want an A/C unit that blows air downward instead of having to rig diverters for a standard window unit. This assumes that your hatch can flip all the way open to allow one of these units to sit on top. I suspect that isn't the case on your boat, though.
The big drawback with all of these solutions is that if you sail very often you have to remove the A/C unit before you go sailing. The more impediments you have to going sailing, the less often you actually go. But it beats sweltering to death. If you wanted to make it easier to go sailing, you could consider storing a window unit on the dock and rig up some kind of ducting to run the output through a vent hose and through a dorade vent (if you have one). This would make it easier to go sailing--just remove the duct from the dorade--but it introduces a slew of other problems (like you can't control the settings from inside the boat).
Assuming you don't have a dodger or you have a dodger that can be folded down, I'd go with a residential window unit in the companionway for a CD27. Cheap and easy, if a little inconvenient.
Smooth sailing,
Jim
A window unit in the companionway hatch is the cheapest and easiest way to go--you can probably drop one in place with no additional parts needed except perhaps a 2x4 on the bridge deck to support the back end of the air conditioner. The problem with this setup is that it is a real pain to climb over it every time you get in and out of the boat, especially if you have a dodger that keeps you from being able to just slide the hatch open and step inside from directly above. If you are going this route, look for a unit where the side slide-out panels that are meant to fill the air gap of the open window can be adjusted differently at top and bottom to fit the angle of your companionway sides, otherwise you will have to fabricate your own wedge-shaped panels to fill the air gaps. The advantage of putting the unit in the companionway is that the noisy unit is farther from the V-berth so it is quieter when you sleep.
I think the CD27 has a hatch on the cabin top, and you could also fit a unit there, though this would be harder. You'd have to rig up a support for the A/C unit on the foredeck and rig up some kind of "lean-to" out of either canvas or plywood to keep the rain out of the hatch. The CruiseAir Carry-On mentioned by Frankfurder has its own canvas "lean-to" cover built-in. I don't know if they are made anymore though.
Another option is an RV style overhead unit fitted over the cabin-top hatch rather than the companionway. I've never used one myself, but it seems like a good choice if you want an A/C unit that blows air downward instead of having to rig diverters for a standard window unit. This assumes that your hatch can flip all the way open to allow one of these units to sit on top. I suspect that isn't the case on your boat, though.
The big drawback with all of these solutions is that if you sail very often you have to remove the A/C unit before you go sailing. The more impediments you have to going sailing, the less often you actually go. But it beats sweltering to death. If you wanted to make it easier to go sailing, you could consider storing a window unit on the dock and rig up some kind of ducting to run the output through a vent hose and through a dorade vent (if you have one). This would make it easier to go sailing--just remove the duct from the dorade--but it introduces a slew of other problems (like you can't control the settings from inside the boat).
Assuming you don't have a dodger or you have a dodger that can be folded down, I'd go with a residential window unit in the companionway for a CD27. Cheap and easy, if a little inconvenient.
Smooth sailing,
Jim