Question For Warm Climate C-Dory Owners...

[Byrdman]

As another 12 month of the year boater.... if you are going to sleep comfortably often, and I mean sleep...not pass out, I, again....I want and need the AC. The 1st summer I used the fans blowing over the ice chest with damp towel on my chest gig.... and it was OK, and much better than no ice and just the fans blowing.... Originaly desinged for one of the Mermaid AC units and an on board generator, we were going to put the "box" under the sink area. Then, in Nov/Dec03 when Les was putting the "cruise package" on my boat, some of the parts for the duct work were not available....thus, we made the descision to simply send what had come in back....and forgo the AC and generator at the time. On summer #2, I had a brain dump one morning while laying in the bunk dripping in the humidity, looking out the aft window opening...and thought .... just build an AC stand like the TV stands used in the briefing rooms, and point it into the window. It worked great...and the "proto-type" stand and window unit can be seen in the FreeByrd photo albumn on this site. Got $118 invested, it can be removed during the cooler moths of the years, (need AC for about 4-5months), ZERO HOLES were drilled ANYWHERE in the boat for mounting/dismounting. All accomplished with multi-bungee cords, a bit of foam, a bit of duct tape...which can look neat and clean with about an hour of time..... Now, for year #2 of AC, I plan to have the stand moved to the port aft window as to allow for very clear view of both motors which is needed for backing down on items, and particuarly for backing into slips at the marina and water restruants... the unit in the starboard window looses much rear view....and the big open door and starboard window allow for clear rear view while backing in. Alos, with a bit of adjustment on the stand, I can put the 2nd smallest Big Green Egg Smoker/Grill in it and out of view until I need to roll it out at anchor for grilling. The extra shelves in the cockpit will be nice too. Yes, the door will not be able to fold all the way back, but a few trial runs with a basic cardboard box configuration the size of the overall cabinet with the AC and Egg enclosed, proved to be fine. The wash down may need to be moved to the starboard side but maybe not....

Then....these newer upgrades that use less power are now on the market....so here goes all the thinking and plotting again.... I do/did have to dismount the unit while towing down the highway. The ride on the trailer is simply much too ruff to leave that much weight that high up without being bolted down...and permanatly mounted....

As far as AC when underway.... well..... the 5000 BTU was not enough to "recover" on a hot, 95 degree day, with 85% humidity, the slanted windshield "green house" effect on the current TC24 design...without sunscreens..... but, I really just want it for a good nights rest. Other thoughts ideas on cooling my boat underway include cutting a hole (I hate cutting and drilling holes on boats) amid the captains chair and the forward facing dinette seat for a 2nd Bomar hatch. This can be done much less exspensive than the $1000 opening center windshield for he TC24. For "MY USE"...just another foward facing hatch would "drive/route" the air flow down into the cabin rather nicely ....especially underway.

Bottom line for this C-Dory owner....it THERE WILL BE AC !!

[Sneaks]

In the past 2-3 years, portable home a/c units have hit the market that may be much more suitable for the C-Dory crowd than permanently installed units. This unit is both affordable and capable of being powered by either shore power or the ever popular EU2000 Honda generator.

Were we to go cruising in the high humidity/heat areas I'd latch onto one in a heartbeat. At least it could be used at home for spot cooling a bedroom while not in use on the boat.

Don

[Sam Walker]

Sneaks, nice find

[Sea Wolf]

Sneaks / Don-

Great possibilities!

Set this baby on the cockpit floor on the starboard side and duct it in, underneath, and through the galley. Remove it in the cooler part of the year. Less wasted space inside. Do you suppose it would start on a Honda 1000i?

Says it uses 620 watts, or 6 amps, but (as I rememberr it) the start up load can be as much as 2.5 times the running load. Wonder if it would start on the low setting and the resulting start up load would be less? Would be worth asking the manufactuer's technical rep!

With this kind of new stuff becoming available for so much less, you could go out and buy the "perfect" set up one day and find out you overpaid by 2-4X for a semi-outdated solution a few months down the road. Kinda like facing the question of whether to buy the latest computer/marine electronics/gatdegorama product. Hot seller today, garage sale item tomorrow! Hmmmmmm...............?

Thanks for the post--too bad we won't see ya' in Seattle! Joe.

[Sneaks]

Joe, I've had good luck starting and running a 13,500 btu Dometic A/C in my 5th wheel using an EU2000, as have other RV'ers, but usually only at or near sea level, so I know it will start and run the 7500 btu unit handily. Yer right - it's the initial start that's the killer and I just don't think the 1000 will have the cajones to get past that initial surge. Ya never know though, folks said the EU2000 would never work on the 13.5's but they do. Kinda like the bumblebee shouldn't fly but it does?

The 16 X 16 footprint of that particular A/C does have potential and any excess evap water can just drain into the bilge pump pocket via tubing.

Yah, I really would like to hit up the show/party, meet the folks and maybe score a hat. My dealer didn't come through and now he sells Cape Crusaders so I'm SOL there.

Have fun at the show, Joe.

Don

[ccflyer]

From a newbie -

It would be nice to find some kind of EFFECTIVE cooling in the pilot house. I don't expect to be camping overnight like many members but I would like my weekend days experience to be "cool". So what's the scoop on this link found over at the other site?
http://www.swampy.net/s154page.html

BTW: I love the hunky dory installation and am green with envy on the owners life style - except during the hurricane season.