Betty Ann moves to a wet slip and new home in Mystic, CT

[C-Nile]

We had our boat in valet storage for the past seven seasons, but we eventually felt unduly constrained, having to vacate the dock within one hour of launch to become a transient at a local marina. The season was May 1 through October 15, which was short for our type of boat. So we moved to a wet slip in Mystic, CT, and lengthened our season by approximately 6 weeks. This means we had to undercoat our hull with ablative paint.

We had installed shore power with three GFI outlets, a Smart-plug and outlet, power distribution panel, and an onboard battery charger.

I got tired of moving a portable A/C in and out of the side window, so we had installed a Dometic Durasea roof-top A/C unit. We don’t think it spoils the look of the boat, and it does not appear to have had an appreciable effect on the boat’s stability. The Dometic was the smallest rooftop A/C unit we could find; why don’t they make smaller units? We had considered other options, but we did not want to punch a hole through the bottom of the boat, and we did not want to take up valuable space inside the cabin with ducts and associated equipment. Our boat is now uncluttered. The rooftop A/C does prevent the radar from seeing directly behind us, but we can see the flanks of the boat just fine. In the future, we may elect to raise the radar dome above the A/C unit, but then again, we are only going to venture away from our slip 4 or 5 times, and only in good travel conditions during the day. We’ll see.

We removed our Tohatsu kicker. We have SeaTow in our area, and we have abandoned our gunkholing aspirations. So in the event of a major engine failure, we will call them; they are fantastic. The kicker has given us a lot of grief. The carburetor has been fouled by ethanol for years. I spoke with a mechanic about this, and he recommended using no-ethanol gasoline that you buy in a can. Where was he with this sage advice 9 years ago? But it is costly to maintain an extra engine we may never again use, and we are glad to rid ourselves of it.

We removed our Wallas stove; we didn’t like the diesel smell. So we installed a utensil tray underneath the countertop, and an 18” by 22” cutting board on top to cover the hole, and lift up to gain access to the utensil tray. We have gone all electric — appliances, and a Caframo heater.

We don’t want to move the dinette rear seat cushion at night to extend the berth, so we made a spare cushion out of 1/2” plywood, 4” high density foam and Sunbrella fabric. It fits like a glove, and stays in place most of the time except while underway.

Getting back to the removal of the kicker—it really helped in leveling the trim of the boat. I discovered by accident late last year that with no water in the bow tank and no anchor or rode, it was very hard to trim the boat to optimal levels even with full engine tilt and trim tabs. I have a hunch that in head seas or a heavy chop, it will be easier to keep the bow down and maintain proper trim now that the kicker has been removed. Now I see why people use Permatrim.

This is our 9th season with the Betty Ann (production hull 0001). She looks nearly as new as the day we bought her, but alas, she is going to take a beating from the sun now that she is no longer in a boat valet storage facility.

 

[ssobol]

...The Dometic was the smallest rooftop A/C unit we could find; why don’t they make smaller units? We had considered other options, but we did not want to punch a hole through the bottom of the boat, and we did not want to take up valuable space inside the cabin with ducts and associated equipment. .../quote]

Did you look at this one?

https://www.dometic.com/en/se/products/ ... 0-_-151912

It is a bit smaller, but may not be available in 120 power.

 

[C-Nile]

Yes, I did consider this unit, but it is for RV units. I wanted one that was hardened for the harsh marine environment. If our boat was used in fresh water that would be a different story. The unit you mentioned is less expense (our unit was $2,800 + tax,) and it would have worked great, but for how long? Like I said in the post, the boat will be spending 7 months in the wet slip, and then in outside storage over the winter. Another factor is that Long Island Sound is very shallow, and like areas in Florida, we have higher salinity levels than the ocean due to evaporation in our shallow waters. All these factors made me opt for the marine version. On the negative side, the unit we chose is large (15,000 btu) for a small space, and will not remove humidity as well as a less powerful unit that runs for longer periods of time.

Back to my original question: why don’t they make a marine version of the unit you mentioned?

 

[jennykatz]

We just put on a Coleman 9200 Mach 8. It will run on a 2000 Honda and it was about $800 which I installed with the help of some young men to hoist it to the roof The hardest part was cutting into the roof .We got rid of our Wallas also put on a alcohol elec stove top Jim

 

[C-Nile]

We just put on a Coleman 9200 Mach 8. It will run on a 2000 Honda and it was about $800... Jim

Jim, do you trailer your boat, or do you keep it in a marine environment? If the former case, then I could see where it would be a very sensible choice. I’m wondering, too, if Sobelle is trailering their boat. The Coleman unit is considerably lighter than our Dometic at 1/3 its cost. But if the latter is the case, and it’s constantly exposed to a marine environment, it might not stand up well over time. On the other hand, say it lasts only 3 years; one could buy one $800 Coleman unit every three years three times, and still not equal the cost of the Dometic—provided you do the labor yourself. Factor in labor costs, and it makes more sense to have a longer lasting unit. Our boat is never trailered and it’s constantly in a Marine environment. I must confess that if we trailered the boat, we would go with an RV unit for sure like you and Sobelle.

 

[thataway]

There is a long track record of the Army Corp of engineers using standard RV units for air conditioning their work boats which run in the ICW and harbors. I know of a number of RV units which last many years on boat in salt water. My Trawler had a standard RV unit on the flying bridge roof, and had been in service over 8 years, all in salt water.

As far as salinity--you may want to re-check on that one. It depends on what part of the LIS you are in. There are rivers influx and tides to consider. But many parts have less salinity than the average ocean water (Which may vary from place to place.)

I have been comfortable using the RV type of AC on boats. Each can make his own assessment if the "Marine" units are any longer lived or better. I would argue that 15,000 BTU AC unit on a 23 foot boat is way over kill.

 

[C-Nile]

Hello Dr. Bob, it is nice to converse with you again.

Firstly, I agree with you on your salinity statement. It all depends on where one is moored on the Sound. There are areas where fresh water from the CT River mixes with the Sound, which would result in decreased salinity levels. On the other hand, there are very shallow areas with increased salinity. This of course is a side issue. You and I both know how corrosive salt water is to metal parts. Over time, exposure to salt water will cause an unprotected RV unit to deteriorate, but this is hard to quantify. You mentioned that you and the army have had good luck with RV rooftop units in the past; I believe you. But is past experience relevant? This is not a challenge, but a honest question. So many parts are outsourced to China these days; household appliances used to last for 30 years; today you would consider yourself lucky to achieve 10 years of life. So perhaps the old RV A/C units were well built in the past — is that still true today? The coils, the bearings, the wiring — what has changed? I don’t know the answer, but if you can technically and objectively assure the readers that nothing has substantially changed in RV A/C unit construction, then I would say you are absolutely correct. It will be of benefit to many readers on this forum to achieve a definitive understanding as to which way to go: RV or Salt Water hardened. We all should report our results in the future and compare notes. If you are right, people will be saved considerable expense. But we must compare apples to apples. If a person trailers their boat, it makes sense to go RV as I had stated, but that is not relevant to our discussion. If one’s boat sits in salt water for up to 7 months a year, will a Marine A/C unit fare better than a typical RV rooftop unit? Let’s reset the counter with units purchased and sitting in the marina for the last 5 years.

I do agree with you totally that 15K is way overkill. We really only need 8,000 btu. Our 5,000 btu window unit barely kept up with the load on hot days, but I think 8K would be a perfect fit for the area. Our 15K unit will not get the excess humidity out of the air as a smaller unit, and it is quite energy consumptive.

So again I ask the question: why don’t manufacturers make smaller Marine rooftop A/C’s? I think I know the answer to that one: there is no market for it. My wife and I did not want to give up the dinette storage bin and have ductwork extending into the cabin ( that takes up valuable space ) in order to accommodate efficient marine heat pumps that use less than 20% of the energy of that hog that sits on top of our boat’s roof. And we did not want to put a hole through the floor pan and hull (ughh!)

The Marinaut is a 21.5-foot boat. Maximization of space that is uncluttered is essential toward making the boat livable, both physically and psychologically. My entry explained the approach my wife and I took, but everyone’s needs are different. Thank you for you great feedback,

Rich