We installed a 16000 webasto unit in the clothes closet starboard of our head. It works great in the Texas heat. It fit nicely, but woudn"t use smaller than 16000 in our heat.
1988 Catalina 30 mkII air conditioner installation
- Thread starter Alethea9
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If U are on a budget & can't afford the several thousand dollars of permanently installed a/c units in your C 30, then here is an alternative: I bought a free standing 11k btu unit for under $300 bucks & placed it to the side of the companionway steps. It works well, costs little, & the exhaust vent hose can easily run out between the companionway slats.
It is slightly bulky but does a good job of cooling at a budget price. Plus its easy to remove at the end of the season, or if you want to race & remove excess weight, etc.
the added benefit is we can take it home & use it elsewhere when the doldrums show up in August & there's no wind on the Cheasapeake. At first we tried to install a cheap window unit along the companionway opening. This failed miserably because of the crazy wide openings of this area, and the coachroof is also slanted towards the opening making stable mounting almost impossible. The stand alone / upright A.C. unit is really easy to vent & the moisture also blows out of the unit exhaust hose via evaporation. Cheers & thank God forthe invention of Air Conditioning!
It is slightly bulky but does a good job of cooling at a budget price. Plus its easy to remove at the end of the season, or if you want to race & remove excess weight, etc.
the added benefit is we can take it home & use it elsewhere when the doldrums show up in August & there's no wind on the Cheasapeake. At first we tried to install a cheap window unit along the companionway opening. This failed miserably because of the crazy wide openings of this area, and the coachroof is also slanted towards the opening making stable mounting almost impossible. The stand alone / upright A.C. unit is really easy to vent & the moisture also blows out of the unit exhaust hose via evaporation. Cheers & thank God forthe invention of Air Conditioning!
We tried the same stand up unit (Heier 9K btu) but ran into issues. The 1988 Mark II comes with a cockpit opening port that is above the quarter berth. We stood our unit up on the quarter berth (cushions removed of course) and vented out the exhaust through this port. Big issue at the start. The amount of heat coming off the vent hose is brutal! It was literally heating up the quarter berth and nulling out the cooling affect of the AC unit. Solution!? If you opt for cooling your boat with one of these stand up units, wherever you vent the exhaust line it pays to buy some inexpensive 4-inch wide foam wrap (blue) at Home Depot or Lowe's; wrap the extended hose with the wrap and seal all around with that aluminum vent tape. It made a major change in cabin temperature.
In Atlanta its extremely hot in the summers and although our stand up unit makes sleeping on the boat at night comfortable it could not do much for us as the sun got higher in the morning. We could not stay inside the cabin. Maybe the higher 11K btu might be better, but we concluded that the best way to get our boat cooled in the day and night was a central 16K btu unit that has been discussed here. Its a big cost compared to the stand up, window units or hatch models, but a central unit is the way to go if you can afford it. Its on our list but in the interim, if you do not plan on hanging out inside in the heat of the day and just want a comfortable night aboard at the dock, these other less expensive options might make more sense.
Bob
Mark II
"Breezin II"
In Atlanta its extremely hot in the summers and although our stand up unit makes sleeping on the boat at night comfortable it could not do much for us as the sun got higher in the morning. We could not stay inside the cabin. Maybe the higher 11K btu might be better, but we concluded that the best way to get our boat cooled in the day and night was a central 16K btu unit that has been discussed here. Its a big cost compared to the stand up, window units or hatch models, but a central unit is the way to go if you can afford it. Its on our list but in the interim, if you do not plan on hanging out inside in the heat of the day and just want a comfortable night aboard at the dock, these other less expensive options might make more sense.
Bob
Mark II
"Breezin II"
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