Air Cond on a 23.5?

[Jo]

I've heard alot about mermaid M5 installations on H26s and H260s, but has anyone thought about putting one on a 23.5? I was thinking about the possibility since you can get one for just about $300 (including install kit) more than a carry-on hatch type, and then you won't have to worry about lugging 70 lbs over the side everytime you want to be cool. My thoughts are to have the unit aft of the main berth on the port side, with ducting under the berth. But I wonder if there is enough clearance for the seacock/ ballvalve/ filter etc. between the hull and the berth. Any thoughts?

 

[Rick Webb]

I Thought About it Too

But not as much as you have it would seem. I was thinking of puttting it under the v berth. Ducting would then run along both sides with outlets in the aft berth as well. That was as far as I got.I ended up buying a hatch AC off of ebay from a guy in Pensacola for about $300 if I remember right. The great thing about that is I can use it when on the trailer as well. Let us know how your project goes I think we all have considered it on one of those sticky summer nights.

 

[Jonathan Costello]

Modified a window unit

I bought a 5,200 btu window unit and brought it to a sheet metal shop to have a plenum made. My plenum achieves the same as a cruisair but for less cost than even what Rick paid for his unit used (which was a good deal for a cruisair). The A/C unit cost $100 and the plenum cost about the same. The difference is that my plenum is insulated and was custom made to fit over and sit down in the recess of the forward hatch on my 23.5. Becasue my plenum is insulated, I have no condensation dripping down on my head when sleeping in the forward berth. I have heard this is a problem with using Cruisair units due to the "one size fits all" tent that goes with the unit. I had to modify the unit and reinforce it in places to make it "portable". It's a little bulky but is manageable for a guy like me at 5' 9" 160 lbs. I'll try to take some pictures next weekend and post in the projects section.