Be cool, bro

[Phil Herring]

It's 2019, and whether you're in Nome or Nassau, it's hot!

How do you keep your boat cool?

AC? Fans? Anchored out with open hatches and a wind scoop?

A cold beer?

Share your frostiest tips here.

 

[Boomer54]

A/C, fans, boom tent on dock. Take her out on Lake Michigan for sale. Current water temp 54! Went out yesterday and our guests put on light jackets!

 

[DougM]

At the dock, my boat faces into the prevailing wind. Opening the forward hatches and the cabin access provides a cool breeze through the cabin. We are just adjacent to Lake Michigan which really moderates the air temp. By the way the lake “turned over” yesterday and the water temperature dropped 20 degrees. We always keep sweatshirts and windbreakers aboard.

 

[Charlie Jones s/v Tehani]

open hatches (with screens) and fans. But then I don't use AC at the house so no big deal

 

[Ken Cross]

Puget Sound stays cool, so at least the boat cools down so we can sleep at night. In fact, we often need to fire up some heat in the morning to get the admiral out of bed. On rare occasions when it gets too hot during the day we put up an umbrella, improvise shade, find a tree onshore, or just put up with it. We've been known to visit a local library for some reading in the ac.

Ken

 

[Hayden Watson]

Phil, you didn't have the best answer. Sail in the PNW!

 

[ToddS]

One of the perks of moorings vs docks (imho)... always facing into the wind. My Beneteau 373 has 5 opening hatches, and 4 opening portholes (and obviously a companionway). With everything open we get pretty good circulation even out of light breezes... I have one wind-scoop for the fwd hatch to boost the breeze a bit if it is really still, and though I've never used them there are also some scoops for the portholes as well left on board by the P.O. And if all else fails, a swim platform. Technically we have a few fans aboard too, but I never use them. P.O. was much farther south, and had more cooling needs than I do.

 

[TomY]

Sailed down to Belfast Maine. Air, 82F, water 72F. I can’t keep them out of the water.

 

[jssailem]

@TomY It is almost no fair. You got wet dogs in your picture. Of course you going to get liked... They are just so cute.

 

[Captain Larry-DH]

@jssailem I liked your post, too. It was a “sympathy like”.

 

[Allowishish]

at the dock we have a box fan that we place in the open hatch. Push or pull depending on wind direction.

It cools it off enough to sleep at night... most nights it gets turned off.

Boom tent on at anchor or in the marina.

Sailing, I put the swim ladder down and climb in and hold on.

 

[TomY]

The only boat in a wide open and flat calm anchorage on the eggemoggin reach at dawn, i realize the sun awning has been up continuously for three days. We’ve done all our sailing just off the wind so I have yet to even raise the mainsail after nearly a week out.

We’ve been sort of shadowing the classic boat race circuit taking photos and going slowly in typical ‘5 to 10’ summer winds. We left the racers to their battle glad to run the engine to make hot water for deck showers and find a good spot to beach comb.
We like to feast on the water.

Warmest water so far was in Belfast harbor. 72F. That kept the Celts (sisters) happy for hours.

 

[Will Gilmore]

Living aboard as a kid in the 70s, we didn't have AC onboard. Our bunks were vinyl and our portlights were small. We had a wind scoop for the main cabin, but in the aft cabin, where I slept, I would take a box fan, set it at the head of my bunk, then wrap my sheet around it and lay on the edges. It filled with air and billowed up around me with moving air. Pretty good relief from the Florida Gulf Coast Summer temps. I couldn't sleep at night like that, too much fighting with my brothers over the fan, so sweat was how I kept cool at night. Sleeping on vinyl cushions in sweat is really the way to keep a 13 year old cool.

-Will (Dragonfly)