I am planning to purchase and install central air in my 340. When it is too hot to sail and no wind in July we will use Wind Drift for a condo. I have seen some Hunters have Marine Air units. I looked at various manufacturers and I like the construction of Mermaid units that I saw. I would like to know if anyone could relate their experience with Mermaid air systems or recommend others. Thanks for your help.
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Wynn Ferrel
Using Cruiseair
Wayne, We have installed a 16,000 BTU Cruiseair system in our 340. Runs fine. I like the temp controls very much. Very few problems that are not owner induced. :-] Must remember to open the seacocks before turning on the unit. Forgetting to do so, will cause airlocks in the system and take forever to clear. (Best way is to reverse to the other side, i.e. from heat to cool to clear.) Additional comments: 1. Don't go less than 16k. You'll need the larger unit in the 340. 2. My dealer installed under the starboard setee in front of the nav station. He ran the duct (be sure to use *** insulated *** ducting) forward to the v-berth under the starboard setee: aft, under the nav station, through the head under the sink and behind the head into the storage locker in the head, and into the aft cabin. He then built a teak box to hide the duct under the nav station. Cuts down on leg room under the nav station desk -- but it's no big deal. 3. The unit cools/heats the main saloon just fine. Frankly, the aft cabin is disappointing. Just not enough volume of cool/heated air entering such a large space to do much good. Couple that with the heat gain or cooling from the outside temps and the sun hitting the stern of the boat in the summer and you have an impossible situation for such a small unit. Our stern faces the afternoon sun so in the late afternoon it gets pretty hot back there -- not to mention getting the waste holding tank good and hot. Bottom line --- I couldn't live without one. What ever cooling and heating is missing from the aft cabin can be supplimented with a fan or a small ceramic heater. Let me know if you have any further questions. Hope you and the boat have recovered from the effects of the hurricane. Warm holiday wishes, Wynn Ferrel S/V Tranquility
Wayne, We have installed a 16,000 BTU Cruiseair system in our 340. Runs fine. I like the temp controls very much. Very few problems that are not owner induced. :-] Must remember to open the seacocks before turning on the unit. Forgetting to do so, will cause airlocks in the system and take forever to clear. (Best way is to reverse to the other side, i.e. from heat to cool to clear.) Additional comments: 1. Don't go less than 16k. You'll need the larger unit in the 340. 2. My dealer installed under the starboard setee in front of the nav station. He ran the duct (be sure to use *** insulated *** ducting) forward to the v-berth under the starboard setee: aft, under the nav station, through the head under the sink and behind the head into the storage locker in the head, and into the aft cabin. He then built a teak box to hide the duct under the nav station. Cuts down on leg room under the nav station desk -- but it's no big deal. 3. The unit cools/heats the main saloon just fine. Frankly, the aft cabin is disappointing. Just not enough volume of cool/heated air entering such a large space to do much good. Couple that with the heat gain or cooling from the outside temps and the sun hitting the stern of the boat in the summer and you have an impossible situation for such a small unit. Our stern faces the afternoon sun so in the late afternoon it gets pretty hot back there -- not to mention getting the waste holding tank good and hot. Bottom line --- I couldn't live without one. What ever cooling and heating is missing from the aft cabin can be supplimented with a fan or a small ceramic heater. Let me know if you have any further questions. Hope you and the boat have recovered from the effects of the hurricane. Warm holiday wishes, Wynn Ferrel S/V Tranquility
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Wynn Ferrel
Using Cruisair supplement
Almost forgot. The main salon air vent in on top of the hanging locker aft of the nav station next to the hull and the air intake is in the seatee facing the table. Wynn Ferrel S/V Tranquility
Almost forgot. The main salon air vent in on top of the hanging locker aft of the nav station next to the hull and the air intake is in the seatee facing the table. Wynn Ferrel S/V Tranquility
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Mike Kinney
Marine Air System is good
Ihave basically the same setup as Wynn described. The Marine Air unit sits in the starboard locker forward of the nav station. The digital control is at the nav station. The thru hull is located in the main bilge area on the starboard side. The 16,000 btu unit works effectively to cool our 340 in the heat of summer and to warm it up in the winter. Like Wynn, we have vents in the main cabin, forward and aft cabins--all on the starboard side. So far this unit has operated trouble free with the exception of one loose hose clamp. My advice is to not go smaller than 16,000 BTUs. However, I can see no reason for a larger unit either.
Ihave basically the same setup as Wynn described. The Marine Air unit sits in the starboard locker forward of the nav station. The digital control is at the nav station. The thru hull is located in the main bilge area on the starboard side. The 16,000 btu unit works effectively to cool our 340 in the heat of summer and to warm it up in the winter. Like Wynn, we have vents in the main cabin, forward and aft cabins--all on the starboard side. So far this unit has operated trouble free with the exception of one loose hose clamp. My advice is to not go smaller than 16,000 BTUs. However, I can see no reason for a larger unit either.
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Jim Vincent
Mermaid's O.K.
Wayne, about 5 years ago i had a 28.5 and installed a self-contained reverse cycle Mermaid unit with an electronic programable thermostat. it worked great and they were very helpfull. good luck. Jim Vincent, Toucan
Wayne, about 5 years ago i had a 28.5 and installed a self-contained reverse cycle Mermaid unit with an electronic programable thermostat. it worked great and they were very helpfull. good luck. Jim Vincent, Toucan
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Wayne Estabrooks
Thanks !
Jim, Mike & Wynn, Thanks for all your responses. I sincerely appreciate the advice. I installed the thru hull while the boat was out of the water undergoing repairs sustained from hurricane Floyd. I installed it on the starboard side about 8 inches from the keel in the bilge area. Measured several times and then drilled a small pilot hole and then 1 inch hole saw for the 3/4 in. thru-hull. I am going to look at a friend's 340 that has a Marine Airr installed.
Jim, Mike & Wynn, Thanks for all your responses. I sincerely appreciate the advice. I installed the thru hull while the boat was out of the water undergoing repairs sustained from hurricane Floyd. I installed it on the starboard side about 8 inches from the keel in the bilge area. Measured several times and then drilled a small pilot hole and then 1 inch hole saw for the 3/4 in. thru-hull. I am going to look at a friend's 340 that has a Marine Airr installed.
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Ed Schenck
Why a thru-hull?
Sorry to ask this question after Wayne drilled a 1" hole in his boat. But why could you not 'T' off an existing water inlet? Seems like the head flush or engine cooling inlets would be sufficiently large.
Sorry to ask this question after Wayne drilled a 1" hole in his boat. But why could you not 'T' off an existing water inlet? Seems like the head flush or engine cooling inlets would be sufficiently large.
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Wynn Ferrel
I mispoke. Have a Marineair
Wayne, I mispoke. After thinking about it, I am pretty certain that I have a Marineair. The manual is on the boat some two hours away and I was going from memory. Sorry, Wynn
Wayne, I mispoke. After thinking about it, I am pretty certain that I have a Marineair. The manual is on the boat some two hours away and I was going from memory. Sorry, Wynn
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Wayne Estabrooks
Need for Thru-Hull
Ed, I considered teeing off an existing water intake such as the head pickup. The engine intake and holding tank overboard discharge are at the other end of the boat from where the AC unit will be located. There is a requirement also that the thru hull be located near the centerline of the boat. (Marine Air Website has good information on installation requirements.) This is because when the boat heels the water in the inlet to the pump would drain out. The pump is not self priming and the air would have to be bled out to start it again. There are other complications with sharing an existing thru hull. Even though you only use the AC while tied up and connected to shore power the loss of prime would add another complication. The head pickup or sink drain were not near the centerline of the boat and I sometimes hear them gurgling while sailing so I know they come out of the water when heeling. So I made the decision to add another thru-hull. Hunters factory AC installations also show a thru-hull in the approximate location that I put it. I really did think long and hard about it. I have not ordered the unit but will do it soon. Thanks for your input.
Ed, I considered teeing off an existing water intake such as the head pickup. The engine intake and holding tank overboard discharge are at the other end of the boat from where the AC unit will be located. There is a requirement also that the thru hull be located near the centerline of the boat. (Marine Air Website has good information on installation requirements.) This is because when the boat heels the water in the inlet to the pump would drain out. The pump is not self priming and the air would have to be bled out to start it again. There are other complications with sharing an existing thru hull. Even though you only use the AC while tied up and connected to shore power the loss of prime would add another complication. The head pickup or sink drain were not near the centerline of the boat and I sometimes hear them gurgling while sailing so I know they come out of the water when heeling. So I made the decision to add another thru-hull. Hunters factory AC installations also show a thru-hull in the approximate location that I put it. I really did think long and hard about it. I have not ordered the unit but will do it soon. Thanks for your input.
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Wynn Ferrel
Dedicated thru hull for A/C
I think you need a dedicated thru hull if you intend to use the heat side of the heat pump. If you teed off of the head intake, you would have to re-winterize the intake line of the head after using the heat. It is enough trouble as it is to rewinterize the heat pump. While we are on that subject, and hopefully Wayne is still reading this ---- I had my dealer (at his suggestion) install a pickup hose with another seacock so that if I wanted to winterized the AC/Heat pump I just do the following: Close the seacock of the seawater inlet hose. Open the seacock on the pickup hose that is teed into the water intake line and before the filter. Place a funnel in the end of the hose. Turn on the Heat pump. Pour one gallon of pink anti-freeze into the system. (System won't suck it out of the bottle without causing airlocks in the system.) Turn off the unit (before the system sucks air) and close the seacocks. System is winterized. Hope this helps. Wynn Ferrel S/V Tranquility
I think you need a dedicated thru hull if you intend to use the heat side of the heat pump. If you teed off of the head intake, you would have to re-winterize the intake line of the head after using the heat. It is enough trouble as it is to rewinterize the heat pump. While we are on that subject, and hopefully Wayne is still reading this ---- I had my dealer (at his suggestion) install a pickup hose with another seacock so that if I wanted to winterized the AC/Heat pump I just do the following: Close the seacock of the seawater inlet hose. Open the seacock on the pickup hose that is teed into the water intake line and before the filter. Place a funnel in the end of the hose. Turn on the Heat pump. Pour one gallon of pink anti-freeze into the system. (System won't suck it out of the bottle without causing airlocks in the system.) Turn off the unit (before the system sucks air) and close the seacocks. System is winterized. Hope this helps. Wynn Ferrel S/V Tranquility
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Joe Knapp
Another two cents
I had a Marineair 12,000 installed in my 98' 340. Although I hear others say not to go below 16,000, I have to say I am pleased with the 12. Mine is installed in the starboard setee and is ducted fore and aft as others have described. A key to maintaining maximum air flow to the aft cabin is to limit the turns in the ductwork as much as possible. I found a lot of unnecessary slack in the hose going through the hanging locker in the head. My unit just fit into the setee. I don't know the dimensions of the 16 but make sure it will fit. With reference to Wynn's comment about winterizing, I tried a new approach this year. I simply closed the through hull and removed the plastic globe around the raw water strainer. Gravity drained most of the water out of the A/C unit and the pump. Using a small piece of tubing from my home aquarium I then blew into the discharge line from outside the boat. I think I cleared 90% of the water but to be sure I poured some pink stuff into the discharge line until it came out of the raw water strainer. No need for extra tees. I'll see if it worked in the Spring.....
I had a Marineair 12,000 installed in my 98' 340. Although I hear others say not to go below 16,000, I have to say I am pleased with the 12. Mine is installed in the starboard setee and is ducted fore and aft as others have described. A key to maintaining maximum air flow to the aft cabin is to limit the turns in the ductwork as much as possible. I found a lot of unnecessary slack in the hose going through the hanging locker in the head. My unit just fit into the setee. I don't know the dimensions of the 16 but make sure it will fit. With reference to Wynn's comment about winterizing, I tried a new approach this year. I simply closed the through hull and removed the plastic globe around the raw water strainer. Gravity drained most of the water out of the A/C unit and the pump. Using a small piece of tubing from my home aquarium I then blew into the discharge line from outside the boat. I think I cleared 90% of the water but to be sure I poured some pink stuff into the discharge line until it came out of the raw water strainer. No need for extra tees. I'll see if it worked in the Spring.....
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Joe Knapp
How about three cents?
I also heard that Cruisair was recently bought-out be Marineair. Don't know if that will make any difference.
I also heard that Cruisair was recently bought-out be Marineair. Don't know if that will make any difference.
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Wayne Estabrooks
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