I have been wrestling with which brand of air conditioner to instlall. Ive decided on either the Flagship Marine or the Mermaid Air unit. Any reccomendations? Thaks
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Ed Schenck
Call Mermaid.
See if they have added a control for fan speed. That is my only complaint with my 12K Mermaid Reverse Cycle, the fan runs at one speed. That speed puts out a lot of air and can be noisy if not ducted correctly. I should call them myself and see if they recommend installing my own rheostat for the fan. Otherwise the unit has been flawless over the past two summers. And this past autumn the heat was great in my H37C on Lake Erie.
See if they have added a control for fan speed. That is my only complaint with my 12K Mermaid Reverse Cycle, the fan runs at one speed. That speed puts out a lot of air and can be noisy if not ducted correctly. I should call them myself and see if they recommend installing my own rheostat for the fan. Otherwise the unit has been flawless over the past two summers. And this past autumn the heat was great in my H37C on Lake Erie.
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Jeff
Flag Ship
Jim, I'm debating that myself. A couple of slipmates istalled Flag Ship 16,500 BTU units the summer in their new C310 boats and love them. Plenty of capacity for this size boat. They did opt for the heat option which works well. Since it's electric heat the water circulation pump is not needed like it would be the other brands. That saves wear and tear on the pump and might come in handy if your boat is on the hard for the winter and you're a die hard like me. I've been know to stay a night or two while working on the boat in the winter and spring. I'm going to use the same size unit on my H33.5. Just trying to figure out where to install it. Good Luck.... Jeff
Jim, I'm debating that myself. A couple of slipmates istalled Flag Ship 16,500 BTU units the summer in their new C310 boats and love them. Plenty of capacity for this size boat. They did opt for the heat option which works well. Since it's electric heat the water circulation pump is not needed like it would be the other brands. That saves wear and tear on the pump and might come in handy if your boat is on the hard for the winter and you're a die hard like me. I've been know to stay a night or two while working on the boat in the winter and spring. I'm going to use the same size unit on my H33.5. Just trying to figure out where to install it. Good Luck.... Jeff
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Ben
Flagship
I installed a Flagship Marine unit 4 yrs ago. I purchased it because the price was right and the deminisions fit my need real well. Have had absolutely no problems with the unit. I live aboard this boat on weekends year round. Days here in Oklahoma can get over 100 degrees.
I installed a Flagship Marine unit 4 yrs ago. I purchased it because the price was right and the deminisions fit my need real well. Have had absolutely no problems with the unit. I live aboard this boat on weekends year round. Days here in Oklahoma can get over 100 degrees.
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Jack Tyler
You'd choose Mermaid if you visited them...
I can't tell you how impressed we've been with this small company. Our unit (16,500 reverse cycle) has been running well for 6+ years and was purchased back when rotary compressors were supposed to be the cheap/non-lasting alternative. We recently chose to refurbish it completely - new paint, a far more efficient cooling coil, new charge, new valve , in fact a system that looks absolutely brand new and a lengthy bench test, cold and heat - with lots of TLC thrown in for good measure and for a small fee and a huge smile from everyone involved. Moreover, we even found a factory-authorized dealer in Trinidad! I'm unfamiliar with Flagship, which may have a great product. I can't speak highly enough of an outfit like Mermaid: good product, outstanding support via phone, great upgrade path, and super nice folks who want you leaving with their huge smile on your face. Boy, do I wish a majority of marine retailers behaved like this! Jack
I can't tell you how impressed we've been with this small company. Our unit (16,500 reverse cycle) has been running well for 6+ years and was purchased back when rotary compressors were supposed to be the cheap/non-lasting alternative. We recently chose to refurbish it completely - new paint, a far more efficient cooling coil, new charge, new valve , in fact a system that looks absolutely brand new and a lengthy bench test, cold and heat - with lots of TLC thrown in for good measure and for a small fee and a huge smile from everyone involved. Moreover, we even found a factory-authorized dealer in Trinidad! I'm unfamiliar with Flagship, which may have a great product. I can't speak highly enough of an outfit like Mermaid: good product, outstanding support via phone, great upgrade path, and super nice folks who want you leaving with their huge smile on your face. Boy, do I wish a majority of marine retailers behaved like this! Jack
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Dakota Jim Russell
Mermaid Very Helpful on Installation
Just installed a 16,000 btu Mermaid and found the company very responsive to questions via email and via phone.
Just installed a 16,000 btu Mermaid and found the company very responsive to questions via email and via phone.
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RobHoman
Our Mermaid has performed very well!
We've had our 16,500 BTU AC/Heat unit for two years now and have been very pleased with it. It has done the trick in our Morgan 33 OI. Plenty of cold in the summer and heat when needed in the winter. We are full-time liveaboards and are very happy with the service we have gotten from our Mermaid unit. On the few occasions that I have had to call them, they have been extremely polite, friendly and RESPONSIVE!!! As one other poster mentioned....Its too bad other marine dealers aren't as good or responsive. Since I'm not familiar with Flagship I can't comment.
We've had our 16,500 BTU AC/Heat unit for two years now and have been very pleased with it. It has done the trick in our Morgan 33 OI. Plenty of cold in the summer and heat when needed in the winter. We are full-time liveaboards and are very happy with the service we have gotten from our Mermaid unit. On the few occasions that I have had to call them, they have been extremely polite, friendly and RESPONSIVE!!! As one other poster mentioned....Its too bad other marine dealers aren't as good or responsive. Since I'm not familiar with Flagship I can't comment.
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Scott
Just Installed a Flagship!
Less than 2 months ago I installed a Flagship unit in my Catalina 30. We had been searching for a unit and considering prices for the size unit we were needing (Florida Panhandle) and had established a dialog via E-mail with several companies. Flagship's representitive informed us that they would soon (probably about now) be getting a LOT of units in because they had just gotten the contract to swap out the units in a large fleet of Coast Guard boats. Some of the units to be replaced were less than a year old. As luck would have it, he had just swapped out a unit for a sailor when I last contacted him. The owner had been very pleased with the unit, but it wasn't big enough for the boat he had. Don't know the size, but he replaced it with TWO units! Anyhow, the unit he had gotten back was a 16,500 with a resistive heater unit (not reverse cycle). The unit had been completely gone over, bench tested and the compressor replaced. The old one wasn't bad, but they felt that replacing it would be about the same as putting out a new unit. The unit came with a complete installation kit, including thru-hulls, strainers, filters, valves, hoses, pumps, vent hoses, vent covers, intake vent and air filter, thermostat wires and the programmable thermostat. All I needed to provide for the installation was the main supply wire. Every time I needed to talk to someone, I got a person on the phone. Every time I needed a recommendation or explanation, they were ready to help. I ordered the unit one day, and two days later the truck dropped it off. It took me a full weekend to do the installation, but I was working by myself. Of course, as soon as I got the unit installed, the temperature dropped so I really haven't been able to give it one of the 100 degree, 100 percent humidity day tests, but I have no doubt that the size is more than enough for our boat. I CAN say that the heater is great! We have had nights where the temperature has gone to the lower 30's and we have been toasty warm inside. If you would like to see the pictures of the installation, go to FTP://FTP.Sailnet.com and go to the Catalina 30 subdirectory and then to the Double Dutch folder, and under that, the AC Install folder. The unit was mounted in the area under the V-berth with two vents in the main cabin and one in the V-berth. The thermostat was mounted in the galley island in the main cabin, and the water supply was tapped off the flushing water supply for the head. With all the cutting, routing and general intrusion of a very large chunk of equipment, my wife only lost 8 inches of one small drawer of storage space. The unit is put together with equipment that should be readily available anywhere. For example, the thermostat is provided, but if you didn't like their unit, you could replace it with any three-wire thermostat currently available. There are no mystical computer control boards to fail that are only available from the manufacturer... all the electrical components are stock items at most electrical distributors. They use Cool Cube pumps and Groco strainers, bronze through hulls and valves, and the vent tubing is standard 4" boat vent tube. They have top and side discharge units to fit your installation restrictions, and the units are mounted on heavy (believe me, I had to cut a corner off and it took some!) stainless steel base plates. The only thing I had to do out of the ordinary was to put in a small automatic bilge pump under the unit because the area it is mounted isn't well drained. Because of the incredibly high humidity in our area of the gulf, the unit sweats and the drain is necessary. Under normal conditions, I doubt that you would need to go to that length. I would strongly recommend working with Flagship. They have a quality product, a good, knowledgable staff, and a business ethic that is refreshing in today's marketplace. Good Luck! Scott Herrick S/V Double Dutch
Less than 2 months ago I installed a Flagship unit in my Catalina 30. We had been searching for a unit and considering prices for the size unit we were needing (Florida Panhandle) and had established a dialog via E-mail with several companies. Flagship's representitive informed us that they would soon (probably about now) be getting a LOT of units in because they had just gotten the contract to swap out the units in a large fleet of Coast Guard boats. Some of the units to be replaced were less than a year old. As luck would have it, he had just swapped out a unit for a sailor when I last contacted him. The owner had been very pleased with the unit, but it wasn't big enough for the boat he had. Don't know the size, but he replaced it with TWO units! Anyhow, the unit he had gotten back was a 16,500 with a resistive heater unit (not reverse cycle). The unit had been completely gone over, bench tested and the compressor replaced. The old one wasn't bad, but they felt that replacing it would be about the same as putting out a new unit. The unit came with a complete installation kit, including thru-hulls, strainers, filters, valves, hoses, pumps, vent hoses, vent covers, intake vent and air filter, thermostat wires and the programmable thermostat. All I needed to provide for the installation was the main supply wire. Every time I needed to talk to someone, I got a person on the phone. Every time I needed a recommendation or explanation, they were ready to help. I ordered the unit one day, and two days later the truck dropped it off. It took me a full weekend to do the installation, but I was working by myself. Of course, as soon as I got the unit installed, the temperature dropped so I really haven't been able to give it one of the 100 degree, 100 percent humidity day tests, but I have no doubt that the size is more than enough for our boat. I CAN say that the heater is great! We have had nights where the temperature has gone to the lower 30's and we have been toasty warm inside. If you would like to see the pictures of the installation, go to FTP://FTP.Sailnet.com and go to the Catalina 30 subdirectory and then to the Double Dutch folder, and under that, the AC Install folder. The unit was mounted in the area under the V-berth with two vents in the main cabin and one in the V-berth. The thermostat was mounted in the galley island in the main cabin, and the water supply was tapped off the flushing water supply for the head. With all the cutting, routing and general intrusion of a very large chunk of equipment, my wife only lost 8 inches of one small drawer of storage space. The unit is put together with equipment that should be readily available anywhere. For example, the thermostat is provided, but if you didn't like their unit, you could replace it with any three-wire thermostat currently available. There are no mystical computer control boards to fail that are only available from the manufacturer... all the electrical components are stock items at most electrical distributors. They use Cool Cube pumps and Groco strainers, bronze through hulls and valves, and the vent tubing is standard 4" boat vent tube. They have top and side discharge units to fit your installation restrictions, and the units are mounted on heavy (believe me, I had to cut a corner off and it took some!) stainless steel base plates. The only thing I had to do out of the ordinary was to put in a small automatic bilge pump under the unit because the area it is mounted isn't well drained. Because of the incredibly high humidity in our area of the gulf, the unit sweats and the drain is necessary. Under normal conditions, I doubt that you would need to go to that length. I would strongly recommend working with Flagship. They have a quality product, a good, knowledgable staff, and a business ethic that is refreshing in today's marketplace. Good Luck! Scott Herrick S/V Double Dutch
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