DYI ac unit

[Alan Liebnick]

Has anyone made their own ac unit that uses ice and fan? I have a Hunter31. Any suggestions for a LOW cost route?

 

[Daniel Jonas]

I have

I put the ice in a drink and the fan in front of me. Really, I don't think the physics of it will work very well. You will spend more time hauling ice than being cool. I'm pretty sure a 50 lb. bag of ice will be gone in a very short time. And think what size freezer you would have to carry to handle all that ice (contemplate the associated cooling unit). You would be ahead to install air conditioning. Also, I think right now you want to get the moisture out of the air, not add to it.Dan Jonas (S/V Feije II)

 

[Del Wiese]

inexpensive AC - maybe

When I was looking for my boat, I looked at a Hunter 33.5. The owner used a small window AC unit, and made a special hatch board to mount it and direct the air into the main cabin. He used a Honda 1500 watt portable generator. Said it would really cool the boat, and this is in south Florida. I plan to buy a small AC for my Legend 37 and experiment dockside before I buy the generator.

 

[Bob Howie]

A/C on the cheap

I've seen the window units used before and altho a little cumbersome, they actually do pretty well in cooling down boats.I might go that route before I'd use the ice and fan, an apparent version of the still-used "swamp cooler" method. A/C's cool the air by removing moisture, ergo, the need for a condensation drain. Swamp coolers add that moisture back and you can wind up being pretty clammy before it's over.