Fan placement in the cabin

[brockangelo]

As I'm preparing for the summer, I'm thinking about where to place fans in the cabin to keep it cool, and I got to wondering if anyone has taken a tactical approach to cooling the cabin. I'm thinking about taking 5-10 USB fans and positioning them around the cabin to find the optimal cooling configuration for days when you are docked with no wind.

Ultimately, you want to move hot air out, and bring cool air in. In our case, I suspect that will mean pulling air in from the cockpit, since we plan to have the bimini up.

And I suspect that we'll want to blow hot air out of the bow above the V berth:

I'm assuming that this configuration, from the back to the front of the cabin, will be the best way to bring cool air in and blow hot air out; but I'm curious if others have tried this. It seems like a large fan in the companionway would be needed to blow air in and a slightly smaller fan blowing air out of the forward hatch would work.

I like the idea of using multiple smaller fans since they would be quieter, but at the end of the day, I'd prefer loud fans that keep us cool to quiet fans that keep us hot.

 

[Jacktar]

try a 20--24 inch boxfan laying flat on top of foredeck hatch opening blowing outward will suck lots of air in front of cabin without blocking entrance with any other fans. Slide hatch cover back and narrow the entry and lots of air will turn over. Bernoulii effect.

 

[brockangelo]

I don't have AC in my boat just yet. I suppose I could use an inverter. How do you run it?

 

[AaronD]

After a few summers cruising in our C-22, I'm afraid I don't have any useful advice on fan placement. Our approaches to keeping cool are:
A: Go further North
B: Find an ice cream shop
C: Both A and B

 

[Gene Neill]

Check out wind scoops. Davis, Plastimo, and many others make them. They do work, if there is any wind at all.

 

[kappykaplan]

Check out wind scoops.

 

[SFS]

Because you brought up the notion of staying cool "for days while docked with no wind", you may want to consider the other side of the cooling puzzle - not letting the boat get so hot to begin with. Set up some sort of sunshade for the entire boat (or as much of it as you can). Tarps, sunshade material, old sheets, etc. work to keep the sun off the boat, and it really helps. We would rig ours up every time we knew we were anchoring for more than one night.

 

[Gene Neill]

Set up some sort of sunshade for the entire boat

 

[Ralph Johnstone]

not letting the boat get so hot to begin with.

A simple means of preventing sun from entering your boat is portlight covers.

I have yet to come up with a hatchlight cover that works. Over the years I have always found Sailrite to be an excellent source of ideas for projects like this until they published their idea of a portlight cover. It was NOT met with enthusiasm by their followers. Mind you, I've not done come up with anything that works either.