Portable AC

[Mark Nooney]

Has anyone used the cruise-aire portable ac unit for the mid 80's 31?
I have a line on one for a pretty good price and would like to
know how fellow hunter owners felt that it worked and
did it fit into the saloon hatch without issues?
Thanks
Mark

 

[Mulf]

We used one on our previous boat.

We lived in NJ at the time. We owned a Hunter 29.5 the we kept in Rock Hall from 1999 to 2002 and had one of those in the forward hatch units. Like this one

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Portable-Cr...at_Parts_Accessories_Gear&hash=item43c1e2cb77

It took the edge off but couldn't keep the worst heat at bay. We came down for a much planned and anticipated 4 day fourth of July weekend in 2002, and by early afternoon realized we were never going to be cool enough to sleep. We returned to NJ and started planning our acquisition of a boat with real A/C, and closed on the purchase of Dreamboat by October.

 

[stevec22206]

Not a hunter owner but use one on our C27. Our experience has been 50/50. Two years ago with temps peaking at 100 plus for several weeks the unit struggled to keep inside temps tolerable. With near normal temps this year it was better. We stretch a PVC tarp over the boom as an additional buffer and cool the boat early in the day to keep the inside temp nice. Also use the interior fans to help circulate the air. The unit itself does not have enough power to accomplish this. It's a cheap alternative to onboard AC but not the total solution. Also a headache when rain is forecasted. We use a storm fly over the bow to prevent wind driven rain from finding its way into the V berth. The fabric hood does not prevent this from happening. The dock box provides storage when not in use. I purchased ours about 8 years ago for next to nothing so it wasn't a huge investment. Better than no AC at all but hard to say it will do what you want it to. I'd certainly opt for a built in unit on our next boat.

 

[Dave602]

We have a portable stand up unit. I will barely keep up. My wife made reflective inserts for all the big windows in our 29.5. That and a vent fan really knocks the edge off. We also made a full shade cover that goes from bow back to the back of the boom for shade and if raining it extends out to the life lines so we can keep the portlights open

 

[srhummer]

I'm over at Deale and we tried a used cruise-aire portable from Bacons in Annapolis. The cruise-aire portable was in the forward hatch. It kept the VBerth cold, the head cool, but left the main salon & galley warm, and quarter berth hot. So ended up taking it back and doing a self install of a 13000 BTU unit in my H34. The installed A/C keeps it at nice all over the boat with two vents. Had planned on installing a third but not sure I need it. Good luck with it!

 

[Ian McGain]

Confirm the above. I have '79 Hunter 30 and the cruise-air fits in the main salon. Need some foam to seal it in. It knocks the heat down about 10' when the temp is in the 90's. Use a small clip-on fan to blow the air into the v-berth. Remember, this only runs off the shore power.

 

[Benny17441]

We used one on an h34 and slept comfortable at night. During the day in the summer months with the sun beating on the hull and high humidity no A/C unit can keep up. It should fit on most hatches. The condensation runoff is their biggest problem so insure you position it properly so it runs away from the hatch. Air does not flow around corners by itself so if you set it in the cabin makes sure you have fans directing some flow to the v-berth or vice versa. They also work good with a Honda 2000 portable generator. We developed a system for taking it down when sailing. We opened the v-berth hatch and slide it down into the cushions where it would stay. Make sure you drain most condensation from the unit if you do not want wet cushions. I believe the came in two sizes a 5K and an 8-9K BTU units. The larger one should do fine.

 

[james295]

Dave , what did you use to make the reflective inserts ? and will they block out people from seeing in at night ?

 

[Keith13315]

Yes we used one on our 31 temp was in the 90's and humidity about the same it worked very well so much so I bought one since I just borrowed that one from my nephew. Found one in great shape and bought it.

 

[twdevore]

We used a standing model made for home that vents through a window. The long flexible plastic piping was easy to deal with. We just stuck it out one of the hatches. Most don't need the water to be emptied. When underway we simply bungied it to something. I think it's a 15K BTU which outpowers the portalbe Cruisair by 2 or 3 times. I think the most BTU they made was 7500. I didn't want to have to lug a 70lb machine around. Look on Craigslist for a second hand. Prices are way cheaper than Cruisairs, it seems they must contain gold given the prices. This is what I'm referring to

http://www.uline.com/Product/Detail...gclid=CKX_gN3J-LoCFetAMgodbjkAwg&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

[Barnacle Bill]

To add to the pile, I bought one of those units used to use on a 30 footer. It fit in the center hatch of the main salon just fine and kept the boat quite cool in 100 degree weather. I only think of using it when it is that hot out. You can pick up used ones for $100-$150.

 

[Benny17441]

The problem with the portable air conditioners is that exhaust hose acts as a heat radiator fighting the cooling effect and as the hot air that cools the compressor is expelled it creates a negative pressure condition that forces the hot humid air from the outside to creep back in into the cabin. A window unit or a water cooled unit do keep the hot humid air out working more efficiently to cool the air inside.

 

[Sailm8]

We have a portable stand up unit. I will barely keep up. My wife made reflective inserts for all the big windows in our 29.5. That and a vent fan really knocks the edge off. We also made a full shade cover that goes from bow back to the back of the boom for shade and if raining it extends out to the life lines so we can keep the portlights open

We made reflective panels from that rolled aluminum foil stuff from Home Depot. Fastened it to the inside of the windows with velcro dots. BIG MISTAKE!!! Here in Florida sun was intense enough to melt the plastic in the front hatch. It might work if you could fasten them about an inch or two from the window surface.

 

[Steve Walsh]

I've used the portable Cruise-Air for at least 10 years and it works fine in my Newport 28, which is definitely smaller than your 31. Tried it first in the V-berth hatch, but found it a little noisy to sleep under and the salon stayed warm. Moved it to the salon hatch and use a 12 volt fan to push the air toward the V-berth and the result is fine. It does a good job removing humidity. On a 95 degree day, inside temp will stay around 83 degrees, then drop into the low 70's as the sun sets. Seems to be a good compromise, several live-aboards in our marina use them. They are heavy and I found it was easier to keep mine at home than store it below and struggle to get it thru the companionway.

 

[Leroy McMillan]

I am not impressed with the cruise aire unit.I think you will find it is too small for your boat. I have a home unit installed over the center hatch of my 80's Hunter 30. It is an old 10k BTU and I can hang meat in my boat. I built my own duct that fits over the entire hatch and attaches to the front of the AC on three sides…top and both sides. I measured the distance from the top of the AC down to just below the exhaust vents and have sewn in a divider to separate the intake from the outgoing airflow. the hood/duct is made from weblon with 1/4" closed cell foam sandwiched. I built in in about two hours. I can post picks if anyone is interested.

 

[pateco]

I am not impressed with the cruise aire unit.I think you will find it is too small for your boat. I have a home unit installed over the center hatch of my 80's Hunter 30. It is an old 10k BTU and I can hang meat in my boat. I built my own duct that fits over the entire hatch and attaches to the front of the AC on three sides…top and both sides. I measured the distance from the top of the AC down to just below the exhaust vents and have sewn in a divider to separate the intake from the outgoing airflow. the hood/duct is made from weblon with 1/4" closed cell foam sandwiched. I built in in about two hours. I can post picks if anyone is interested.

I would love to see Pictures.

 

[Dan Johnson]

Boat AC...

You can gain almost 10 more degrees of cooling with hatch covers as some have pointed out. I got mine here on SBO's canvas shop site. They fit well over the top of the hatches and stay in place with elastic edges. Can be had in Sunbrella to match your canvas. Makes the boat a bit cave-like but it stays cool on the hottest days.

 

[Bill Roosa]

sun shades work well also. I have a set of three, forward of the mast, and aft port and starboard between the mast and bimini. they drop the temp about 15 degrees on a sunny day (at anchor too) and let you keep the ports open when it rains for some added ventilation.