T&T: "the best" AC system?

[Steve Sipe]

badornato wrote:
> am about to bite the bullet and put an AC system in my KK42.  although we
> never need it in san francisco, we spend a fair time with the boat up in the
> Sacramento Delta area where it gets over 100 degrees frequently enough to
> warrant relief.
> the local AC guy recommends a marine air (dometic) self contained turbo
> vector 18,000 btu unit we can put in the pilothouse bunk and vent over the
> staircase between lower master and salon.
> any experience out there with this unit?
>
>   
Bruce, this winter I replaced one of the 9 yr old Marine Air split 
systems on my boat with a new self-contained Mermaid. I like the unit, 
well-made runs quiet, and has a rotary compressor. Looks to me like the 
Turbo is a new design, I don't think you'll go wrong with Marine Air, as 
long as you're willing to pay the price. The Passport controls are 
costly to replace, but they seem to be more reliable now than before.

I guess out there they size for conditions that are different than what 
we have here on the East Coast. 18Mbh sounds pretty light if that's all 
the total capacity. My 43 Solo has a cooling capacity of 4-1/2 tons 
(54Mbh), and although I could probably manage with closer to 3-1/2 tons 
(42Mbh) here in the Mid-Lantic area, it's not grossly oversized. Because 
our boats can be in different latitudes, the loading can vary 
significantly. So if you're planning to travel to lower latitudes, don't 
plan on that 18Mbh keeping the boat cool!

There's  good logic in multiple units. Keeps the loading spread out 
better, and you have a backup if one goes down. It may not be where you 
want to sleep, but some A/C is better than sweltering!

Steve Sipe
Solo 4303 "Maerin"
Still on the hard- repairs about 50% complete!