Diagram of 1990 260 Sea Ray

[chasemixon]

I'm trying to put some cold air in my cabin, for the summer months. I have an A/C but has anyone on here ran ducts from the engine area to the cabin? if so how? while I was cleaning the boat yesterday I didn't see any "easy" way. I could mount the A/C in the storage area in the middle of the boat, but I would prefer to mount in the engine area. 1. have easier access to it, 2. allows the condensation to drip into the bilge area easier. I was hoping to find a drawing of the 1990 260 CC online but so far no luck. Thanks in advance!
Chase

 

[tgreene]

I have searched and searched with little to no success. I do have a set of wiring diagrams for our boat but the quality of them is poor because of how they were scanned. Give me your email and I will get them to you.

 

[chasemixon]

PM sent thanks!

 

[dvx216]

Putting the ac unit in the engine space is just be asking for trouble with any fumes made by the engine then blowing them into your cabin. Plus all the latent heat that the ac unit will have to over come from the engine?

 

[chasemixon]

I'm only planning on using the unit while on shore power... for overnight sleeping... not while underway? or is that what you were assuming?

 

[Lazy Daze]

The last time I checked, they are not approved for use in a gasoline engine bilge. There's a possibility of making your boat go BOOM. But I hear the temperature 6' down is usually a nice, constant, comfortable temp.

 

[chasemixon]

oh wow! Fair enough... any suggestions on where to mount the A/C I'm guessing the best spot in going to be in the storage bin in between the chairs?

 

[Lazy Daze]

I don't know your layout well enough - the cabin only has a v-berth, right? Somewhere in the cabin would be preferable. Probably under one of the v-berth cushions would work well. This way the ducting is as close to the output as possible to minimize loss. Plus, it's more protected from moisture there. It also enables the return to be installed right through the vertical wall of the v-berth. Unless you have other storage areas down there?

Does your boat have a forward bilge with pump? I thought it does, but not sure. If so, you can route the condensate drain to that.

 

[chasemixon]

the cabin is V-Berth only correct, but under all the settee's I did not see any drain to bilge area? I will go back and check again, yes that would definitely be the easiest, but I have to have be able to drain the condensation, that's why I thought about the area in between the driver and passenger. The storage area is just aft of the v-berth and it does have drain holes to engine bay. here is a diagram of my boat thanks to Trevor!

 

[mwph]

How about a Cruisair Carry-on?
Takes a minute to set up but steals none of your existing storage. No drain, cooling or venting needed.

 

[chasemixon]

Yeah, I wish I had the budget for one of those, I'm one of those people who has a caviar taste but fish-sticks budget... The other issue with one of those is, storing it while not in use... really wanted something I could mount and just turn on and off...

 

[Lazy Daze]

You can find used Cruisair's on Craigslist for under $400. They're small enough that (if you leave the v-berth setup as a bed) in most boats, it will slide under the filler cushion of the v-berth.

 

[Getaway]

I went though all of this last year. Trying to find a way to mount/store a $99 Walmart unit is just not the way to go on a boat and trust me, if I can do it and make it look decent with a "fish sticks" budget, trust me, I'm all over it...LOL.

Anyway, I went to work looking for a good used Cruise Air carry-on unit on Ebay, Craigslist, and the Great Lakes fishing forums. After about 8 months of keeping an open eye, I found one on the Great Lakes Angler website for $250 and it was like brand new. This thing is a 5000btu unit and will damn near turn the ole 268DA into a meat cooler on a 90 degree day.

I also looked into installing an air conditioning/reverse cycle heating unit permanent under the dinette seat in the cabin. By doing the entire installation myself, I was still looking at a minimum of $2000. I just did not think that kind of money was justified for the 15 or so days per year we would need it here in mid Michigan. Besides, I can buy a lot of fishing equipment for $2000 :grin:.

 

[chasemixon]

I hear you Gataway, I really think I have this figured out, yesterday I had a friend come over and buff and wax the entire boat, after all it is a 1990, btw yours looks great! the oxidation was terrible on mine! while he was working on the outside I was looking around on the inside trying to figure out how to do what I wanted... here's what I think I'm going to do... take the window unit A/C I already have and take off the exterior mounting stuff. then mount a duct to the cool side into the cabin under the step with a vent placed there. then mount a return duct to starboard side locker with a vent on the door to the locker, back down to the A/C. Then just mount the A/C so it will not move around under the step, in my head it will work?

 

[Lazy Daze]

Well, crap, you're talking about a "house" AC unit? That changes things - that would have been good information to have. When you said you had an AC unit, I thought you were referring to a marine unit - after all, we are on a boat forum.

It's your boat and you can do as you want. I don't see any safety issues with what you're doing, at least. But, man, that's going to one heck of a Frankenstein-looking installation. I'm sure it will work, but I can't imagine a home unit surviving very long on a boat. There's A LOT of vibration and moisture in a boat. Home units are not designed for the tough, marine environment.

If you don't want to pony up to do it right with a Cruiseair, before you do anything, think about the time you'll have invested in this (and know that you might have to buy another window unit in short time). Plus, you'll still have some money invested in ducting, vents, etc - granted, not a whole lot.

If you're intent on making your boat look like a Walmart special that's sat on the shelf for 2 years because no one wants to buy it, there might be another way... You mentioned you would only be using this at the dock. What if you just sat the unit on your cockpit floor and directed the airflow through the cabin door. You could use heavy canvas to make a new "door" (or at least a partial door) that can be attached (snapped or velcroed) from the cabin side. This canvas door would have the flexible ducting from unit already attached. You would need to make a collector box to fit around the unit's output, but you could probably even use an empty box of Cheerios and duct tape for that.

So, I'm having a little fun with you on this, but I would seriously think about trying to do this with the least amount of hole cutting to your boat since, in reality, it's going to be temporary as the unit isn't going to last too long.

Temps aren't too bad right now, are they? Those Cruisairs really aren't all that much on the used market and they are DESIGNED to do EXACTLY what you want. Don't rush into this - think about it some more and maybe just save up for a few months so you can do it right the first time.

 

[chasemixon]

I really didn't think it would be that bad, I have used the window unit on my sailboat for the last 2 years, but I must admit you are right about the powerboat being more of a rough environment. ok, I'll save my pennies and do it right. I still would rather have a unit that is mounted with controls in the cabin. Thanks for keeping me out of walmart... aka antichrist store!

 

[Lazy Daze]

Thanks for keeping me out of walmart... aka antichrist store!

:smt001

Maybe it would last longer than I'm imagining. It just seems like a lot of work for something that might be temporary, and then you're left with obsolete holes, you know?

It's not like I have never cut corners to get something done. But I've learned that I'm much more successful when I take my time and wait to do it right. Even if that means not having what I want right away. By no means am I rich - not even close - so I do understand the want to be frugal (that's not to say that those with money are not frugal - heck, an argument can be made that frugalness actually got them to where they are now). But in the end, you usually end up paying more in the long run by cutting that corner the first time. And, for me, that's just a waste of money.

What about just using a really good 12v fan for now? That's what my wife and I use on hot nights. Check out a fan called "Endless Breeze" - lot's of quiet air with a small amp draw. You could even put it in one of the deck hatches - blowing down on you, or even exhausting air. Which, speaking of that, you might want to check them out for leaks into the wood core of your deck - especially the extra one that a previous owner installed.

 

[wjamwhitis]

I bought a portable air conditioner two years ago. I keep it in the floor storage and on the nights that I need it, I set it up next to the bed. I vent it out of the hatch and let the water drain into a trash can and empty it in the morning. Cost $200 at Menards.

 

[chasemixon]

Dennis, I'm in the Deep south the only thing that works down here is A/C... my wife likes the noise?!? I have no idea why, even in the winter when it's 30 degrees outside, she likes the dehumidifier running for the noise... can't even imagine telling her we are going to sleep in the boat without A/C, I'll put the window unit in the door for now, until I can afford the nice one. I've been on the boat when it was 97 degree at night before turning on the A/C if you can go to sleep in that with just a fan, I would be impressed... my wife not so much!!

 

[chasemixon]

Brain, that's kind of what we do in our house! I made a hole in the wall for the exhaust and it drips into a 4 gallon trash can... usually it is 2/3 full by morning... summer 1/3 full in the winter... deep south = high humidity!