Retrofitting A/C

T

Tiami

New Member
Sep 30, 2010
20
Ontario, Canada
Boat Info
1988 Sea Ray Sundancer 300
Engines
350 small blocks with Alpha 1 drives
Would anyone have any experience or knowledge about retrofitting A/C, Heat to a 1988 Sea Ray Sundancer 300 that was not originally ordered with it (but was an option)?
I realize that its an expensive endevor. Thanks
 
Your best bet might be to find one locally of the same vintage and take a look at how it is set up.
Mine has AC/Heat, and it doesn't look like it would be a big deal to add it to another 300 Sundancer.
You need to put a Sea Cock under the aft cabin to pick up the raw water, and put a hole in the port side forward for discharge.
My AC unit is located under the aft dinette cushion, and the controls are forward on the short bulkhead just under the V bunk.
The condensation tube drips back in to the are where the Sea Cock and AC pump are under the aft berth. The comaprtment with the forward bilge pump already in it.
I only have two vents. One in the main cabin, and a second blowing up in to the V berth. They are both on the port side.
If I were doing a new install I would add a third vent back in to the aft berth. One of these days I might add one to my boat. I believe the years after mine had one there anyway.
 
My '89 300 DA has the AC/heat under the aft dinnette as well but my controls are on the dinnette seat base. I have the vent in the aft cabin as well as the ones JVM225 mentioned. It shouldn't be that technically difficult to add it to your boat. You will probably find that there is already a glassed in wood block for the thru hull/seacock and perhaps a blanked off thru hull. My boat doesn't have a generator but there is a blanked off thru hull for a water pickup in the engine compartment starboard side. So you will need to install a breaker in your electrical panel, run wire to the unit, mount the unit and controls and plumb in the duct work and condensate drain. If you are mechanically inclined, I think this sounds like a good two day project, go for it!

Forgot to mention, you will need a circulator pump and discharge thruhull for the cooling water. My pump is mounted in with the seacock and strainer in the cabin sump.
 
Thanks for both knowledgeable answers. I have seen pictures of the controls on the aft dinette seat but have not seen the unit or how much space it takes up (I currently store food in there). I'm afraid the job would be beyond my current skill level for doing it myself especially if it involves drilling a hole for the raw water pick-up. I suppose the trick is to find a vintage unit from a salvage yard? or should I go aftermarket at $2500 ? Also, how does the ducting work? How would that be installed any ideas? I can't go another summer without air and I don't want the hassles of a portable unit. Thank you
 
The unit more or less fills the aft dinette area, it is held down by a few screws I believe. I would get a new unit as it will have a warrenty as well as newer style controls. A salvage unit could be a basket of problems. The ducting is just flexible hose similar to dryer vent but much heavier. It comes off a plenum box attached to the output of the AC fan. Both plenums and ducting are available from marine AC dealers. The ducting for my boat runs from the AC unit foreward to the v-berth going under the table and then up thru the foreward dinette area and up to the bulkhead that seperates the v-berth form the dinette. The aft duct runs under the stairs and enter the aft cabin just inside the opening on the port side. The main vent is installed above the storage closet off the cabin steps, just above the little shelf by the windows. One of my projects is going to be adding a duct in the head, as it gets hot in there in summer and cold in fall and a duct would help even out the temps.

If you aren't comfortable with drilling holes in your boat (who is) I'd get a reputable installer or glass man to do the thru hulls and then tackle what I felt comfortable with doing. You could also get a price quote for an installed system from a marine AC company. It may not be too bad, or it could be very costly, but it can't hurt to ask.

You will most certainly be happy with a built in AC it is the best option you could get on any larger cruiser IMHO.
 
I only have the two vents in the exact same places as Scorpio's. I don't have one in the aft, but it's on my long term project list.
I wouldn't bother doing it with salvage stuff. It shouldn't be a hard job, but it's a big enough project that you want to make sure everything works as it should when you get done.
I think you'll be glad you did it. I think mine is only a 10K BTU unit, but it keeps the cabin as cold as I've ever needed it. Cold enough that I have to turn it down at night and still sleep with a blanket. My aft can get a little warm with no vent, but I've found that a small fan on the dinette pointing down in to the aft berth makes it pretty cold in there. Cold enough that sometimes I think that adding a vent back there might make it too cold.
The heat works real well too. Although I have to admit that I often opt for a much quieter ceramic heater when I'm hanging around at the dock on a crisp fall or early spring day.
 
Thanks to both of you guys for your wealth of knowledge and for informing me of duct routing etc. I think if I can get someone to do the through hull holes for me, I can handle most of the rest of it with minimal help. I've done some web research on replacement units by Mermaid and Cruiseair-both seem pretty good and the kits come with most of the stuff you need. Having someone else do it apparently costs around $4,000 ore more, doing it yourself cuts that in half. Thanks again!
 
300SR! Thanks so much! Impressive website and prices are not bad-will be investigating that for sure.
 
I have a 300 Weekender 1987 but mine is under the aft cushion of the berth with the return grill cut into the face of the wall. it fits nicely there and installing it there allows you to run ducts through the cabinetry into the head, galley, up through the closet and into the berth as well as into the dinnete under the foward seat without having to chop any large holes. It is a 12000BTU Mermaid unit and it works very well in that loacation. it also frees up the space under the dinette aft seat. I have seen them installed in both locations but the DA's seem to favor the aft dinnette seat while the weekenders seem to favor the birth. There is no real apparant reason for this though except fpr the fact that it would probably be easier to put a duct in the aft cabin on the DA if you were so inclined. Except for the companionway stairs coming in from the port side and mine coming down the center (due to your aft cabin) our interiors are the same
 
Thanks John, Was this unit an aftermarket unit and if so, was it difficult to install?
 
Whatever you do, SIZE IT RIGHT FOR THE WORST CONDITIONS! If the company you choose does not have the size you determine to be correct for your situation, go up a size. I retrofitted my 2465 Regal. It called for 7500 BTU's. That size was not made at the time. I went with a 10K BTU unit. I could hang meat in the cabin in 100*F direct sun. The same boat came from the factory with a 5K BTU unit. The biggest complaint from owners was the boat never cooled off and always felt muggy inside even with the AC running.

Good luck.
 
David, I think the factory unit was 12,000 BTU's , do you recommend I go bigger?
 
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