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Opening portholes

Discussion in 'Technical Discussion' started by Francois, Dec 1, 2006.

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  1. Francois, Dec 1, 2006
    #1
    Francois

    Francois New Member

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    Durban.South Africa
    Hi everyone. As you know I am busy fitting out a 26 m. In all my time I have worked on yachts in all the cabins you have ventilation through opening ports. But on this project their is no ventilation while under way or while at anchor somewhere in the tropics where it hot and humid.
    Sounds like they will have to rely on the aircon 24/7. It might be ok if you have shore power but hey its not like it should be.

    I even asked if some kind of dorado vents at least would be fitted. What do you think? I would like opening ports on my boat one day. Fresh air at anchor or run that baby and count your pennies.

    As a woodworking craftsman it makes me wonder. Man that yacht will be hot .

    Thanks

    Have Fun
    Francois
  2. AMG, Dec 1, 2006
    #2
    AMG

    AMG YF Moderator

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    As you say, hot and humid, is actually not what you want to have inside by opening up the boat. Not good for the woodwork, fabrics, carpets or perhaps artwork on the walls.

    Air Condition is doing what it is named after, taking away the humidity and stabilize the temperature inside. Normally half of the air is from outside and the other half is recirculated so it will not be too dry or too damp, still oxygen enough for you to breath...:)

    If the system is designed so you can shut down half of the compressors and run a smaller genset, which you normally have to anyway, the cost will not be too high...
  3. Loren Schweizer, Dec 1, 2006
    #3
    Loren Schweizer

    Loren Schweizer YF Associate Writer

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    There might be a happy medium to be had here.

    Depending on how well the hull is insulated, one could emulate the certain owners of a 78' motorsailer I am familiar with in that they fired up the air conditioning late in the afternoon for a period of time and then relied on small Hella fans strategically located throughout the vessel to maintain comfort.
  4. C4ENG, Dec 1, 2006
    #4
    C4ENG

    C4ENG Senior Member

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    Any other yacht that I had worked on or been on has always been the same........
    When the A/C is down, the party is over.
  5. Francois, Dec 2, 2006
    #5
    Francois

    Francois New Member

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    Thanks guys and looks like other yachts have the same situation.Last week I went on a Ferretti to install an ssb radio into the dash and notice the samething.I did not go into the owners cabin but the main lounge had fixed windows.According to the skipper the aircon runs 24/7.


    Francois
  6. techmati, Dec 2, 2006
    #6
    techmati

    techmati Senior Member

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    depends also on the nationality of the owner, cruising grounds. If you think of some hot countries they are used to AC 24/7. Its not something i like personally. There have been quite a few refits to enclose the sun deck for the reason that the owner wants AC there.

    I was recently on a cruise ship being refit. They had installed alarms so that when the door window was opened to the balcony the alarm would sound and the guest would close it quickly. What was the reason for that? Well if many guests left their windows open the AC for the ship would have to work harder and this would make unneccessary costs for the owner.
  7. nilo, Jan 7, 2007
    #7
    nilo

    nilo Senior Member

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    alternative to airconditioning

    in the med we hardly use air-conditioning, because it does not feel good to move between cold and hot during the day and all the cabins have opening port holes, so good nice air for the night, unless it is a very hot night. then, we operate the aircon to cool down the interiors just before the night.

    it is a good idea to add sensors for open port holes, not mainly for the air-conditioning, but to ensure that none is opened by novice quests during the cruise. if you are going to take long cruises, and the fresh air from air conditioning is not enough, then you can add a fresh air system, where you will pump in treated (dehumidified) air to the cabins.