Cabrio 274 Window Unit Install

dacarter

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Mar 6, 2013
Messages
106
I bought this boat in Feb which originally came from Seattle. It had no AC, but in the Houston area, AC is a must for sleeping on the boat in the summer.

I couldn't help but wonder if a small cheap window unit could be tastefully installed on this boat, saving 1000's over installing a Marine AC, and giving the added benefit of being able to cool the boat in my driveway or anywhere else out of the water. I thought about installing under the driver's seat with duct work, or in the engine compartment (I know, ignition source, not a good idea) but eventually I found some dead space under the outside sink against an upper wall in the aft sleeping area that was about the right size, so I decided to go for it. I cut the hole and slid the unit into place.

The AC is a GE 5050 BTU from Walmart with a remote and digital read out. It fits nicely into the area behind the ice box. My plan is to add a blower to ventilate the area. The ice box will not fit back in place as is, so I'm going to cut away the interior of the box, opening up the entire area for storage, and only using the original door and frame from the icebox. I cut a hole in the door of the icebox and installed a nice looking grill from Lowes to allow air into the cavity. There is a 4" vent hose hanging as an engine compartment air inlet near by that I will connect to the new blower. There are two vent hoses hanging in the engine compartment on the other side of the boat so there will still be plenty of air inlet capacity for the engine compartment.

I was expecting to have to rig a drain for the condensation run off, but this unit is designed where the condenser fan blades hit the water in the pan and splash it on to the evaporator where it evaporates, so there is no runoff so far. The manual describes how this works. Pretty cool design.

This simple upgrade will allow me to cool the boat in my driveway or while at a boat slip with power. I've also ordered a Champion 2000 watt generator that I will be able to run when anchored overnight. (half the price of the Honda but highly rated by owners).

So far the AC cools the cabin nicely and I like that it's totally hidden.

WP_20130803_008.jpg


WP_20130802_001.jpg


WP_20130803_013.jpg
 
Last edited:
Top