How effective is Air Conditioning for Rinker 270 Fiesta Vee

AdrianPP

Hi All,
I'm in the early stages of boat research for purchase although I've been boating extensively during the year via a Syndicate/Club.
I was wondering how powerful/effective the marine air conditioning is on these boats. 
I live in Sydney and our summer temperatures fluctuate between 20-40 degrees Celsius. In American that's 68 degrees fahrenheit to 104 degreees.
My question is not if the aircon can do 68, a paper fan could do that! How does it go at 104?
Thanks in advance for your input! I'll owe you a trip on the harbour when you come visit Sydney!

Handymans342

I can tell you on my 342, I can make the hull sweat at night and during the day I can maintain 72 and that was on a 92 degree day with 70% humidity. Your AC unit will need to be in tip top condition with all coils/filters clean mate.

JonnyM

I have a 2003 270 and the AC works great.  There is only one output vent (under the steps) for the unit but it cools quite well. I am also very happy with the heat feature.  I did not have this on my last boat.  It may take a little bit of time to cool down if your cabin temp is 104f but once cool, it shouldn't have trouble maintaining 72f.

Dream_Inn

I agree with others that it will work very well keeping your cabin cool, especially if you run it from the morning and just maintain temp.  If you get to the boat mid day and turn it on, it will take a little.  Even then though, you will notice a difference in about a half hour.

Welcome to the forum!

randy56

@AdrianPP Rinker 270 owner, I love mine, As JonnyM stated above, Cool in summer, a little heat in fall. takes all the humidity out. 

rasbury

I live in the Orlando area and have a 270....very pleased with the cooling. It easily maintains temps at night- we had recently completed our camper package in July and was surprised it kept the upper deck enclosed very comfortable -as soon as the sun came up it was over. Have never had issue keeping the below cool or heated at all.

skennelly

Agreed...couldn't live without the A/C on my 270...especially in the middle of a humid Chicago summer.  I leave my A/C on all week at about 75 just to keep the cabin cool when I return for the weekend.

rasbury

I talked with someone at the dock with a searay, he was able to run his a/c as a dehumidifier somehow to keep the humidity down without running the a/c....not sure ours have that option but if I had it on the water I would look into that. 

Dream_Inn

Ras, ours do have the option.  It is in the programmable portion.

rasbury

Sweet!  @Dream_Inn I don't keep mine in the water but it is good to know....does it still require water to run in this mode? Would be nice to run that while it is sitting at the house to get that musty smell out of it before we go out....

Dream_Inn

Yeah, mine is not kept in the water either, so I don't run it.  You'd have to have it in the water for it to work in the humidity mode.

06Rinker270

Love my AC, life saver.  I dont leave mine on while I am gone.  It takes no time at call to start cooling down.  I dont like systems on while I am gone.

LaRea

Part of the effectiveness comes from insulation on the inside of the hull and the underside of the foredeck.  I don't know how it compares to insulation in boats by other builders, but it works.  

Handymans342

What insulation?

reneechris14

The foam and vinyl, I think is what's he's saying.

rasbury

All I can say is mine does great- maybe I have the same system for larger cabins but it maintains what ever temperature within a couple degrees- we sleep better on the boat than anywhere else!

[Deleted User]

Express cruisers just have portholes in the cabin, therefore little "greenhouse effect" unlike other powerboats with a lot of glass area. My A/C works great, but it never get much above 85 degrees here on the So. Cal. coast, humidity is low and the evenings cool down nicely and bring a welcome breeze. Now if I took my boat to Lake Havasu, Arizona in August, that would be a different story altogether I would bet.

Andy

MarkB

On my 260EC the installed 8000 BTU airgun would cool no problem on days that hit 35C.

AdrianPP

Thanks for the feedback. Have any of you installed a gen-set or are you just using it when plugged in at the marina or using a portable generator? Gen-set isn't a factory option but could be added later right?

rasbury

It is a factory option as I have one on mine. It was like a 10 grand option however. I understand they are very expensive to add after the fact and there are reasonably priced generators you can put on the platform to use on the hook. Make sure either way to have proper co2 monitors...