TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums British Virgin Islands Sailboat with or without A/C

We're looking at bareboating for 6-8 weeks beginning mid April. The sailboats that have been offered do not have A/C, except for one option. However, it's significantly more expensive -about $10K more. Just wondering what we can expect in regards to sleeping at night. I'm 52, and hot weather + sleeping= no sleep. Thanks- Tami

Hi Tami
The boat we sail on is an older mono without A/C
You will be sailing in May / June which can be gorgeous with great breeze or rainy , hot and humid . Not nice with all the hatches closed at night . Our boat had great ventilation if there is no rain but can get very hot if weather necessitates us to close her up . We typically choose anchorages with great breeze and anchor outside the mooring field . We have travelled late May early June for the past four years and have been fine . I would take done battery operated fans with you and baby powder to help feel dry if lots of humidity and rain . That's a lot of extra money for A/C .... I would take my chances ...

Hope that helps a bit.... Oh and by the way ... I am also 52

Not knowing what size boat you are looking to charter it may be that the extra $1500/month is really buying more boat than simple A/C. To get the most out of it you obviously need a gen set as well.

We have A/C on our boat and whether we use it depends on the time of year. April/May are marginal - June/July are a must. But depending on the weather either at a slip or on a ball with the generator it can make the difference between paradise and a cranky crew.

5 days to Tortola and Patriche II <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Clapping.gif" alt="" />

I am 52 yrs old as well, and I have never uttered the sentence, "I'm glad I don't have AC".

When we were in our twenties and even thirties we sailed all over the world in every month without a genset and ac. We are now in our 50's and it is a different century. We try to never go anywhere without AC. Now we want the AC and genset to be quiet as well. We are very close to not taking any boat without a watermaker.

I do not accept this statement as the actual market in the BVI:

"except for one option. However, it's significantly more expensive -about $10K more."

I recommend doing a broader search for a new boat with a generator, AC, and watermark. I would not skip a trip just because one of the three were missing. I would do some work and pay a premium to have all three.

From experience, if there are plus size ppl in your party, AC may be required.

I have to say we would not sail without A/C, at least dockside. If your charter company is telling you it's 10K more for A/C, look for a new charter company. A large percentage of boats have A/C these days, not so true 10-15 years ago.

I'm also 52.

Really wished for A/C on our last Jun/July BVI cruise.

And Thailand in April... that was brutal without.

No way I would spend that much time on a boat without AC. Yes, I know people did and still do it but I'm spoiled now. $10,000 over 8 weeks is not that significant and I suspect like mentioned above that the premium is for a larger boat not the AC.

Please look into charters with CYOA. Most have Gen/AC and the prices are competitive.

I will not charter a boat without AC, but we have only done 1-week trips in the past, one in November and one in April. On the April trip, we lost our cabin AC (but had it in the salon and slept with the door open) but managed okay because it was dry and we also had the breeze from the hatches.

We have family chartering a 2nd boat and we are doing a mini floatilla on our upcoming trip. They do not have AC. I am genuinely curious to see if one or two of them wind up sleeping in our salon.

Lots of things on a 6-8 week charter could mean " not sleeping soundly". At least for someone in your party--

AC is not a deal breaker. Where you moor or anchor has a lot to do with how much breeze you will catch, and the configuration of the boat you charter will make a difference in how ventilation happens below deck and through the cabins.

There is no rule that you have to sleep IN a cabin below deck. Take a pillow and a sheet and settle in wherever you like. Under the Bimini, you may never know that it is even raining.

Your vacation, your money. AC and gen-set are two systems that you really need to understand before you charter, and both of those systems are the cause of most requests for chase-boat service and repair while on charter.

A charter boat is not a floating hotel room.

We have a Ben 473; have dockside AC but we go between mid Nov up to early May. Have never used the AC but mainly on hook or mooring. If you want a cat or go in summer may be another story. We only rarely use the electric fans. We are with Sabbatical (a sponsor I believe). For us its great..we go for the heat!

You already seem to know that you can't sleep without a/c, which is the case for me, for sure. Check into more options for boats, including chartering for a shorter period of time, with a/c.. 6 to 8 weeks is an awfully long time to potentially be very uncomfortable.

Can I ask what boat choices you have? I enjoy a little a/c here and there with shore power, but I have gotten used to no a/c when required. My wife says I tend to bubble if there's no air flowing, I guess I might spend the extra to not bubble all the time! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/toast.gif" alt="" />

JustBS- too funny. And point taken. We're going with the A/C.

Thanks Carol - we were just discussing the same thing. Since this will be our first charter in the Carib, we were thinking we would go with the A/C and decide if it's something we'd like to do again. If so, the next time we'll certainly know if it's a must for us, or not.

You are correct... I should have made that clear. The $10k less boat is a 41', and the one with the generator, A/C, and thruster is a 45'. I'm not sure if for just the two of us we really need that large of a boat, but it seems you have to go big down there to get the A/C & gen

Oh my... I was in Thailand in November and needed A/C!!

Great tip Twanger.... I just pulled it up. We hadn't even thought to look at charter companies out of STT!

The other reasonable option that might fall in between would be a boat with shore power A/C. This is what ours has and we've spent nights both on and off the dock. The nice part is that when we want/need it, we can have it.

Big difference between 41 and 45 ft. Monohull or Cat? What year models as this also makes a difference.

For only 2 people, I would look for 40' or less with A/C. I do not want to go without A/C and generator.

DeepCut
Sea Tiger

Patriche II is a 50 foot monohull and Patty and I sail her alone a great deal of the time and I am in my 70's. You enjoy the thruster and what a few more feet can give you.

You should get a good price break on an extended charter. Maybe AC will be free for the asking?

We use the AC to cool the boat before bed. In December we find its still very warm below. Much of the time.

Unless your budget simply prohibits it, I would absolutely recommend the AC. You'll thank yourself daily for the splurge. And I'm with Twanger...check out CYOA. Great charter company with very competitive pricing and fantastic service.

What company are you working with? You may want to check out Seabattical - http://www.longtermcharters.com/

We were considering putting our boat with them.

It's funny to me to read the overwhelming responses in favor of AC. If I was sailing in summer (June - Sept) I would want AC. But I regularly sail in the Spring, late Fall, and Winter and only use my AC when I am at the dock. It is very rare for me to use the AC while at anchor or on a mooring. I can count the number of times on one hand in over 150 days/nights in the last few years.

Original poster was talking about sailing 6 to 8 weeks, starting in April. 8 weeks from April puts you into June..

The variables are huge. It depends on the ventilation the boat offers and the location your boat ends up for the night. Rain and humidity can come anytime. Age, weight, diet, and alcohol can also come into play. I have also notice with each year that goes by more guests are concerned with leaving the entire boat wide open all night long. For me most of the boats have more hatches and ports than ever. I hate the rain dance to close all the hatches and ports. We can and have done great without AC many times. We do look for boats with generators, ac, and watermakers. If they work we use them heavily. If they turn out to be troubled we do just fine without them.

If you live in a world at home with 24/7 closed windows and AC with little exposure to real outside heat in your home life the 24/7 heat of the Carribean can be a shock to many. If you live in a warm climate and play 18 holes of golf each weekend or sail 2.5 days a week the impact may not be as much.

snowdog, so i am guessing in 150+ nights it never rained? Again this is your opinion, many people spending that much money want creature comforts

Probably not too difficult to find a boat less than about 43 feet with dockside AC. But it's going to be tough to find a boat that size that has a generator. There just isn't room for one in a 3 cabin boat that size (which will be the typical configuration). So I think you have three choices really - (a) boat without AC or generator, (b) dockside AC (i.e., no generator), and (c) AC+genny. For just the two of you reality is that a boat around 40 feet will be just fine and will be the most economical. But finding a 40 with genny+ac might be challenging. You will likely need to increase boat size.

In my experience the Ac+genny is a $500/week list price option vs. the same boat without it.

I have no experience chartering a boat for that long of a period (so obviously infinitely qualified for this forum!) but I would imagine you will need to make a decision quickly as the choices for boats for a 6-8 week period starting in April will be increasingly small due to Easter/spring break when a large part of the fleet will be out on the water. Maybe what you should consider instead is to charter starting towards the end of June - you would get (a) low season pricing which is not only significantly cheaper but also includes 10 days for the price of 7, and (b) probably a better selection of boats. Then pick up a boat with genny+ac which I'm sure you won't regret.

I have a 40' mono with genset and A/C works just fine, not in the way either

Evan, you OWN your boat.

You have what is important to you.

tkv64 - Evan say's a 40 with genny and AC is no problem. So I withdraw my earlier comments - there are apparently 40 footers out there with the equipment. Maybe Evan can point you to some.

As you find those boats please tell us where you find them. I'm sure there are others on the forum that would like to have the option to rent a 40 with genny+ac.

If you walk the boat shows you will find some of the marketing departments are removing water and fuel tanks to make room for generators, HVAC, and Watermakers that the original naval architects did not plan for. On those boats potential owners may want to confirm the ventilation and cooling. You can even see it here on TTOL where some question the smallish water capacity.... on some offerings.

maybe I shouldn't sell? <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />

Inclined to agree with Snowdog.... Nice to have plug in for marina but otherwise should not be an issue except summer. In fact, over a long time you may get so used to the 'heat' that it just won't be an issue. But again, see lots love the AC!

There may be personally owned 40's like Evan's with genset, but I am pretty sure there are not many charter monos that size with them.

I picked this up from CYOA....

Quote

"If your boat has a generator, you will need to add about three quarters of a gallon, per generator hour, to your total. Most boats with generators return with about 60 hours on the generator – more if you run the generator all day and all night to enjoy the air conditioning."

60 hours for something you do not need?

This is exactly right. Even in our fleet at CYOA where every boat has at least dockside air you have to go to 45 feet in a mono hull to get a genset. Most charter boats of 40 feet plus are three cabin layouts and putting a genset in a 39 to 43 three cabin is tough.

Jay