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Date: 21 July 2016. Moby-Cool a/c cover Installed.
 

This is a long article. You might wish to pour yourself a beverage before sitting back to read. Thanks for your patience while I tweaked it. More coming, and soon. I got behind and even at five knots the times flows quickly. J.


Before Picture:

 

© janice142
 

A few days ago I told you about my Moby-Cool a/c cover Tweak. This article will show you how it all came together. Here in Florida between the heat and the humidity it can be miserable. I am at a dock right now with access to a power cord. It is cool (read: comfortable) inside my Seaweed because of the air-conditioner. Thank goodness I have an interesting view.
 


Aboard Seaweed I am always looking for storage solutions. With the Moby-Cool I can use my a/c anytime. That is a huge benefit. Now it looks nice too.
 

That wood thing I had jury-rigged to hold the a/c in place was dreadful. The air-conditioner in the doorway meant one exit was always blocked. It was unsafe and ugly too.
 

The ambiance was not what I want for my home. Edwin and Moby-Cool made it all nice again for me.

 

I have had my head handed me on a platter for not showing you the finished product in the last article.
Here is my girl just a couple weeks ago. And yes the air-conditioner is on the topside. Invisible, eh?

The Moby-Cool is just aft of the pilothouse solar panels on the overhead of the galley.
It is between the solar panels forward of the wind generator. (A girl has to have power.)


My cyber friend Noel said "I could use this on top of my airstream when I want to run it on the small generator" and he is correct. This is an elegant solution for those of us who cannot afford to spend $500-plus for a roof-top RV unit.


I like it.


This is Edwin in front of the mangrove trees.


Screwing together the side pieces was easy because the holes all matched. Please note the silver insulating foam on the inside. That should keep my cool air inside Seaweed. It looks great.



Working under the trees helped Barely with the heat of summertime. I am grateful for friends who can help. Edwin has been a friend for many years. He knew how heavily the air-conditioner situation weighed on my spirit.
 

 

Ugly a/c
 

I absolutely hated having my air conditioner positioned in the doorway. With the a/c up top I can run it whenever the temperature or humidity make life uncomfortable.
 

This has made a Big Impact
 on my happiness quotient.

 


Truth to tell, I was a bit afraid of this project. Drilling holes in the overhead gives ripe opportunity for leaks. And too, I do not have a lot of hand strength. Edwin was a big part of the successful completion of the cover installation.


Edwin double checked all the measurements.


Next he added the foam insulation tape to the top of the a/c unit.

The tape came with the Moby-Cool cover kit.


I had in my stash of stuff two pieces of 1" square hardwood. That wood was used along the inside rim of the cover. The wood fit on the lengthwise edges along the bottom of the cover. I wanted a backing plate of sorts (not just the fiberglass cover) and the mahogany served that purpose. Holes were predrilled so when installation time came it was an easy matter to line things up.
 


Four holes along each side at the bottom edge firmly hold the cover to Seaweed.
 

The cover is thru-bolted using *1/4 20's. Some might opt to have a less permanent installation. I wanted this item to stay put even in a hurricane. I have not tested that as of yet. The Moby-Cool cover has survived Colin [see Report on Colin (a tropical storm) for details] without issue.
 

Definition of quarter 20's: 1/4 in diameter and 20 threads to the inch. For those unfamiliar with "quarter twenties" please take a quick peek at the Bolt Sizing Primer vignette. Thanks.

Side Note: I tend to prefer to thru-bolt items where others might use screws. On Seaweed often there is nothing on the other side of the gelcoat/fiberglass to fasten securely to. That is why I go all the way through the bulkhead using nuts and washers on the other side.


I always use stainless hardware. After drilling the holes I stuff them with a sealant.


Sealants used: Outdoor silicone or Boat Life Lifecalk Sealant Cartridge, White or  Boat Life Lifeseal Sealant Cartridge, Clear. It all depends on what I have on hand. I prefer to use Lifecalk or  Lifeseal. Both are made by Boat Life. They are more expensive and when the funds are slim I use what I have and can afford. Affiliate links provided in blue.
 

 

The Experts say "never use silicone"

 

I use it and I am definitely not an expert! If the silicone starts leaking I fix it again. It is easy enough to rip out what is loose and add more. For me silicone is an acceptable solution to leaks well above the waterline.
 

I have used outdoor weatherproof GE Silicone II Clear Caulk Cartridge to seal a window gap. Buy the brand name. There is a difference.
 

Short Story: The window over my galley sink started to lean out. After fixing that (thru-bolting) I still had some space where water would drip in. A bead of silicone along the top edge solved that issue while I was anchored in a remote area.
 

That was several years ago. Only recently did I remove the silicone. I replaced it with Lifeseal. I did not remove the silicone because it was failing. The reason was that I had a tube of Life Seal and wanted to finish using it up.

 


I prefer and of late have been fortunate enough to afford Life Calk. That's what was used to seal the Moby-Cool to my overhead. Here's the process:
 

  1. Drill holes to secure the Moby-Cool to the overhead.

  2. Next, add a thick bead of Lifecalk to the bottom edge of the Moby-Cool cover.

  3. Fill drilled holes with more Lifecalk.

  4. Insert stainless 1/4 20's thru washer, wooden backing plate, Moby-Cool cover, and cabin top into the galley.

  5. The bolts protruded about 1/2" into my cabin. I added fender washers then Nyloc nuts to each.

  6. To permanently secure the a/c cover to the overhead, tighten bolts.


Call it good. Done.
 

On the inside this is what I see:


We made use of the
 Fan-tastic Vent Fan Garnish. Garnish is what that company (Fan-tastic) calls the white part shown above. In any event that piece was sealed above deck so that no water could come in. The air conditioner fits right up to the edge of it. I believe it looks spiffy there.
 

Added information, circa June 2023: Affiliate link to a spiffier overhead fan model than my own: Fan-tastic Vent fan. These fans have tripled in price since I purchased mine. The ones that only have one direction of air movement seem to have been discontinued. "Improved version"  no doubt, however much more costly. I positioned my Fan-tastic Vent fan in the pilothouse between the two Renogy 100 watt panels.
 

Having the air conditioner mounted has made a huge difference in my happiness quotient. If I wake up in the morning and it is a bit humid I can turn on the a/c for an hour or so to cool off the boat.
 


In the heat of the day the a/c never shuts off. I am comfortable and that means the world to me. Roughing it is for kids. I am into Decadence at this point in my life. The Haier 5000btu air conditioner cools my boat and me. Life does not get much better.
 

 

Same picture, for your convenience


You will note a surge protector power strip in the photograph on the right. That power strip is direct wired to my a/c panel at breaker #1 using *10 gauge sheathed triplex wire.
 

*10 Gauge sheathed triplex wire: 10 gauge is the diameter of the wire. Triplex means three wires: hot, ground and neutral. Sheathed means there is a plastic cover over the three wires.

 

The a/c plug is plugged into a Kill A Watt meter. I'm checking that the stated wattage (455) is accurate. It's close enough. I've seen 475 at a peak. Currently it's reading 462 watts.

 


The reason I wanted a power strip is twofold. My concern was that when the air conditioner quits I want to be able to simply remove and replace it with another cheap a/c unit. [My Haier with a full two-year warranty was bought at NewEgg for less than $200.]

The second reason is Christmas. I anticipate hanging lights from the overhead using that outlet. Christmas is my favorite holiday. Bing Crosby sings to me. Frank-be-still-my-heart Sinatra, Rosemary Clooney and Dino brighten my days. Life is good. It is most excellent to be on a boat at Christmas time.


Edwin did a Wonderful job in making the a/c installation
pretty for me. I am beyond thrilled. Thank you Edwin.


From the forward starboard quarter looking aft:


As you can see it neatly fits between the solar panels. The Moby-Cool cover allows me to have an inexpensive small air-conditioner topside without the boat looking shabby.


From the aft quarter, the air-conditioner:


Seaweed is not a fancy yacht. I am thrilled with my home. The addition of this air-conditioner has made my life quite comfortable. I love that the Moby-Cool cover allowed me to mount the a/c unit out of the way yet easily accessible.
 

Underway I do not believe folks notice the air-conditioner there. You did not!
This picture ↓ was posted in the
Boat Buying Decisions (what is important?) article.

 

For those of us on a tight budget I believe the Moby-Cool is an option to consider. This item keeps my boat looking ship-shape. I love it.
 

Details: A friend told me about the Moby-Cool cover. He'd seen it advertised in Southwinds Magazine. I phoned 407-435-9733 and left a message. The next day the owner/designer called. His name is Scott.

No affiliation, etc.


Thanks again for your patience. Congratulations for making it to the end of this article. In the end for me having air-conditioning is a key component to my comfort. I am happy leading this life of decadence in 23'.

Life is great afloat. Remember if you spot Seaweed along the waterways to give a call on Channel 16. I am always listening.
 

 

Addendum. 20 August 2016. A new friend, Tex, asked how specifically I attach the air conditioner to Seaweed. I missed that part in the article. Oops! Thanks for catching that Tex.

 

SCREWS HOLD A/C TO COVER
TEAK BACKING PLATE
 

I took a piece of teak one inch by 1/2" thick the width of the cover. That hardwood was used as a BACKING PLATE. Four SCREWS go through Moby-Cool cover, then teak and finally into the air-conditioner.
 

I was also concerned that the unit might slide back in rough seas. Thus I finally found a use of that 1" aluminum angle iron (is it called iron when it's aluminum?!?) The ALUMINUM BRACE is thru-bolted into my cabin. That a/c is going no where.


  - 1" ALUMINUM BRACE

 

When the air conditioner does finally quit on me, I'll simply remove those four screws and lift up the unit while pulling it aft. Then I will buy another $100 air conditioner and call it Good Enough.

 


I'd love to hear what your cooling solutions are for summertime.
And, are how do you power your solution?
 

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