Brrr….The Air Con is On

Leave a reply

We have “managed” through the hot tropics of French Polynesia, Fiji, and Tonga.  However, we really struggled through the intense heat in the Marshall Islands, Tuvalu, and Kiribati.  So, we decided it was time for air con (air conditioning).

Our friend, Dan on Sel Citron told us about some very reasonable aircon units made in China.  These units are the same units provided to Mabru sold by Hopewell.

We were originally going to order the units direct from Hopewell (via Fanny Zhu). 

However, in talking with our electrician Matthew Duckett at Cleigh Ltd. we discovered we could order the same (2) units, (3) pumps, vents, and ducting through him for the same price.  

We ordered (2) 12V DC Air Conditioners from Matthew at Cleigh who then ordered them from Hopewell in China (Mabru). 

One unit is 12,000BTU and will cool the main salon.  The other unit is 7,000BTU and will cool the starboard master cabin.

We also ordered a variety of grills and ducting (which we heard were hard to source in NZ)

I will break down the two units by location:

12k Unit (Salon)

125mm:  2 outlet vents at corners of the settee (where existing fans are).  The main unit will live under the settee and the return air will be at feet level. 

Grills: wood square outlets. However, we ordered a white round and black round as a backup (f the ‘squares’ don’t fit).  

Matt and Matthew putting the salon AC in place under the settee.

AC Pedestal (stand)

Matt built a pedestal for the salon AC unit.  The floor was a little uneven and we needed the unit to be stable.  So, he used his carpentry skills to make the bench, then he sealed it, painted it, and secured it to the floor and sides of the settee.  This unit will not move!

7k Unit (master bedroom)

100mm: 2 outlets over the bed.  Need 100mm splitter to 100 vents (most likely ABS, but also ordered wood just in case install location has to change).

The return air most likely ABS (but ordered wood and aluminum). 

The actual unit will need to be mounted behind the ceiling false panels.  This requires a holding bracket.  

Holding Bracket in the Master Cabin

Matt created a mock up of the smaller aircon unit, true to size, to help design the holding bracket. 

We brought in Premik (from Norsand) to create the brackets out of fiberglass.

Everything was removed from the cabin so it could be properly protected.

Premik now has full access to sanding and fiber glassing in a contained space. 

We were kicked out of our bedroom for over a month as we finished this project.

Accessories for the Aircon

Matt spent the better part of the holiday break running hoses and cables for both units. 

Matt drilled three thru holes (holes in the boat)  for each unit for water intake, outtake, and exhaust.

Matthew Duckett helped Matt add a new “bus”, move our existing “bus” and run a lot of wires and cables. 

He did some excellent boat yoga to get into these very tight places.

Final Installation

Once the brackets were made the units were installed. 

Then we ran the wires and hoses and made the thru hulls.  The last part was connecting it all and adding freon. 

We had to wait until we splashed and were in the water to add the freon.

We hired Jock from Big Fridge to help us with the freon.  Jock added freon while we were berthed at Port Nikau. And we are up and running.

Now we are ready for the heat and humidity of Indonesia and Malaysia. 

Contacts:

  • Cleigh Ltd: Matthew Duckett, matthew.duckett@cleagh.com
  • Hopewell: http://hopewellchina.en.alibaba.com/, Fanny Zhu: hehebiz@163.com
  • Lusty Blundell: https://www.lusty-blundell.co.nz/ 

Pricing

As of November 2025 the pricing was as follows (USD):

  • 12V DC 12K BTU (Z12DC12) $1,380
  • Pump $95
  • 12V DC 7K BTU  (Z07DC12) $1,280
  • Pump $95
  • Various Grills/Vents in wood, metal, black, white ranges from $5-$20 each
  • 7m of air ducting ranges from $10.50-$12
  • Various hoses, connectors, clamps, elbows were purchased from Cleigh Ltd (Lusty Blundell)
  • Shipping for 2 units $895

Our blogs run 8-10 weeks behind actual live events.  We worked on the Air Con from Nov. 2025-Jan.2026.

We will power our air con units with our new solar panels – check out the blog post.

Power Up: New Solar Panels

Leave a reply

After living on the boat, full time, for the past 9 years we have decided we “need” (aka “want”) more solar power.  Currently we have 1200 watts of solar panels coming from (8) Solara Ultra 150 panels.  This solar power gets us through perfectly well on sunny days. 

However, if we have a 3+ cloudy days we end up having to run our portable Honda EU32IU Generator.

Our goal is to have enough solar to get us through 6-7 cloudy days.  In addition, more solar will allow us to run our additional Engle (portable freezer), Starlink 24/7, and our new aircon.

Extra solar will allow us to have a lot more electrical and power freedom.

New Solar Panels

We ordered (4) Sun Power P7 – 455W bifacial panels from Hubands Energy.  These 4 new panels will provide us with an additional 1800 wats (total of 3,000 wats combined with our original panels). Technically, the new solar panels could potentially generate 2,184 as they are bifacial capturing the sun from the water’s reflection.

We paid about $150 USD per panel including GST and delivery.

The problem is that we have nowhere to put additional panels without building a solar arch. 

The only place for this arch is on the aft of the boat over the davits.

Be sure to read our next blog post on the building of our solar arch.

Install

We had to drill holes into the solar panel frames to fit them onto their custom designed brackets.  Always nerve racking when you put a drill close to your glass panels.

No issues with the drilling so we moved on to the wiring.

We run “mouse lines” through the arch to make it easier to run the thicker cables once the arch is up.

Next up we install each panel while it is on the ground and easier to access.

The new panels are embedded between the bars so there is no overhang.  We wanted it to look super clean from all sides.

We are very happy with the final look.

Contacts

  • Stainless Fabricator: Phil Waddell hardout98@icloud.com and his wife Joy Waddell joyw2@icloud.com
  • Hopewell: http://hopewellchina.en.alibaba.com/, Fanny Zhu: hehebiz@163.com
  • Cleigh Ltd Matthew Duckett, New Zealand, +64 21 890 697, matthew.duckett@cleagh.com 
  • Hubands, https://hubands.co.nz, Travis travis@hubands.co.nz 

Our blog posts run 6-8 weeks behind actual live events. 

We worked on these upgrades at Norsand Boatyard in Whangarei, New Zealand.

Be sure to check out our post on the new solar arch installation.

Solar Arch Installation

Leave a reply

After months of planning, two test fits, and countless discussions, we were ready to install our new solar arch.

Be sure to read Part I “Solar Arch Design & Fitting” before you read this blog post.

After our fitting, Phil, our stainless fabricator, took our partially made arch back to his workshop.  He had another 2 weeks of work to do including:

  • installing the “ladders” on both sides of the arch
  • connecting the truss to the arch
  • adding support tubes
  • making all of the access points for our lights, antennae’s, and equipment
  • create the mounting brackets

Once he was done with his work, Phil will sanded and polished the entire piece.

Shine Like a Diamond

The next step was electro polishing at Spiraweld in Auckland.  This was tricky as the arch is so large it makes driving long distances at fast speeds difficult.

What is electropolishing?

It is an electrochemical process that removes small peaks and burrs from the surface of the metal part generally improving its smoothness and giving it a shiny appearance. The process is a form of electrolysis, the acid electrolyte acting as a conduit which removes metal ions from the surface of the stainless steel part.

Electropolishing will enhance corrosion resistance and will make it look bright, shiny and ultraclean.  It will also prevent corrosion which will reduce our cleaning.

The Damage

Spiraweld had asked us to cut the arch in half to prevent damage to it.  We knew this might be a possibility but we had really hoped they could dip it as one piece. 

Phil, our fabricator was there and cut it in half to make it easier to dip in the bins.  So imagine our surprise when we got a call that the arch was dropped and damaged!

Evidently, the leg of the arch hit the side of the bin in multiple places. For F@CK sake!  We had been so careful for the past few months in transport.

I know it does not look like much the tube is 75 mil in diameter and 1.6mm thick.  It is big, but light.  Dents like this will compromise the strength of the leg and cannot just be bumped out and polished.

Phil ended up cutting it off and sleeved it to make it stronger than the original.  Seriously more time, more money. Unfortunately, we will always be able to see the “wave” in the stainless.  It is impossible to get it out completely without completely redoing the entire leg.

To add insult to injury, we had another problem.  Phil accidentally shattered the bottom part of one panel when he was attaching it to its plate.  This has not been a good few days for us.

INSTALLATION DAY

The BIG day has arrived!  We were super anxious for today after 4 missed installation dates and all of the damage.  Phil arrived at 5:15am and we got to work.  We had to drill holes on two of the four remaining panels.  Great way to amp up the stress levels as you put a drill close to your brand new glass solar panels!

Next we began running mouse lines to help get some of the wires through.  It is super tricky to run the lines as there are 90 degree turns and false holes to avoid.

Culham Engineering sent the crane promptly at 0800.  By 8:20am we had our baby flying above the masts. 

We have two people on each side with lines controlling the movement as the crane lifts it above our mast and behind our boat.

We use a ratchet line to pull the arch together (side to side).  We test fit it first, mark the boat, pull the arch back and start drilling holes.

It is horrible to watch someone drill holes into your boat – but what can you do?

Conclusion

Nobody got hurt, the boat was not damaged and the arch is somewhat installed.  Good.

It took 3.5 hours with the crane and an additional 2 hours with Phil.  We had the bolts in but were waiting for proper backing plates to permanently secure the bolts.

Issue:  We thought the front legs would bolt into the engine compartments (behind the bulk head).  But to our surprise the bolts split the bulk head.  So, one bolt was inside the engine room and the other bolt was on the other side of the bulk head.  The only way to reach that bolt is to remove the ceiling panels from the master cabin and office.  

Yet, another project.  

It took us 4 additional days to fabricate new backing plates, get new (shorter) bolts for the ones in front of the bulk head, make 2 new vertical legs (for additional support), and use sika flex to secure everything together.

We still have the ratchet lines and our topping lift attached to the arch to secure it.  These remained in place until everything we properly assembled.

It took us an additional 2 weeks to complete the arch.  We had hire a scissor lift to finish running all of the wires and install of the additional equipment.

Contacts

Stainless Fabricator: Phil Waddell hardout98@icloud.com and his wife Joy Waddell joyw2@icloud.com. 

Phil is NOT interested in building another solar arch like ours (it was too big).  However, he is open to smaller arches and other stainless fabrication.

Our blog posts run 8-10 weeks behind actual live events. 

Check out our last blog post on the solar arch design and fitting.

We started working with Phil in early November and had the fitting on 16 December 2025.