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Scuba Forum / General / April 2004Is A/C a must on a liveaboard?
Hello, My wife and i are planning a liveaboard trip to the Andaman Sea. As we've never done a liveaboard before, we were wondering we we should be looking for a boat with A/C. I've heard stories about not having been able to sleep a wink without A/C. How important is A/C? Thank you. I've never taken advantage of it 'cos I always sleep on deck - the A/C is noisy when it is on and hot when it isn't. Better to find a breezy place on deck so that when it breaks down, you are in the best plce! > Hello, > [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > Thank you. >Hello, > [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > >Thank you. I think it's probably less important on the water than it is on land. It also depends on what climate you're used to. Personally, I can live without it, but I know a lot of people who can't. dj_google@daum.net (DJ Kim) pounded away at his keyboard resulting in: :How important is A/C? Hard to say. Every liveaboard I have been on has had it, so I don't know what it would be like without it. Probably hot. Dan Bracuk If at first you don't succeed, you run the risk of failure. The Best of rec.scuba http://www.pathcom.com/~bracuk/RecScuba/ > I've heard stories about not having been able to sleep a wink without > A/C. > How important is A/C? If I'm in 80+ degree water, I definitely want A/C. > > I've heard stories about not having been able to sleep a wink without > > A/C. > > How important is A/C? > > If I'm in 80+ degree water, I definitely want A/C. I wouldn't the water'd keep me nicely cool. However I'd like it for when I got back on the boat. Dennis > "Al Wells" <fossuldiver@seatypsy.us> wrote in message > > If I'm in 80+ degree water, I definitely want A/C. > > I wouldn't the water'd keep me nicely cool. However I'd like it for when I > got back on the boat. In my experience, if the water is 80+ degrees, it gets very hot below deck. If the water is cool, it can get cold below deck. al > > "Al Wells" <fossuldiver@seatypsy.us> wrote in message > > > If I'm in 80+ degree water, I definitely want A/C. [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > In my experience, if the water is 80+ degrees, it gets very hot below > deck. If the water is cool, it can get cold below deck. Sorry - a bit of attempted dry humor. :-) Dennis > al Is it fair to wonder if a boat doesn't have A/C, what else does it not have? > Hello, > [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > A/C. > How important is A/C? I don't know anything about the Andaman Sea, but I know something about boats. Air conditioning is important enough that I have it on my private boat and burn some very precious fuel running the generator all night to ensure my comfort. Most cruising boats are designed to take advantage of natural air flow when at anchor. There's usually enough flow to be more than cool enough, even in the topics. That all changes, however, when you are tied to a dock or rafted up with other boats. If the boat can not swing with the wind, the air is not going to flow through the boat. Most live aboard boats are not designed to take advantage of natural air flow. There are no hatches into or exits out of individuals berths. Body, engine and heat from other sources can easily be trapped within the boat, potentially making it very uncomfortable, unless you actually like sleeping in a pool of sweat. The bottom line, however, is how important is air conditioning to you? Lee >My wife and i are planning a liveaboard trip to the Andaman Sea. >As we've never done a liveaboard before, we were wondering we we >should be looking for a boat with A/C. >I've heard stories about not having been able to sleep a wink without >A/C. >How important is A/C? My first liveaboard trip was on the Sea Dancer almost 10 years ago. Mid week the A/C compressor failed during the night. Within a couple of hours the whole interior of the boat was completely unbearable. I went up to the top deck while it was till dark expecting to sleep up there, but it turned out everybody else on board had the same idea and there was a crowd already. Luckily we were moored at the west end of Provo, and we able to get an A/C mechanic to come out later that day to make repairs. It would not have been bearable without. I've been to Cozumel mid-July and that was hot. This was defintely hotter. MAYBE if the boat you are thinking about was designed with better ventilation it MIGHT be acceptable for you. I wouldn't consider it.  SignatureRemove preceding and trailing X from username for replies (Sorry, but I'm SICK of spam...) Al Rudderham <xal.rudderhamx@sympatico.ca> pounded away at his keyboard resulting in: :My first liveaboard trip was on the Sea Dancer almost 10 years ago. :Mid week the A/C compressor failed during the night. Within a couple :of hours the whole interior of the boat was completely unbearable. I :went up to the top deck while it was till dark expecting to sleep up :there, but it turned out everybody else on board had the same idea and :there was a crowd already. Is this why you say that Nekton Cruises is better than Peter Hughes? Dan Bracuk If at first you don't succeed, you run the risk of failure. The Best of rec.scuba http://www.pathcom.com/~bracuk/RecScuba/ "Dan Bracuk" <NOTbracuk@pathcom.com> wrote in message > Is this why you say that Nekton Cruises is better than Peter Hughes? Over the course of various BlackBeards trips I've had talks with the various crew ( engineers, mate and DM ) and it was very clear the three things that they would go to any extreme to make sure were operational were the engine/generator, the air conditioning and the air compressor. They seemed to have spare parts stowed away in every knook and cranny that they could, and they even joked that if the part they needed was under your bunk at 2am, you'd be waking up. The AC never stopped working, once the compressor stopped and they had it fixed in about 15 minutes, and one while crossing back to FL the diesel stopped and again had it fixed in about 15 minutes. I wish they fixed things that fast in Jamaica. >Al Rudderham <xal.rudderhamx@sympatico.ca> pounded away at his >keyboard resulting in: [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > >Is this why you say that Nekton Cruises is better than Peter Hughes? Nope. I thought the Peter Hughes folks did a outstanding job on that trip, and was very impressed with the way they handled the A/C problem to keep us diving without interruption while repairs were quickly made. I've run into equipment problems on Nekton's boats too, things that had a greater effect on diving and comfort. sh.t happens. My beef with Peter Hughes is that they sailed out of port in Belize and into a hurricane which they knew was approaching, and a lot of people died as a result. They gave new meaning to the phrase "my last dive". I'll never consider them again. I just wish Nekton would hire a couple chefs with the ability of Stan, the chef on the Sea Dancer. SignatureRemove preceding and trailing X from username for replies (Sorry, but I'm SICK of spam...) > They gave new meaning to the phrase "my last > dive". Or, "my last *wreck* dive"... <sick-grin> >>Al Rudderham <xal.rudderhamx@sympatico.ca> pounded away at his >>keyboard resulting in: [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] > I just wish Nekton would hire a couple chefs with the ability of Stan, > the chef on the Sea Dancer. I thought Peter Hughes sailed into Belize to seek harbor from the hurricane. Weren't they moored inland on a river when the accident happened? >I thought Peter Hughes sailed into Belize to seek harbor from the >hurricane. Weren't they moored inland on a river when the accident >happened? Here we go again... Yes, they did sail into a "harbour" and they were moored when they were capsized. That's not the point. Two days prior they boarded passengers and sailed out of Belize City. At that time the hurricance was a couple hundred miles offshore and the projected path showed that it was coming directly towards them. While the rest of Belize was preparing for the storm, the Wave Dancer (and the equally stupid, but luckier, Aggressor) said "let's go diving"! They should never have left port in the first place. There's a report at: http://www.cdnn.info/special-report/wavedancer/wavedancer.html that summarizes the events, and asks a lot of the same questions I did at the time. This quote from their timeline says it all: NOAA's National Hurricane Center predicts that "IRIS COULD REACH EASTERN YUCATAN OR NORTHERN BELIZE AS A MAJOR HURRICANE WITHIN 36 TO 48 HOURS"; Manta Resort at Glovers Reef, just south of Lighthouse Reef orders immediate evacuation of guests, staff. Wave Dancer remains anchored of Lighthouse Reef as guests dive and party. SignatureRemove preceding and trailing X from username for replies (Sorry, but I'm SICK of spam...) >>I thought Peter Hughes sailed into Belize to seek harbor from the >>hurricane. Weren't they moored inland on a river when the accident [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] > orders immediate evacuation of guests, staff. Wave Dancer remains > anchored of Lighthouse Reef as guests dive and party. I know what the report says, it just isn't what you stated in your original post. >I know what the report says, it just isn't what you stated in your >original post. I said: Al>they sailed out of port in Belize and into a hurricane which they Al>knew was approaching, and a lot of people died as a result. I think that's what the report says. According to their timeline Iris became a hurricane at 1700 on Saturday, October 6. The Dancer sailed an hour later... You're welcome to voice your own opinion. I don't expect everybody to agree. I was just answering Dan's question whether it was the broken A/C incident that made me prefer Nekton's operation. SignatureRemove preceding and trailing X from username for replies (Sorry, but I'm SICK of spam...) >>I know what the report says, it just isn't what you stated in your >>original post. [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > agree. I was just answering Dan's question whether it was the broken > A/C incident that made me prefer Nekton's operation. I misunderstood - apology! Al Rudderham <xal.rudderhamx@sympatico.ca> pounded away at his keyboard resulting in: :This quote from their timeline says it all: : [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] :orders immediate evacuation of guests, staff. Wave Dancer remains :anchored of Lighthouse Reef as guests dive and party. Was this information available to the passengers on that Saturday morning that they left for Belize? Dan Bracuk If at first you don't succeed, you run the risk of failure. The Best of rec.scuba http://www.pathcom.com/~bracuk/RecScuba/ >:NOAA's National Hurricane Center predicts that "IRIS COULD REACH >:EASTERN YUCATAN OR NORTHERN BELIZE AS A MAJOR HURRICANE WITHIN 36 TO [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] >Was this information available to the passengers on that Saturday >morning that they left for Belize? Probably not. It sure wasn't available when they booked, nor when they prepaid their airfare or the cruise fare. But that's one of the risks of any prepaid vacation. And by booking a trip in October they should have realized the increased possibility of a hurricane. That's why I've done almost all of my liveaboard trips in May/June. It's not clear to me whether the passengers had any knowledge of the approaching storm. To a large extent when on a liveaboard you are at the mercy of the captain, and you only know what the captain tells you. I've never seen a passenger carry their own weather fax, or sattelite phone. Anyway, I think we've all beaten this thing to death. You asked why I prefered Nekton. Now you know. SignatureRemove preceding and trailing X from username for replies (Sorry, but I'm SICK of spam...) |
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