Cool change: Air conditioning comes to open-cockpit boats

Air conditioning is coming to open-cockpit boats, aiming to make them more comfortable in temperature extremes and increase the length of the average boating season.

Webasto Thermo has announced it has developed a fully integrated engine-driven air conditioner for sterndrive systems. As well as cooling down the cockpit in the heat of summer, the system can also add an optional heating function to warm passengers when they come up out of the water in cooler months.

The Webasto Breeze air conditioner runs off a 12-volt system, with Volvo Penta fitting a larger alternator to its 350 V8 with a beefier bracket to its stern-drive engine to handle the extra power load. Webasto fits the engine with a belt-driven compressor, evaporator, condenser, seawater pump and dash-mounted controls for the unit.

“Webasto Breeze puts out 7000 BTU [British thermal units] of ambient comfort at idle or slow speeds and up to 30,000 BTU at higher engine rpms,” Webastro said. “It is controlled by a simple dash-mounted unit with three fan speeds and a mode switch.”

In comparison, the average passenger car generates about 60,000 BTU.

The system will make its first appearance in the US fitted to a Four Winns HD270, a high-end US-market bowrider not sold in Australia. It will include a simple dash-mounted unit with three fan speeds and a mode switch, and can be fitted at the factory or via the dealer.

According to Webasto, the onboard air conditioner came about in response to customer demand.

"Our innovations are driven by our Easy Boating strategy, which aims to make it easier for more families to enjoy the boating experience,” Volvo Penta of the Americas president Ron Huibers said. “With Webasto Breeze, boat builders can offer their customers the convenience of automotive air conditioning for the first time in an open-cockpit boat."