www.iFourWinns.com

Looking into putting A/C into my 248 Vista. Woundering if many anyone has done it themselves. If you have one either factory or aftermarket installed I'm looking for pics of where everything is located. Anyone know how many $$$$ it might cost me. I figure that I"m going to keep this boat for a while and it has been way too hot up here this summer!!

Thanks

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2001 328 Vista "Nauta Dream 2"
AB Inflatable 10AL "Little Dreamer"
2000 248 Vista
1997 225 Sundowner


Mike

This DIY was done on a Vista (248 or 268 .... don't recall).

http://www.boat-project.com/mech/proj-13.htm

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Gordon Arnold
New Hampshire

2003 268 Vista ..................................................................Prior: 97 245 Sundowner

Al's 268 Vista. Basically the same MO for a 248 install. Plan on somwhere between $1500 and $2000.

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One of 4 Previous (Sold) Boats:
2000 Four Winns 268 Vista

Current Boat: 2004 Chaparral 235 ssi cuddy

The DIY article is a good read. My 248 came with air from the factory, which is a 5000 BTU CruiseAir. The system works pretty good. My biggest complaint is that it tends to stay a bit warm in the cabin which requires the use of fans to circulate air. Additionally, only having two vents really sucks and adds to this issue.

I noticed that the unit in the DIY article is a 6500 BTU. That might help with keeping it cooler. Not sure ... I'm not an A/C guy.

You are in a much cooler area than I am so the CruiseAir might work perfectly. I think you'll be happier if you put in 3 vents. I plan to make that modification to mine soon. If you choose to go with 2 vents, I highly recommend a clip on fan. I clip mine to the counter top right in front of the vent below the breaker panel. I point the fan at the v-berth so that cool air is moving where we sleep.

Craig C.

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2003 Vista 248, VP 5.0 GXi-C, DP

I too have the factory 5000 btu cruise air, it works ok, at best.

If I were to install another, I would look at 8000 - 10,000 BTU units with at least 3 vents if not 4.

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2000 248 5.7L DP
'92, '94 SXI 750, '08 STX 15F, '12 Ultra LX 300
Videos

+1

There is someone here, might have been firecat, that installed an extra vent on his 268. This is what I would do with the larger AC unit.

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Walter

2003 248 Vista - VP 5.0 GXi
2009 Toyota Tundra SR5 5.7L 4x4

I have looked into this myself and found complete units for around $900 to $1500. If you install it yourself you can save quite a bit of money but the thru-hull work can get tricky. I have heard of some boats having the extra thru hulls, but not often.

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1999 298 Vista [color=#FF0000]Sold!!!
twin Volvo 5.7GXI

Woody: Pour you a beer, Mr. Peterson?
Norm: Alright, but stop me at one...make that one-thirty

I installed it in my 248 with a ~7500 BTU unit IIRC. I can't remember who I bought from, I went with the same vendor 248vista(?) used in his install. Came to just under 2 grand. I followed Al's writeup pretty closely. This was easy just time consuming.

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V475
Chris Craft Catalina 23 w/ 300 G2
Previously-V338, 248 Vista, H210

Here you go:

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1666&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&hilit=248+btu+install&start=30

For the seawater p/u I utilized the existing thru hull which was for the macerator discharge. I ditched the macerator on the 248 since I knew I'd never use it on that boat.

Where is the macerator discharge. And If i read that right you used it for the water intake instead of putting a new pickup through hull in the bottom of the boat. Got any pics?

Has anyone used a t where the thru hull is for the toilet?

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2001 328 Vista "Nauta Dream 2"
AB Inflatable 10AL "Little Dreamer"
2000 248 Vista
1997 225 Sundowner


Mike

You should not use a tee on the head intake. You can just use that intake and then use water from the shower head to flush