Hi Howard:
We have had our SM2000 in the Caribbean for 4 years. It is a great
boat and I am very happy with it. My observations on ventilation
are as follows:

Forward Cabin: Excellent air flow from hatch under virtually all
conditions.* Excellent air conditioning. I have two Hella Fans to
augment airflow as needed and/or if the boat is closed up under
sail or due to insects or rain.

Forward Head: Excellent air flow from hatch under virtually all
conditions. Excellent air conditioning.

Saloon: Adequate, but not excellent air flow from hatch. Better
with Breeze Boosters. I also have two Hella fans near the saloon
forward bulkhead to help if winds are light. The single 9,000
BTU Climma AC is ok for the eating area only but inadequate
for the galley and nav station area.

Nav Station: Only a Hella fan mounted here makes it bearable.**

Galley: This is a real sweat box. The portlight isn't adequate
and the saloon AC doesn't get this far. I just finished installing
a 4th AC unit (10,000 Climma)*** for dedicated output to the galley
and nav station area in order to keep the 1st mate (wife) happy.
The Breeze Booster Port Ventilator helps. I have several of the
Breeze Boosters and Port Ventilators and they are the only ones
that I have found to work on the Amel (self erecting) see:

www.breezebooster.com/index.html

Quarter Berth: Inadequate ventilation. The single portlight doesn't
provide airflow and the port ventilator doesn't work because it is
located in the cockpit behind the dodger. I have directed an AC
vent from the new install to shoot AC air into the quarter berth.
I am contemplating installing a second portlight here to get
some airflow. There is a Hella fan here that makes it bearable.

Aft Cabin & Aft Head: Very marginal to inadequate airflow. Note
that the new Amel 54 has two aft hatches and a cabin top hatch.
The head portlight and small forward portlight are not adequate.
The AC is super and quickly cools the aft cabin. I have tried various
breeze boosters for the aft cabin with marginal results. We have
three Hella fans in the cabin and I installed an additional Hella
fan in the aft head that makes showering etc ok.

Typically at night in the Caribbean the wind and temp is ok with
normal boat ventilation. The worst time is in the afternoons. I
manage my battery charging so that I can run the ACs and charge
the batteries in the mid afternoon, or I just spend this time in
the water. This is the only boat I have ever owned so I can't compare
to others. We have the fresh air ventilation system for use when at
sea or if it is raining. It is a boon and a desirable option.

Notes:
* Fresh air ventilation system is barely adequate when boat is closed up.
** I think I orderd Hella fans as options when I bought the boat. I have
since added two more.
*** Joel says he gets four units on all his boats. I installed mine under
the galley sink, below the shelf, and tied it into the fresh air ventilation
system as well as running vents to the area of the nav station/guarter
berth and a vent that comes out into the galley from just to the port of
the dishwasher.


These are just my opinions. Hope this helps,

Gary Silver SM 2000, Hull # 335



but is--- In amelyachtowners@yahoogroups.com, "Howard Berger" <svresolute@...>
wrote: