Vacuum cleaner
The factory offers an installation of a central vacuum system. I don’t really know what it looks like, but it costs around 1500 EUR.
I solved it a little differently. I bought a Makita DCL286FZW vacuum cleaner:
I chose this model because it has a cyclone filter, no bags and has pretty good reviews online. And then a 5.0 Ah battery and charger combo (191B51-7):
It fits very nicely in the lower compartment under the stairs. Battery not pictured, but fits as well when put into the charger:
As a bonus, if you have other Makita equipment (e.g. compressor, drill etc) then you can share the single battery between all of them.
Dehumidifier
For around 2400 EUR you can get a central dehumidifier built in at the factory. It’s a compact unit (Munters MG50), that can manage 4.8L/24h at high humidity and 20C temperature.
I think the price-performance ratio is not quite there. I am also unsure where they fit it. Maybe in the heads compartment? Seems like it needs at least 2 vents to the outside as well to not constantly draw in air from the outside and create an infinite loop of drawing in moist air.
I chose a tried and tested freestanding dehumidifier. The Wood’s WDD80. You can set the target humidity and maximum fan speed. Like the Munters MG50 it is a desiccant type humidifier, thus it is able to operate even at freezing temperatures. The price is around 270 EUR, and it fits perfectly in the heads with the drain into the sink:
In fact it slots in so precisely into the gap that it can not fall out, even if the boat gets rocked. Compared to the MG50 it performs better overall – 8L/24h down to very low temperatures. Unlike the MG50 it does not need any connections to the outside, because it discharges water from a hose, not into a “wet air” outlet.
When not in use, it can be stowed in the large locker by the stairs (next to the hanging locker). It just fits there by inserting it diagonally and then rotating.
I tend to keep it on in the home port set to 40% or if moisture really builds up during a longer journey.
Electric heater
While you can use diesel for heating, when you have shore power in the harbour it seems like a waste as electricity is often already included in the mooring fee. You also can not control the temperature in each cabin – there is only one thermostat in the walkway, so it can often be that there is a temperature difference between the cabins. Additionally because it is not possible to shut off the vent to the saloon, it can get rather hot up there in the morning if the heater has been running all night.
I did a lot of research and tested many units. The conditions were:
- PTC heater so it can not overheat by design.
- Fallover protection – should turn off.
- Well operating thermostat.
- Small size to be able to stow easily.
- Quiet enough to not disturb sleep at night when it turns on.
What I finally found that ticked all the boxes in reality (there were a few that did on paper, but failed spectacularly on some points) was the Dreo Atom 316:
Among other places they can be found on Amazon.de for 50 EUR at the time of writing.
I got two of them – one for each cabin. 19C seems like a good temperature to set them to when they are on the floor. They just fit into the side lockers in the master cabin as well, and no problem of course in the centre cabin. Power consumption is 1500W when turned on, and then gradually trickles down.
Most importantly the heater is almost silent when the target temperature is reached and the heater is maintaining it. Perhaps the only downside is that the touch sensitive buttons are not illuminated on the heater, but you learn fast enough where the on/off button is and the heater remembers the mode as well as the last temperature setpoint even when it is disconnected from the grid.
The diesel heater can be used in ventilation mode at the same time to provide fresh air if you don’t want to or can’t open the windows for some reason.