You could replace the mini-split 5 times for the price of a marine air unit install. If you get 3 years apiece out of them in salt conditions, that's decent bang for the buck. My guess is they'll go longer than that.
True. During my time in Southeast Asia and the Persian Gulf, the splits were used nearly exclusively in boats of say, 100ft or less. And these are commercial boats - dhows, tugs, passengers, local yachts, etc.
The biggest challenge with them is placing the condenser (outside unit) somewhere hidden or where it can be enclosed in a ventilated box so it isn't an eyesore. There is a small noise issue, so you wouldn't want it too close to a window or on a flybridge next to the helm.
On another note, some units (like the Sapphire series) are lightyears ahead of marine a/c in terms of efficiency and can produce heat down to freezing, much lower than a heat pump. With a big enough LiFePo bank, cycling every hour or two, you could run a 12kW unit overnight on batteries, then recharge in the morning with the genny.
No through-hull, no strainer, no killies clogging the strainer, no seawater pump. Nice - if you can practically fit one.
Edit - just attached the brochure on the Gree unit mentioned above. I've used them and they are excellent.
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