Best way to heat sports boat at sea?

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ricky_s

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Having spent a few hours today freezing cold, got me thinking how nice it would be to be able to heat the boat.

I had the covers up but have to leave the back open a bit otherwise we steam up. I did try a plug in 12 volt demister but that didn't work for me.

My boat is petrol so can't use an eberspache (SP?) thing so what could I try?

I used to have a caravan with blown air heating but can't remember if that worked on gas or 240/12?
 
There is nothing stopping you fitting an eberspacher to the boat. i had one installed in a petrol powered bayliner. The only thing you do differently is fit a small auxillarey diesel tank for the fuel (which you will be able to buy 100% rebated of course :))

They are the best way to heat the boat simply. I have spent all last week on a boat with an eber (ok, it had a hard top and patio doors as well) and it was very pleasant.

You will find that in the cockpit with the canopy back open the eber will struggle a little, but what you can do is warm the cockpit with the covers up before you leave, or alternatively buy a bigger power eber and supply demist ducts under the screens as well - its what the scandis do :)
 
Depend when you are going to use the heat if it is when the engine are running you could go down the automotive route if your engine are fresh water cooled they will run at a simlar temperature to car engines and will have a potential heat out put in kw of about 2/3 the horse power so plenty to play with. If you require heat for the odd overnight then a gas propex heater may be the answer this uses blow air as does eberspacher diesel which would be better for you if you intend to do a lot of winter use as cheaper to run. Both the propex and eberspacher will require the the air intake to be from inside the accommodation as you have petrol engines to pass the bss. So would not be ideal for demisting, the automotive type heater I guess would not come under bss so could be ducted with fresh and would clear the screens.
Jonathan
 
I intend to fit an Eber to my small petrol cruiser in the next few weeks, if I can get the flippin thing working for more than 2 mins that is.....

FYI it will be a diesel heater, as Jez has already spoken about.
 
mikesyam said:
You can get petrol Ebers
Click to expand...

not that is suitable for a boat I believe..... they build one for vehicles, but for safety related issues they will not supply for boats... that is what the guys from webasto told me anyhow....

Best solution is as has been suggested, small stand alone auxiliary diesel tank for ebers / webasto system.
 
I too fitted a diesel eberspecker into a petrol. sportsboat, I also put an outlet at my feet, and it was great in the winter with the back covers open.

here is a pic of the diesel. tank i had especially made for the heater.
Fuel_Tank_sized.jpg


chkeerws

al.l.
 
"Best way to heat sports boat at sea? "
A telephone ?
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1. ring up a boat moving company and arrange to move it down to Majorca.
2.Resolve to buy a proper boat next time.
Merry Xmas.:):):):):):):):):):):):)
 
Hi Ricky,

You can use a heater matrix (ardic do one) like you get in a car. The only issues with this are that you only have heat once the engine is up to tempreture and you dont have static heat for those days you arent going out but want to use the boat - unless you run the engine up which isnt that efficient.

Costwise, its not going to be much less than the Eber either. A good eber system fitted proffessionally will cost around £1200 - less if you dont mind getting your hands dirty and you can have head in the cabin, be bedroom and the cockpit for all season boating :)
 
My open petrol boat has warm air heating, the same system as a car. It is not really much use. The system is made by Heater Craft, it uses hot water from the cooling circuit blown over a coil, the air is only warm when the engine is warm, it heats the cuddy really well and the low level vents in the cockpit help keep your feet warm. The biggest issue is that the engine must be run up to temperature, or have been recently run to heat the boat, not much use for overnighting. Next time I will go with the seperate system, petrol or diesel.
 
Good advice so far. I should add that I only want heat when the engine is running as when I am hooked up to shore power I can have heat in the cabin via a plug in heater.
 
In that case the car heater option is ideal. Look at older Land Rover heaters as they are the most basic and self contained. (300Tdi and earlier).

Hook up to engine water heater outlet, connect 12 volt supply and run ducting where you like.
 
Speak to propex leisure. They do a couple of gas heaters that work on the same principle as an ebo but a piece of cake to fit. Ultra reliable, quite and will run off the fuel source you probably already have.
just as an extra bonus they are around half the cost of diesel heating too.

Search for them under propex heatsource

ian
 
heating

we have propex on ours it fires up first time, but I reckon the best/cheapest way would be a catalitic heater, which burns butane or propane, and is completely safe, you can even spill petrol on the element and it will not flare up. I believe there is a self contained unit that is loaded with it's container.
here's one that may fill the bill.
http://www.force4.co.uk/666/Force-4-Midi-Catalytic-Heater--.html
 
Last edited:
oldgit said:
"Best way to heat sports boat at sea? "
A telephone ?
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
1. ring up a boat moving company and arrange to move it down to Majorca.
2.Resolve to buy a proper boat next time.
Merry Xmas.:):):):):):):):):):):):)
Click to expand...


Nice one Fred cheaper just to by a nice warm flybridge, helming inside of course
 
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