Heating systems in MED winter

L

lennartl

New Member
Joined
16 Dec 2010
Messages
10
Visit site
Wonder what heating system you use in MED in wintertime, when you are a whole year liveaboard?
Any tips about the subject?
 
Whole year liveaboards are almost non existent. I only know of two other all year liveaboards, but then I don’t use marinas. On the south coast of Turkey some marinas have a small liveaboard community, most of them fly “Home “ in winter also. In marinas electrical heating is used.
One of the yachts “On the hook “ has no heating at all, the other has an oil fired central heating. Both plastic yachts, they have some minor problems with condensation and mould.
We have a wood burning stove in a wooden boat, no condensation. Five tons of old wood can cope with the condensation produced by cooking and breathing.
 
OldBawley said:
Whole year liveaboards are almost non existent. I only know of two other all year liveaboards, but then I don’t use marinas.
Click to expand...

Then I really must see a shrink since I've been talking to a lot of imaginary people for several years. :rolleyes:
Obviously a non-marina perspective would give OldBawley's view, but there are plenty who winter in marinas and on town quays. Preferred heating seems to be oil-filled radiators backed-up by electric fan heaters, particularly if the marina contract includes leccy. Otherwise, diesel/kerosene, if fitted...at least until Turkey introduces compulsory grey air tanks.
 
We've got countless imaginary friends as well then :). We move our home into a marina during winter months, as do many other liveaboards.

Got a fitted diesel heater as well as a couple of small plug in fan heaters. A note on the latter, buy a decent quality as we had a cheap one catch fire several years ago!
 
We and all our friends are 100% all time live aboards 365 days a year!!

We have webasto warm air central heating + electric oil small radiators + A fan heater. The fan heater very very rarely used. The webasto has heated the whole boat within ten minutes.

Good luck

Peter
 
Where I moor, the Italian northern Adriatic, winter often extends into my liveaboard period - May to November - especially so, early this year.

I'm lucky to have un-metered shore power in my home marina so have passed through many variants of electrical heating for the saloon cabin, although I do regularly exercise the Webasto diesel heater just to stop it rusting up and it does have the luxury of ducting to the forecabin. It is the ultimate solution in the unlikely event that I should find myself cruising and at anchor out of the normal summer period, when trying to keep cool is the more normal situation - and far more difficult.

Fan heaters I rejected early on, they are all too noisy, too focussed and the ambient air soon cools needing the next burst. I then tried a 1.5kW oil-filled radiator, which was good for a constant background warmth but needed too long to heat up and insufficient for my decadent desire of a really warm cabin. It was also difficult to place being bulky.

I now have a very good (and cheap) panel convection heater that sits permanently under the cabin table and very efficiently and silently (other than the click as the thermostat switch activates) keeps the cabin at a comfortable 24°C temperature.
 
Last edited:
wazza said:
Blimmey OldBawley 5 tons of wood, that's a lot of wood to burn ;-)
Click to expand...


Five tons of wood, three tons of cast iron keel, total 8 tons. Last year made new davits. The old ones ware ash, no good if bare wood and ware often used to bump into by other yachts. We always moor bowsprit to quay leaving the vulnerable davits as a goal for stern to quay backing yachts.
Made new ones. Some tropical hardwood, 10 x 3,5 inches section to start with.Three bearers connected with a pine beam, the middle one serving as a crane for the stern anchor. Bit sturdy, but hey, I found the wood. This time I left the ends pointy. Very uninviting, a bit naughty, but I was sick of yachts crashing into those wooden spars.
Burned the old davits and the cut-off´s of the new ones in the wood stove. We must have a very low carbon footprint.
BTW, we also have a drip feed Reflex heater, don’t use it in the Med. In cold Holland dry burning wood was hard to find so the diesel heating took over.
Weberspacher air or water heaters are fine, they use cold outside air to heat the yacht so the condensation in the boat reduces. ( Cold air contains less water )
However they need lots of electrical power ( Marina pay pay ) and repair men are very hard to find in the Med because they are unknown other than for yachts. Buses and trucks don’t need them here.
I have sold Webasto and Wallas heaters, followed repair courses. In fact simple devices, except for the electronics.
 
OldBawley said:
Whole year liveaboards are almost non existent. I only know of two other all year liveaboards, but then I don’t use marinas. On the south coast of Turkey some marinas have a small liveaboard community, most of them fly “Home “ in winter also. In marinas electrical heating is used.
One of the yachts “On the hook “ has no heating at all, the other has an oil fired central heating. Both plastic yachts, they have some minor problems with condensation and mould.
We have a wood burning stove in a wooden boat, no condensation. Five tons of old wood can cope with the condensation produced by cooking and breathing.
Click to expand...

You've obviously missed lots of posts from this steel boat with year round anchorers and the aluminium boat that does the same (noelex).
We have a Refleks diesel heater which provides hot water and feeds radiators throughout the boat. Minimal condensation and no mould.
 
lennartl said:
Wonder what heating system you use in MED in wintertime, when you are a whole year liveaboard?
Any tips about the subject?
Click to expand...
Depends to some degree on which part of the Med. Some northern coasts see severe frost - off Rhone Valley, N Adriatic, North Aegean. Laid up vessels here should be properly winterised!

Southern shores and many islands rarely see significant frost - Malta, Crete, Kos, Rhodes, Tunisia (especially Djerba, an all year sun resort) and the SW of Turkey. And Costa del Sol lives up to its name over winter. Very light background heating is all that's needed in those places.
 
Tunisia can get 'cold'. We had 6 degrees one day! Brrrrrrr!

I spent a tidy fortune on a Wallas blown air heater before we set off and never used it.

If you're going to be marina based during winter one of those oil filled rads would do you. We bought one in Portugal and it was dirt cheap. Had to get a dehumiditifer there too though as it rained and rained and rained!


C.
 
As NornaBiron says we stay at anchor all year around in med.
There are a number of cruisers that do this although a surprisingly small number do so at anchor rather than in a marina.

Our boat is well insulated so condensation is not an issue, but it does get bloody cold at times (no heating)
 
We spent a winter onboard in Malta years ago with no electric and without running the motor for charging.

There are various requirements when you do that and our solutions were:

Heating and light from a Tilley lamp which was enough for comfort in the evening.

Water pumped by Whale footpumps I fitted.

Fridge was an Electrolux paraffin model bought from their local depot for £5 as they took them in part ex for electric models.
 
We also have a reverse cycle Air Con/Heater unit. Cooling in the summer when you need it and heating in the winter - supplemented by an oiled filled radiator.

If you have to pay for your leccy the reverse cycle units are really efficient. Put in one Kw of AC and you get three Kw of heat out. Also great if you need Air Con on the hook.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Other threads that may be of interest

O
Overwintering in 2026
Replies
15
Views
1K
Star-Lord
Star-Lord

Share this page

Top