How do you keep warm

[giolconda]

Now the nights are pulling in I was wondering how you all kept your boat warm and damp free?

We do not have heating other than fan heaters which are not cost effective at anchor, well actually not cost effective on mains hook up if it's with a pre paid card.

It would be interesting to know what different types fellow liveaboards used.

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[Cymrogwyllt]

I presume that it's the same as in a tent or caravan. Exercise is a good way.

 

[Sandyman]

As we are stuck in the UK for YET another winter, not through choice, it will be electric
blower heaters (we get a damn good deal on the lecky) with Eberspacher back up should shore supply fail. If that fails we have a catalytic gas fire and if all else fails we can run the donk for the central heating.
Two dehumidifiers, one fwd & one aft keep the condensation to a minimum.

Its really quite warm & cosy now we have thick lagging.

 

[Poignard]

Taylor's paraffin heater. Simple to install. No electrics. Cheap to run. Puts out a lot of heat. Ventilates the boat.

 

[guernseyman]

No heater, no dehumidifier. No damp.

Ventilation. Open the stop cocks on the thru hull fittings to get extra ventilation.

 

[westernman]

No heater, no dehumidifier. No damp.

Ventilation. Open the stop cocks on the thru hull fittings to get extra ventilation.

Presumably the boat is on shore.
Otherwise the damp would rise pretty quickly

 

[duncan99210]

Last year, with electricity included, we used a 2kw fan heater, which was more than OK. This year, electricity is on a pre paid card, so it will be back to the Ebersbacher. We found that to give more than enough heat in Barcelona and kept the damp at bay.

 

[CaptainBob]

In UK. We found that with the hatches shut so the dehumidifier wasn't trying to dry out the world, we couldn't keep the damp at bay. So we played about with various configurations and found that if we simply kept a hatch open a bit at each end of whatever space we were occupying, we were absolutely fine with just an electric heater. Eber is expensive as hell if you run it on max, which we found we had to do to stop coking.

At anchor, same trick with the venting, using a pressure lamp for heat. More ventilation required, but it worked great.

However. Nothing we did whatsoever could stop the condensation under the bed cushions so we bought some expensive foam stuff, forget the name and source, to go under. Not had a hint of condensation under there ever since.

 

[CaptainBob]

PS. It's VENT AIR-MAT from Hawke House

 

[giolconda]

As we are stuck in the UK for YET another winter, not through choice, it will be electric
blower heaters (we get a damn good deal on the lecky) with Eberspacher back up should shore supply fail. If that fails we have a catalytic gas fire and if all else fails we can run the donk for the central heating.
Two dehumidifiers, one fwd & one aft keep the condensation to a minimum.

Its really quite warm & cosy now we have thick lagging.

Thank you all for your appreciated inputs so far. I suppose at the end of the day it's the damp which could be the biggest problem.
Sandyman, what is your experience on the catalitic gas fire please and do they cause any extra humidity, also are they expensive to run?

Taylor's paraffin heater. Simple to install. No electrics. Cheap to run. Puts out a lot of heat. Ventilates the boat.

We like the idea but we seem to be struggling on where we could mount one and especially
where we could exit the flue/chimney. This is also a problem with an Eberspacher, to have the exhaust going through the stern the heater would have to be next to the pillows therefore not condusive for a good nights kip.

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[Simes]

This does come up from time to time.

Insulation and ventilation is the key. Once you have these sorted then it is easy to heat the boat.

We have 2 to 4 inches of PU foam above the water line and two layers of what looks like bubble wrap with silver foil on both sides on the under deck.

Other than some condensation on the metal of the hatches and port holes we have no condensation.

heating is by Diesel fired "Dickinson" cook stove and a room heater. If it gets really cold we can open the diesel taps and have 22 kWatt of heat.

22 KWatt does not come cheap but we are warm. As a rule using the cook stove we are burning 6 litres a day, heating a 45 foot sail boat in the south of England.

Simes

 

[sailinglegend420]

Search the archives for lots on this.

We have a 12,000 BTU reverse cycle 240v Air Conditioner/Heater unit. Takes 1,000 watts AC and gives out 3,000 watts of heat by taking the extra energy out of the water. This is not a wind up - it really works. Air ducts to all the cabins keep down the damp - and its a real boom with the air con in the med in July and August. Even has an auto-dehumidifier mode for when you leave the boat.

 

[V1701]

I had an Eberspacher on last boat but it coked up badly running for extended periods on low heat. On current boat use an oil-filled radiator which is fine as the boat is small volume (27' LOA, 8' beam, 5'8" headroom). Also essential for UK Winter is an electric underblanket, costs pence to run and makes a huge difference. I'm thinking about trying one of these for when there's no shorepower available. Also thinking about whether it might be feasible to have a Refleks heater on an Albin Vega...