(Newbie) Liveaboard In Winter

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Monxy

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Question from a newbie:
Is it doable to be a liveaboard on an entry-level 27' motor cruiser, like a Sea Ray 265, in the UK in winter?
Last year I was caravaning and it was warm enough but shook in the high winds. It was well insulated and had constant power to fuel the internal heating system.
Ideally I'd like to sail out and drop anchor off the coast rather than live in a marina. Going back to shore when I need supplies. If I'm heating the cabin with an electric fan heater I reckon I might need to run the engine to power it and so it may get cold at night without this.
Any comments would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,

Monxy
 
Hi Monxy and welcome!
While it is easily possible to overwinter in a 27ft boat I wouldn't want to do it at anchor in the UK - too many gales and damn cold at night! Unless you fit & run a decent generator (noisy & expensive) you'll never keep warm using electric. You could fit a diesel heater, but that still uses fuel and leccy. Far better and safer in a marina. There are often good winter deals on offer if you stay in the water.
 
The boat you are suggesting is perhaps one of the least suitable for living aboard that one could imagine. They are intended for weekend use and perhaps the odd overnight. Definitely not attractive to live at anchor in the winter - not impossible in a sheltered estuary but cold, wet, uncomfortable and you could be stranded on board for days.

Stick to the caravan if your objective is cheap living.
 
I overnight on board a fair few days in winter whilst doing maintenance. It's cold, which is manageable by extra layers, but also damp, for which you need some form of heating and preferrably a de-humidifier. Without that you really feel the damp when trying to settle in your bunk. I'm certainly glad to get home and have a warm bath after a couple of days.

There are ways of heating other than shorepower. Diesel or parafin heaters for example, albeit the capital outlay is a couple of orders of magnitude higher than buying an electric fan heater.

And if you're using diese or parafin as fuel, or running the engine to keep warm or generate electricity, please get yourself a CO alarm. CO does tend to kil one or two boaters a year.

As said above, better to get a decent winter deal in a marina than leave yourself exposed and bouncing around in a winter anchorage. (Apart form anything else you'd have to ask on the forum which anchor is best for overwintering on a small boat and we tend to lose one or two posters to apoplexy during a decent anchor thread).

Before you bite the bullet, somehow get yourself on a similar boat for a few nights in winter - must be MoBo-ers who go out in winter and you can see what it is really like. Although speaking for myself I do find the crew that I take cruising in the winter seem very reluctant to come back.
 
Hello Monxy

You should have no problems living on a boat in the winter. Make sure you are well sheltered in any storms and have insurance cover for the whole year. There might be cheaper and better ways of heating that an electric fire unless you have a very long flex.
 
Off cause you could live over winter in that size boat in the UK , you could also live in a card board box .
We are full time liveaboard in the Med and even here at time it can get a bit much winter times .
Keep the boat warm and dry can be a full time job at times .
If you really want to do it in Northern Europe , you be better off in a Marina ,
We are harden liveaboard but there no way I want to live on anchor in winter in the UK .
Just as I write this we are being hit with 40 plus winds and it raining cats and dogs , the Generator running hard to keep the boat dry and charging the batteries,
there no way off the boat as the waves are so big , and this is just Oct when it 26c out side , so imagine what it be like in Dec Jan , with ice on the deck or even snow , -2 out side
 
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I'd definitely recommend being nice and safe, tucked up in a marina berth over the winter. The advantages of having the boat securely tied up, shore power for heating and a dehumidifier, ability to step ashore without taking to a dinghy, and showers and facilities nearby would quite quickly be realised after a week on the hook in the p*ssing rain and howling wind, with you trying to manage battery usage, heat the boat and keep it dry.
 
Basically a speedboat, at anchor, in the Winter, heating the boat with a fan heater, using the engire to power it all.

Surely a wind up ?
 
I spent last Winter onboard and it was very nice. On a 10m boat, in the marina, hooked up to mains, with an Eberspacher drinking 40 ltrs of diesel per week when it was really cold.
 
Not certain I would select a SeaRay 265 as my first boat as a liveabord however if the OP is serious in looking for an alternative hobby/experience to carvanning than Beds on Board might be a way of trying out a few opportunities to see what might work. I recall meeting someone who was living in a small sealine at one of the Gosport marinas and commuting to work by green ferry in Portsmouth so clearly possible but you might wish to have weekends away however most livaboards seem to have somewhat more commodious if older vessels but may be the budget doesn't permit ? Clearly if marina costs are an issue then attachment to a river moored pontoon (eg on Medina or up at Fareham ) might be preferable to an anchor or buoy which might drag in any winter storm . Presumably the location of vessels has to be in UK but if not there might be better opportunities to try out a sealine or suchlike overseas where it might be warmer ?
 
pvb said:
Considering we don't know the OP's level of knowledge, that's a little harsh and unnecessary.
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May as well let the OP come back on that one. Through whatever moderation delays he has to face as a newbie.
 
Googling searay 265 to see what it was and what budget was involved I note that they're mostly £75k-£125k with the solitary exception of this one at £9200:
http://uk.boats.com/power-boats/2008-sea-ray-265-sundancer-6301270/#.WdU5nUyZPBI
Apparently in "Excellent Condition". A zero missed off? I confess I don't understand motorboat pricing

Suspect diesel heating is not the way to go given this boat has a petrol engine. Running the engine continually for heating is probably not the best plan. Also a dehumidifier is pretty much a pre-requisite for uk winter boat life if you don't want all your books and paperwork destroyed and your clothes to go mouldy. That requires power.

If the OP doesn't have a job requiring attendance at a particular place of work (as implied by the statement about only coming ashore for supplies)....why on earth stay in the UK when you could be on a boat somewhere warmer and cheaper?
 
laika said:
Suspect diesel heating is not the way to go given this boat has a petrol engine. Running the engine continually for heating is probably not the best plan.
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Not given the amount of CO produced by a petrol engine. See MAIB report on Love for Lydia for details.
 
Perhaps it is best to directly answer the OP's question:

"Is it doable to be a liveaboard on an entry-level 27' motor cruiser, like a Sea Ray 265, in the UK in winter?"

The answer to which is no.

We all know that whilst physically possible to do as he proposes the reality is that it is totally impracticable and would end in tears. If the OP wants to live aboard in the U.K in winter he must be connected to shorepower which means a marina.
 
laika said:
Suspect diesel heating is not the way to go given this boat has a petrol engine.
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A while back a mate of mine considered living in a slightly larger SeaRay, albeit he wasn't daft enough to try it on the hook. The boat he took me to look at had two big petrol lumps but also a fair-sized additional tank to run a diesel eberspacher. So it can certainly be done - and of course you get to declare 100% non-propulsion with a clean conscience :)

Pete
 
There are assorted blow ins living on similar sizes motorboat in Medway marinas. Jimmy one-leg lived on his for 10 years. Dunno anything about the boat mentioned. There's a tendency to hibernate during winter and a lot have tv's. Heating is crucial; can't think of any easy or cheap options when at anchor. There's the devices already mentioned and I think there's also a glued heater burning Valor.
Anchoring off is bound to be uncomfortable for long periods and hazardous when getting ashore. All the more shelters nooks and crannies are full of moorings or turned into marinas
 
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