Very small boat heating

ghostlymoron

ghostlymoron

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My 20' sailing boat lives on a swinging mooring hence no lecky supply and no diesel either. Occasionally it is chilly in the evenings and I've been thinking that some form of cheap heating would be good. Blown air and dripfeed are not practical, what do others with similar little boats use. (I have a Tilley lamp which I might try but it'll create moisture).
 
I have a Taylors paraffin heater which is excellent but they are expensive unless you can find one secondhand. I got mine from a rundown boatyard at Hampton. Although a very old model 065 it had been stored, unused, since new. A real bargain.

But failing that, you could use your Tilley lamp but you must have a flue. Several years ago there was an article in the Twister Class Association magazine describing how the author had made a s/s open fronted box into which he had fixed a Tilley lamp but the key feature was that it had a flue leading up through the deck so the dangerous fumes were removed from the boat. Really, this is all a Taylors paraffin heater is; a pressure burner in a ventilated box with a flue.
 
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ghostlymoron said:
My 20' sailing boat lives on a swinging mooring hence no lecky supply and no diesel either. Occasionally it is chilly in the evenings and I've been thinking that some form of cheap heating would be good. Blown air and dripfeed are not practical, what do others with similar little boats use. (I have a Tilley lamp which I might try but it'll create moisture).
Click to expand...

More warmer clothing.

Your Tilley will not only produce water vapour and condensation but has the potential to produce carbon monoxide.
 
ghostlymoron said:
My 20' sailing boat lives on a swinging mooring hence no lecky supply and no diesel either. Occasionally it is chilly in the evenings and I've been thinking that some form of cheap heating would be good. Blown air and dripfeed are not practical, what do others with similar little boats use. (I have a Tilley lamp which I might try but it'll create moisture).
Click to expand...

I had one of these,

http://www.tcschandlery.co.uk/mobile/origo-5100-heat-pal/p8561?gclid=CLrH7u6xmdICFekV0wodhGUKsg

Pros: small, compact and used little fuel and most likely would warm a small volume satisfactorily.
Cons: very expensive, not easy to position conveniently other than perhaps on top of a hob, smelly (absolutely essential to use denatured methylated spirits- not the UK purple dyed stuff which stinks)

Apart from a trial run, I confess to not having used it again as it was too much of a faff for my liking; I sold it for £50 and stuck to warm fleeces and a good sleeping bag, keeping the heater, until I sold the boat, as backup in case of really chilly times
 
Unfortunately there is no easy answer to heating a small boat.
All the good options need power, diesel, space for a flue, etc etc.
The not good options produce water vapour and potentially CO.

If you had an inboard, a matrix heater could be one relatively cheap option.
But failing that, probably the lowest cost heating option is a charcoal burner which will need a 1" flue. I had one briefly and had problems with downdrafts so mixed feelings. But it uses no power, has no diesel smell, and you can pick them up on e bay for a couple of hundred quid.
The Taylors and Wallas paraffin heaters also need only a 1" flue, but these are usually quite a pricey option to buy.
All the other heaters need much bigger flues and wouold be difficult to find space for in a small boat.
 
We used to used a "Minicat" heater, which I think I may still possess. It wouldn't make the cabin cosy enough to strip off in but it would make it tolerable during a summer chill, and was safe enough to leave while we went ashore. You lit it with meths and when warm it burnt its own strange fuel SBP, which I believe is still obtainable.
 
Your best option is one or two oil lamps, they also will also light the boat for you and a portable one can be taken outside, at the end of the evening, as an anchor light. It will also lift your spirits.
The water produced is negligible and will usually be taken out by the through draft in the boat.

When you make tea or top up your whisky and hot water, boil a large kettle and put a towel over it to keep it cosy longer.
 
If you really want heating, there is much to be said for trading up to a boat that will allow you to have an eberbasto.
The other benefits of a bigger boat will be in tune with wanting a heater: more space to spend time below, dryer when sailing, a proper inboard to allow more flexibility in getting places, perhaps able to handle a bit more weather?
Alternatively, if you only spend the odd cold night aboard, treat yourself to a destination with shore power and take a fan heater, it does wonders for drying and freshening the boat.
 
Getting a bigger boat is a tad extreme - I've been down that route and am now happily downsized. I do carry a fan heater for the rare occasions I'm in a marina.
 
If the OP is going down a Tilly solution with a flue , then why not go for a proper paraffin heater which produces, err, heat, not heat and light and a lot of hissing noise ?


On a small boat you need radiant heat, not convection currents taking hot air out though vents, as it's likely you will not be more than 4 or 5 ft from the heat source. . That means venting by-products of combustion out via a flue. I'm sure a temporary flue could be rigged in the main hatchway, but there's always the question of backdrafts and safety.
 
ghostlymoron said:
Getting a bigger boat is a tad extreme - I've been down that route and am now happily downsized. I do carry a fan heater for the rare occasions I'm in a marina.
Click to expand...

Maybe it is, for some people. OTOH, if you want to break out of 'camping on basic boat' and seek the comforts of heaters rather than pubs, it may be just as well in the long run to do it properly. Not suggesting gin palace, but inboard engine, proper electrics etc can enable you to live enjoyably aboard. We found slightly bigger boat with heater and so forth enabled us to produce a decent meal for 4 aboard, instead of always rushing ashore.
It's not for everyone, but I feel it is worth consideration. Need not even cost much more.
OTOH, I am completely on side with people who enjoy basic boats for what they are good at.
But it's like camping. Get good clothes and know where the pubs are. IMHO.
 
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