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I'm a Newbie and I've been wondering: why don't more sailboat stoves, heaters etc. use kerosene?
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It's dirty and has a lower heat value than propane. It isn't odorless unless you have an old building that leaks air and has a decent chimney. CNG is fine but finding it is more like a treasure hunt and is not available most places. Folks around here that use CNG drive 1.5 hours by car to where you can get it refilled and they don't often have exchanges so that makes 2 trips. It works fine but you don't get as much use per tank as propane. It may be lighter than air but it will explode.
Kero may be fine for a space heater and probably no messier than the diesel heater we have. The diesel heater uses the same fuel as the engine. You still have to store it. Kero stoves don't work that great for cooking even if they are OK for heat. I'm not aware of any boat with a kero hot water heater. I'm not sure I see the economy of 10 - 12 weekends "years ago" for $100 either.
Propane is hands down the best for cooking. Even in 3rd world countries small propane tanks for cooking are very common. I do not however think it's all that great for heating if you need to heat an enclosed space the issue of fuel is greater. We heat water with propane on demand and in the mid summer weather we don't need to heat water at all.
Alcohol stoves are more common than kero stoves. It burns cleaner but is not as hot as propane. I'm not aware of folks using alcohol for heat.
Using propane can be made safe. A poorly adjust kero burner could kill you from carbon monoxide too. How you store it becomes a secondary issue as well. You don't store propane in the boat as the locker must be drained overboard and not connected to the rest of the boat. Sintex makes a nice controller with built in sensors so you can detect internal leaks.