Walden Boat

[Barefootnavigat]

Originally Posted by s/v Beth

I might be able to help you with the heat. Do you know what a rocket stove is? I plan on building a tiny one for the cockpit. Heat water on it and transfer the water down stairs. Viola: heat.
Uses sticks and small deadwood....
Perfect for the PNW....

Thanks for the tip but I have a 2 burner stove and oven. Its the Pacific Northwests damp cold winters I'm trying to beat. At the dock my electric heater keeps me warm and toasty on those bitter cold snowy nights but I want to cruise the whole winter so I'm desperate for dry warm heat, not easy on a dinky boat.

[Terra Nova]

Terra Nova came with a first class diesel heater. It isn't enough to heat an entire boat this size in near freezing weather. But it would drive you out of your Walden boat. Cheap to run.

Instead of burning sticks in the cockpit to heat water to then heat the cabin, why not install a small, externally vented, airtight wood stove? Heat your water right in the comfort of your already warm, dry cabin. Wonder if there is one that can burn both diesel and solid fuel.

[oldragbaggers]

Check out this solid fuel heater

Newport Solid Fuel Heater | GoodBoatGear.com

[Terra Nova]

Terra Nova has their diesel version.

[s/v Beth]

Have not made it yet so we can't compare. But my idea is to have a container of water heated on the outside, with hose circulating with one of those solar bags above the galley sink. Hot water, night heating and easily convertible to solar on sunny days!

[Terra Nova]

What causes the heated water to circulate, an electric pump?

[s/v Beth]

Some lines will automatically circulate, but no I would either hand pump every 15 minutes or so or small solar pump. Like i said, haven't done it yet. The auto cir is a possibility, having seen it on other systems, but we will see.

[Terra Nova]

Originally Posted by s/v Beth

Some lines will automatically circulate...

[s/v Beth]

Originally Posted by Terra Nova

Smarta$$
Hot Water Heating Systems Design

[Terra Nova]

From your link.

"The gravity system will also have a relative low heating capacity because of low medium temperatures in the heating elements."

Just not going to work.

[s/v Beth]

Its not going to hurt you for me to find out- and you can continue to say
"I told you so". :P
But if it does work it solves a few problems (in my mind anyway)
1. carbon monoxide in the cabin
2. fuel storage while coastal cruising
3. reliance on fossil fuels
4. having a stove pipe in rough seas.

[Cheechako]

The Presto 30 probably fits the Walden mold! Draws 13", no standing rigging. and highly regarded
Solar Wind Boats – Presto 30 | Solar Wind Boats – Presto 30

[Terra Nova]

A 22' catboat could provide very decent accommodations with no standing rigging and no mast in the way. Just a centerboard trunk.

[Mike OReilly]

I've found my Walden boat. She is the smallest boat my partner and I can live with (right now). She has enough space and storage for long-distance, self-sufficient cruising. She is big enough to manage the seas comfortably, but small enough to be easily sailed by one. She is a home, not a tent (and I've lived in tents for extended periods).

As for heating, if I were staying in the northern Great Lakes, or cruising the PNW, I would probably install a wood stove. We currently cruise Lake Superior, which is quite cold all the time. But heck! We're tough Canadians. We get by just fine with a simple alcohol heater (Origio), and it only gets used very occasionally.

I'm actually more concerned about the heat than the cold. You can always put on more fleece, but at some point you can't take any more off . As we begin our journey south (as we're doing this year), I worry about leaving the blessedly cold waters of Superior and getting to places where you can swim without going into hypothermia ... how weird is that? .

[hpeer]

Now that we are working a week on a wek off we spent half the winter on the big boat, in the water.

We have an Espar D-4. That would keep the saloon warm into the low teens if I closed off the fore peak and aft cabin. One night was in the low single didgets, that night we also ran the aft cabin kerosene bulkhead heater. We were comfy.

A guy on a 33 Nauticat has an Espar, he runs it on kero only.

Third liveaboards uses a Webasto hydronic unit. It seems a bit more troublesome than the Espar.

The biggest problem was with condensation.

Other Neighbors have a small wood stove. They like it but to me it seems a hassle. Trouble keeping the chimney from dripping creosote all over, they ended up wrapping it with heat shield cloth. They stoke it up, but have to up at night to throw in some more wood.

I have a Dickensen stove in a hunting cabin. Good for there, but I can't see it on a sail boat.

On a small simple boat I would look to the kero bulkhead heater. Watch ebay and Craig's list for old ones. Once you get the hang of em they are pretty simple
And reliable, although some complaine of the smell. We are apparently immune to diesel and kero smell so we like it fine. We have kero stoves also, on both boats. I find it hard to beat.