keeping the water flowing in winter

[BrieGrande]

Hi All!
I'm new to the forum this morning! I am planning to move back onto a boat within the next couple of years. I lived on a 42 Chris when my oldest son was younger. I'm a single mom: my boys are 7 & 4 now and I am eager to get them back to living aboard. Before, I winterized everything to avoid pipes freezing. So we had no running water for a little over two months each year. That is not going to work for us now with the boys older and school and everything. So, I am looking for good heating options that are efficient and safe. I am thinking propane heaters or pellet stoves in the main cabin areas and electric to help in the bathrooms.

I am looking at 42 to 53 foot motor yachts. I'm used to a 42 but would like a bit more space as my mom will be staying with us often and I am hoping to have a third child.

Any thought on heating efficiency and safety? This seems to be a big problem for a lot of livaboards! I'm hoping to solve it! :-)

And is solar something that could really help me with electricity?

Thanks Everyone!

[captain465]

I lived abaord a 38ft sailboat on the Hudson River (Stony Point, NY) for 10 years, all year round. I had the boat shrink wrapped in the water, with CLEAR shrinkwrap. I used a propane heater, and had a water circulator under the boat to keep the ice away. The heater had a thermostatic control and had an oxygen deprivation sensor for safety. Never had a problem, and stayed toasty warm all winter.

[a64pilot]

Because of Safety, I'd go Diesel and or electric, a Forced air good Diesel fired heater from my understanding can make it like your in a brick and mortar house, but I have no cold weather experience myself.
From my limited understanding, it's the Marina that may be your biggest problem? No pump outs, maybe no running water and snow and ice on the docks?

But you have done it before so you know better than I

Oh and Solar is fine, but it's never, ever going to break even cost wise, if you have shorepower available, it is your cheapest and likely most reliable power option there is

[BrieGrande]

Hi A64Pilot! Thanks for your thoughts! Our marina has pump out all year. They do shut the water off for a couple months, the liveaboards run a long (shared) hose from the main line up by the bathrooms that stays on and fill their tanks once a week or so. It was an awesome ritual I used to just watch on weekends, but I look forward to joining in soon! :-) And we never had issue with the ice and snow, we were always just incredibly careful. My father fell in once when he lived on his boat- did a split off the catwalk, bruised the hell out of the inside of his legs and hit the water dressed in a suit on the way to work in February. He said he never swam so fast to his swim platform! I hope I never learn how cold that water can be in February!!! Brrrrr
Thank you again for your advice! I appreciate it! I've heard about diesel heaters, I will give them a second look. They are really safe?

[BrieGrande]

Captain465, Thank you! Clear Shrink Wrap huh? Cool! I've never seen that! I bet that looks wild! You never worried about oxygen? Never had a problem with that? Do you have vents in the shrink wrap? Is your heater vented? Can I ask what model?
I do feel better, hearing you've never had trouble. :-) Thank you!

[wrwakefield]

Originally Posted by BrieGrande

Hi All!
I'm new to the forum this morning! I am planning to move back onto a boat within the next couple of years. I lived on a 42 Chris when my oldest son was younger. I'm a single mom: my boys are 7 & 4 now and I am eager to get them back to living aboard. Before, I winterized everything to avoid pipes freezing. So we had no running water for a little over two months each year. That is not going to work for us now with the boys older and school and everything. So, I am looking for good heating options that are efficient and safe. I am thinking propane heaters or pellet stoves in the main cabin areas and electric to help in the bathrooms.

I am looking at 42 to 53 foot motor yachts. I'm used to a 42 but would like a bit more space as my mom will be staying with us often and I am hoping to have a third child.

Any thought on heating efficiency and safety? This seems to be a big problem for a lot of livaboards! I'm hoping to solve it! :-)

And is solar something that could really help me with electricity?

Thanks Everyone!

Hi Brie,

I've spent a few decades staying warm and comfortable on my boats in higher latitudes.

Generally speaking, any safe heat source that moves air around the boat and draws outside air for combustion is best. Ventilation is also key, then insulation.

I like forced air diesel heaters [e.g., Webasto, Espar, etc.] for the dry heat and secondarily for the air circulation they provide. Hydronic systems are even better efficiency and are sometimes easier to install on larger vessels, but then you would need a secondary system to move the air around.

To that end, I would strongly consider a Heat Recovery Ventilator for that purpose. [I'm in the planning stages to add a small unit to our 43' sail boat...] They replace the air with far less heat loss, and keep the humidity under control- eliminating the need for a dehumidifier. [I have and HRV in my home in central Alaska and speak from years of experience.]

You mentioned a pellet stove. We put one in our home where it can reach -40 [doesn't matter F or C, they are the same at that temp...] and love it. It turns itself on and off and maintains the temperature you set.

Based upon that experience I can say a properly fastened and vented pellet stove might not be a bad choice for a larger powerboat at the dock or on a mooring. However, I wouldn't want to use it when the vessel is moving or underway just because it isn't designed to work at some of the angles you might achieve, nor to be bounced around while lit... If you go this route, be sure to get one that is designed to draw outside combustion air since you are in a small space air volume wise... [e.g., Harmon P43 or the like.]

The problems with the pellet stove approach are:
-It is made of steel, with circuit boards, etc. and corrosion will likely be an issue over time.
-It also may not be well accepted by your insurance company...
-Cost more than a marine grade forced air diesel heater
-Require AC electricity [110v] full time to operate [And can easily be run from a small inverter...]

I have several blog posts on this topic if you are interested- several of which link back to discussions on this forum.

Best wishes finding the boat you desire!

Cheers!

Bill