Would I be crazy to get rid of my water heater?

[nuru05]

So we are living aboard our moody 425 on the Great Lakes and planning on heading down to the Caribbean next summer. Our plan is to live aboard 9 months a year and then work 3. We will be basically exclusively tropical as much as possible while we circumnavigate.

I am wondering if I am crazy to get rid of my water heater. The way I see it we are never going to start our engine just to have a hot shower, that’s just not the type of people we are. And I certainly don’t see us using battery power to heat it either. I figure most of our showers will be swim step showers after scrubbing off in the ocean. I’m assuming it would work just fine because the water in our tanks will probably be 80° anyways.

So, if I were to get rid of my water heater I would be able to put another 540 amps of lithium Bringing my total up to 1080amps. I’m thinking at this point I would probably have the storage for a small AC which I think we would enjoy considerably more than a water heater.

[rslifkin]

I'd consider replacing the water heater with a smaller one, but I wouldn't give it up. I'd want the option of having hot water for a shower or cleaning things even if I didn't intend to use it often.

[Tetepare]

I'd generally say keep it. I disagree with part of the argument; you don't run the engine to heat water, you shower after you've heated the water when you needed to use the engine. You'll want fresh water cleaning now and then, hot can be very nice.

The trade for batteries though, that's a tough one.

Long term, you will probably make it tougher to sell w/o a water heater.

[sjrider]

We are currently in the Gulf of California. Its hot. !! I would get rid of the water heater add the batteries and enough solar to run the AC at night. The boat next to us does that and sleeps great while the rest of us roll around sweating all night. We have not used a water heater for months. The water in our tank is 85 degrees . We are on a much smaller boat then you and mounted a outdoor instant water heater to our stern rail, made a sunbrella cover for it. When it gets cold in the winter we use it for hot water showers. So far it has worked great. I would go for AC if in the tropics.

[JBP]

The solar camp showers work great when there is sun. Bit of a hassle, but they work.

[Greatest Lakes]

If you have a stove, you can have hot water, just not hot running water.

[hpeer]

We spend 6 months in East Carribean each year. No water heater. We made a small hand held shower out of a 5 gallon bucket, small bilge pump, and hand held shower head. My Wife will boil some water, mix with some fresh water in bucket to desired temp, then shower in the cockpit.

Keeps the wet out of the boat, small capital investment, less to break down.

Simple is beautiful. And we are not kids.

[Tupaia]

Originally Posted by nuru05

So, if I were to get rid of my water heater I would be able to put another 540 amps of lithium Bringing my total up to 1080amps. I’m thinking at this point I would probably have the storage for a small AC which I think we would enjoy considerably more than a water heater.

It will be a challenge to find room for enough solar to service that amount of battery capacity. Watt come out must go back in.


If you dive or even snorkel keep the water heater.

[wingssail]

We long ago decided that we wanted the same convenience of running hot water as we had ashore.

Partly that was because we were living in a cooler climate. Hot showers were essential when the temperatures outside were at or below freezing.

We installed a propane instant water heater. We've kept it (or updated models) for 38 years. Of course hot showers are always nice, even in the tropics where we've lived now for 15 years, but hot running water for dishes is really nice. Sometimes we take cold showers but even when the water in the tank is 75 deg it can feel cold pouring on your bare back and shoulders. The propane model gives us unlimited hot water at any time, even when sailing (if you have the capacity in your tanks). Imagine at the end of a cold, hard passage taking a hot shower and putting on clean dry clothes before you come into port.

And you don't know for sure that you will always spend your time in hot climates. We found that it gets very cold in places like New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, even Florida and Baja California can get cold and hot water is nice.

On a similar vein, we have a diesel cabin heater. It does not get much use in Mexico but we've used it in several countries. We thought about taking it out but decided to keep it. Who knows where we will go next?

One of the reasons for these types of equipment is that we want to be just as comfortable at anchor as we are at the dock. Otherwise we might be reluctant to untie the boat and go out. Camping out is fun for a while but it eventually gets old. We've kept our boat a comfy as possible and well equipped and we've never wished we could just live ashore because living on the boat was a hardship.

[Shrew]

Rarely is not NEVER. There will be times, after pulling into port, that it would be nice to have hot water. I assume you don't have a generator?? If you ever plug into a a marina, you'll have it available. Just because you rarely use it is no reason to remove it and never have it available. Finally, some day you're going to sell the boat. When you do, you'll be selling a boat with no water heater. Whether you agree with them or not....many (most?) other people want a water heater.

[RickG]

I would get rid of the hot water heater in a heartbeat. We liveaboard fill-time in the Caribbean. But, the Admiral likes hot showers. She is okay with getting rid of the air conditioning.

Cheers, RickG

[donradcliffe]

On our first trip across the South Pacific, we did what you are contemplating--solar showers to rinse off the salt in the cockpit. All that changed when we hit cold and wet NZ. We did heat water for the solar shower on the stove and passed the hose through the bathroom hatch.

When we listed the non-negotiable requirements for our next boat, hot showers down below was on that list (as well as an anchor windlass). When the water heater on the new boat started leaking in Turkey, it got replaced. You might want to spend the winter in Paris or London.

[RaymondR]

Keep it, I spend a lot of time in the tropics and it's amazing how cold even ambient temperature water is on the small of ones back.

I have found that keeping cool is largely a matter of getting lots of cool air from outside into the boat. I use a couple of 12V auto fans in plywood placed in two of the deck hatches keep the boat cool enough and I often have to turn them off during the night.

[JPA Cate]

This is an interesting chat. What worked for us was to place a fan sucking in air from outside, to blow over us. This worked will in all the hot and humid places we went, including the Solomon Islands ~ 6 deg. south. Having a fan to dry your sweat keeps you cool.

However, we've never had to live there long term, either, and it may be that when you are where algae grows on the outside of buildings, you do need AC. Plus, people vary in their tolerance for temperatures outside their practice range. I'd say keep the water heater for now. And travel with it, and see if you use it. If it turns out you don't want it, then chuck it. It is not only showers, it is doing the washing up. It has not troubled me to heat the water on the stove, for 30+ years, but it may be a convenience that turns out to matter to you and your partner. We have an on-demand heater for showering below. Showering below is more convenient than setting up privacy screens in public anchorages, although sun showers are quite adequate for cleanliness. We have also used a garden sprayer for "showering". The cleanliness part really isn't the issue, but for me, the privacy is.

Ann

[nuru05]

Originally Posted by Tupaia

It will be a challenge to find room for enough solar to service that amount of battery capacity. Watt come out must go back in.


If you dive or even snorkel keep the water heater.

We currently have 1,000 watts of solar. I am eventually going to have a hard bimini made over the cockpit which I will be able to get another 600 watts or so on and perhaps another 500 when I have a proper solar arch build. We have a generator for if it's cloudy for a few days.

So far with our 1,000 watts (400 of which are partially shaded by the radar that is being moved next month) and being up in a northern latitude we have only turned the generator on twice since we left a few weeks ago. We have been able to run 2 larger flat panels, computers, fridge, starlink, and even my xbox without much trouble.