Modern heating options

[montigre]

I just purchased my cruising boat (Pearson 39) and may have to spend a couple of years living aboard in the Chesapeake area. Average winter lows are usually above freezing except for 1-2 weeks where it can become rather bitter.

What have you cold climate monohull owners used to keep the cabin warm and especially dry during the winter months that will not suffocate me or my 2 cats? Thanks.

[Bluemansailor]

Was a live aboard for 3 years in Philly before i left. Put in an Espar diesel heater. Love it! Nice dry heat, easy install in the engine room thermostat controlled. Burns minimum diesel, once I added the muffler, you really dont hear it inside or out. Plusci love that i can usevit at anchor.

[montigre]

That sounds like a good unit. What size did you use? I'm thinking I'd need a 21000 BTU for a 39 footer to maintain temps around 65 degrees? Did you get a diesel odor in the cabin while using it?

[DeepFrz]

A "google custom search" on the forum will bring you many threads discussing this issue. There is far more to living aboard in a cold climate than just heating.

[montigre]

Originally Posted by DeepFrz

A "google custom search" on the forum will bring you many threads discussing this issue. There is far more to living aboard in a cold climate than just heating.

That is true, but those other things such as lack of water when the lines are shut down and having to use some form of anti icing thingy (bubbler), etc have not changed much over the past 10 years since I last owned a boat in the area.

Electronics, heating, cooling, have all gone through leaps in evolution since then and I am out of touch with the newer items in these categories that are now available. ;-)

[DeepFrz]

Right, I was thinking more along the lines of insulation and ventilation. They haven't changed much either but can help keep you and your new electronics healthy.

[montigre]

Good points. I believe the ventilation is taken care of as the boat has 2 dorade vents. But I will have to read up on the various insulation methods to refresh my memory. Thanks.

[savoir]

If you are at a dock then just get a ceramic heater. Problem solved. My Pelonis is good down to 20f.
https://www.amazon.com/Pelonis-NT20-...AGHPBK5YCZ28MG

[Bluemansailor]

I got the D4, on my 34 foot more than adequate, i dont think you need that much if you can run two intakes. I have one, under my stairs and heated the whole boat including the v-berth. Thought about running a second forward but after a couple weeks didnt need it. No smell inside the boat. On those really cold days it was wonderful.

People running electric where paying $170-$300 a month. I was using between 4-5 gallons a week when it was really cold.

Plus the price of the units have come down since there's competition now .

[softdown]

My own vote is for the overall convenience of propane. Seems to have taken over modern yachting for cooking and heating. A case may be made for most anything but gasoline. Some propane heaters are 99% efficient so bad fumes are not a great risk. Just need some fresh air available.

[hellosailor]

blueman-
How did you have that Espar exhaust vented? I never bothered to look or ask on the one boat I was on with that wonderful dry heat, but their installation manual seems to say not to use a transom vent (good reasons) but to use a short standpipe that's venting exhaust into the cockpit.
Which seems damn inconvenient and suicidal to me, even if it is a great way to keep the heater happy.
How did you run the exhaust?

[DeepFrz]

hellosailor, this is from the installation manual.

On a sailboat, the preferred location is on the transom,
as it is normally the area least likely to be affected by
seawater when sailing. It is also close to the heater, if it
is located in a cockpit locker

[hellosailor]

Thanks. Either their web site "manual" disagrees with the printed one, or I'm confusing them with that other brand which looks [sic] and works just about identically.

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by montigre

That sounds like a good unit. What size did you use? I'm thinking I'd need a 21000 BTU for a 39 footer to maintain temps around 65 degrees? Did you get a diesel odor in the cabin while using it?

The best way to estimate the heating requirement is to heat it with a few electric heaters and do the conversion factor. You can also adjust for temperature by proportion.

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by softdown

My own vote is for the overall convenience of propane. Seems to have taken over modern yachting for cooking and heating. A case may be made for most anything but gasoline. Some propane heaters are 99% efficient so bad fumes are not a great risk. Just need some fresh air available.

I hope everyone recognizes that running an unvented heater at night while sleeping is suicidal.

There are sealed, vented propane heaters (Dickenson P9000 and P12000) that have the required safeties. These work well, are efficient, and keep the cabin dry, although they are a bit small for the OP (I have a P9000 in a 34' x 16' catamaran, and it falls behind below ~ 40F). For a live aboard, I would go with forced air.