New England Wintering. Do I want to?

[oldragbaggers]

I wouldn't do it for any amount of money myself, but there are hardier souls who do. Here is a link to a blog by a member of this forum who spent several winters aboard in Boston.

https://svsmitty.wordpress.com/

[TheThunderbird]

I spent a winter in a summertime chalet around Mont Blanc, 5000ft. High.

1) have a stove on board, better if with logs, if you can. Just kill a portion of stupid dinette the for this

2) when warm, your fingers get cold anyway,.. difficult to read, stay still, relax,..

3) in bed, a dog or a woman (see point 4.) would help. Sleep NAKED, but with two duvets on top

4) forget any woman comes to visit you. The dog must have long hair...and be>50lbs.

5) you won't get any cold.... bacteria die before you do

[bella]

Originally Posted by Jerryg

I am in the baby steps of full time liveaboard. My dilemma at this point is the cold winters.
I will either be in Portland or S.Portland Maine. I ask myself do I liveaboard year round or just during the warmer months? I could get a small appartment during the winter. I would love to sit down with someone who has or is fairing the harsh winters aboard. I have so many question. I'll by dinner.
Or better yet, invite me aboard for dinner. I can bring Deer, Moose whatever you like. I would rather stay on board year round if I can see that it is possible for my lifestyle.
My plan is to get something at least 35ft and under 40ft. I need to be able to single hand.
I have lots of experience surviving with little. I used to teach survival classes and do a lot of backpacking, and camping. So I can ruff it but I do want to be cozy in my boat home.
So any advice you all have would be great. If anyone is at Demilos or South Port Marine I would really like to talk to you.

Now I am off to do some more research.

Jerry

I have several friends who are full time liveaboards at the Constitution Marina in Boston..they shrink wrap the topsides add a door and go about thier buisiness.. boat above and below stays a comfy range of temps.
Living aboard in colder climates all depends on a variety of factors.
do you have to be in that area.. do you want to spend more to be in a marina or on the hook in a warmer climate. I have been far colder aboard in florida than I ever was in baltimore/anapolis in winter.
its justr a lot of things to take in..but it is very doable. I am sure there are some threads here withphotos of shrink wrapped winter live aboards...good luck...

[2hullvenus]

When I lived aboard in Maine, I heated with a wood stove. I could sit around in my underwear in January. Not exaggerating.

Get more BTUs than you think you need. Makes for a very cozy cabin.

Also, another post got me thinking. The one about not waking up ifl you lose heat.

I always had a sub zero sleeping bag. Let the wood stove go out every night and wasn't evenc cold... until it was time to get up to light it in the morning!

[Scaramanga F25]

In Maine in winter...NO!

[captlloyd]

Make sure you understand two things: #1 co2 build-up #2 oxygen depletion.

[Jerryg]

Wow what great feedback. with this information coupled with the much reading on the subject..
It sounds like being used to Maine winters, and winter camping will help. The living on a boat part in winter is easy. Seems the only challenge is the boat itself. I am staring to think that the wear and tear on the boat would be more than I am willing to put any boat through. Once I make my purchase I want to baby it. This winter livaboard just sounds to rough on the boat. I have another year to think about it but I think I would get a winter place. I also would not want to put my wife through that. She is a trooper but I want her more comfortable than that at this point.

Thanks for all of the wonderful feedback.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by 2hullvenus

When I lived aboard in Maine, I heated with a wood stove. I could sit around in my underwear in January. Not exaggerating.

Get more BTUs than you think you need. Makes for a very cozy cabin.

Also, another post got me thinking. The one about not waking up ifl you lose heat.

I always had a sub zero sleeping bag. Let the wood stove go out every night and wasn't evenc cold... until it was time to get up to light it in the morning!

Yes, the BTU's (or KW/h's) are key. Abundant heat changes everything.



I have spent a few winters on board, and in my experience, it stops being nearly as much fun when the daytime high temperatures cease breaking the freezing point. A little frost at night is no big deal, and winter sailing (no one has mentioned it) is magical, but a Maine winter . .. . hmmm.

Like the poster above, I switch my heat off at night and rely on a warm duvet. A winter sleeping bag is even better. Crawl out from under the duvet in the morning to start up the hydronic heat, then crawl back in a wait for it warm up. Then get up and put on sweats and a warm fleece, make a cup of coffee, and go to work at my desk. 15 or 16 degrees C inside is ok for me in the winter. A cruising sailboat is tough little capsule and it's cosy inside when the weather outside is hostile. Is there any better place to be in hard rain? I think a hard winter could also be strangely satisfying.

Certainly doable in every way, and maybe an adventure. On the other hand, there is always housesitting . . . .

[TomLewis]

Not good in Maine, but sterno works in the south. If you decide to do it. I would love to hear from you around Feb.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Jerryg

Wow what great feedback. with this information coupled with the much reading on the subject..
It sounds like being used to Maine winters, and winter camping will help. The living on a boat part in winter is easy. Seems the only challenge is the boat itself. I am staring to think that the wear and tear on the boat would be more than I am willing to put any boat through. Once I make my purchase I want to baby it. This winter livaboard just sounds to rough on the boat. I have another year to think about it but I think I would get a winter place. I also would not want to put my wife through that. She is a trooper but I want her more comfortable than that at this point.

Thanks for all of the wonderful feedback.

You are very wise to think first about your wife here. Happy wife -- happy life. Nowhere more true than on a boat. Only you can know whether this wil be hard on her or not.

I would not, however, worry about the boat, which will be much happier being heated and lived in, than being left frozen solid and neglected on the hard, which is actually really not good for boats, not matter how well they are supposedly "winterized".

[Nanamuk]

Sounds like you are hardy so just do it. We've spent 6 winters aboard in a similar climate - the first with no insulation and no glass in the pilot house windows and one with a newborn baby (born in October) - nothing like sitting in the cockpit first thing in the morning using the anchor windlass handle to break up the ice on the diaper bucket so you can rinse them out to make you appreciate the feeble amount of heat the '48 Jaguar's heater produced as I drove to work (this was in 1986). Yes, a good diesel heater is essential, a plastic snow shovel (metal is to hard on your deck and in a big dump your tarp will be on the deck) and don't even think about a shower aboard - too much condensation just breathing. We would go to the pool 3 times a week - good exercise and unlimited hot water

[UNCIVILIZED]

IIRC, there's a live aboard's group in Toronto, as well as a few other frosty cities in Canada. And from the little I've heard, it sounds like they fully enjoy Winter's aboard.
But I'd also imagine that it takes a certain kind of folk to enjoy such. Much as those who choose to live N. of the Artic Circle, or in places where it gets stupid hot as well.
Also, there are a few tips on www.BethandEvans.com 's site, regarding how to heat a boat, as well as living aboard in cold climes.

As to those who take this topic lightly, or haven't thought through/lived though the reality of spending extended periods in temps well below zero (Farenheit). I wasn't joking about the not waking up part, if you screw up heat wise. That, & at a certain temp, your crap literally is frozen before it hits the bowl, ditto when you pee.
And all that's needed for a head, or anywhere else on the boat, to get that cold, is; poor insulation, & or air circulation in a space. As without those, spots only a few feet away from a heat source can be 50 degrees or more cooler than others.

Ever try cooking when your olive oil is a thick gelatenous sludge at best? And yeah, you Really need the extra fats in your diet when living in colder temps like that.
Or, how about Diesel, & Kerosene which gets to about the same consistency if it's allowed to get a bit chilly. It makes heating "interesting", as your day tank, next to the stove, only lasts for so long.

Read a little on Shackleton. It's an eye opener.
Like how many pounds of ice each custom, multi-layer, reindeer/caribou skin sleeping bag gained in a short period... simply from the moisture which one's body puts out. - I want to say 15-20kg+, if memory serves.


PS: The author Dan Spur, I believe, lived aboard for at least one Winter, in a New England city. So it'd likely be worth tracking down some of his wisdom... in book format, & directly, if you can manage it. And his last name may have two r's, BTW.