Your first winter

[MissMax]

Could you tell me about your first winter on a boat please. How cold does it feel living on the water compared to living in the suburbs

Does the moisture from the canals make everything much colder compared to being on land, does it effect the electrics,gas and water supply

on the boat? Did you suffer from colds due to the change of location? Is going to the loo like a arctic adventure. How do you dry clothes without

a tumble drier?

 

I want to avoid looking like Jack Nicholson at the end of the movie 'The shining'

 

 

 

 

Thank you

[mross]

Will you be in a marina or not?

[dave moore]

It all depends on the heating on your boat. We've used ours year round, using a range in the Boatman's cabin and an Alde boiler for central heating through the rest of the boat. Many others have solid fuel stoves fitted which provide cosy warmth in the saloon and other areas, some boaters run central heating systems from these too. Our vintage engine is also a useful source of warmth and is piped up to warm the calorifier water too. Others will be along shortly, I think. I'm speaking as a leisure boater here, not a live aboard, by the way, but we've never been cold in winter.

 

Dave

[Rickent]

We spent our first winter on board last year and we have a small boatman stove. It keeps the whole boat toasty and when it' s kept going 24/7 i can honestly say my boat is the warmest place i have ever lived.

[lampini]

Excellent post - we too are looking at our first winter aboard, not sure yet if we will be in a marina or out on a linear mooring with no leccy! Will be following this post closely!

 

we got our boat in March so we DID get a bit of very cold weather (sno + hail!) just to give us a warning of what to expect.. Our hobbit stove is mid-boat but the (bow) bedroom still got cold. Need more floor covering as a lot of the cold seemed to be floor-based... We're thinking of putting down cork floor tiles - opinions?

 

I too think the Nicholson look is not a good one!

 

[Sea Dog]

^^^ What Dave said, but insulation is also important.

 

Max, you need to list your heating and hot water systems and how your boat is insulated so others with similar configurations can tell you how it works for them. Also, how do you intend to use the boat? Will you be regularly cruising, which will give you charged batteries and regular hot water, alongside with an electricity supply, or hunkering down somewhere hibernating!

 

I love winter cruising and the boat is toasty, so I never look like Jack Nicholson (except when I took an unexpected look at the underside of my boat, but that's atypical thankfully).

[MissMax]

Thanks Dave

 

Mross I'm not sure if i will be in a marina or not. Would like to be out on the canals and would like to know how is should be prepared for it

 

Those wood burning stoves look very useful, but still need to heat the whole boat. Still looking at boats but people seem sketchy on the insulation

[Rickent]

Yes, floor level tends to be cooler but to be fair we didn't really notice it too much.

Our bedroom stays cool but that's the way we like it and always sleep with windows open winter or summer.

Even in the coldest weather we often had to open windows and doors to let some of the heat out as we were roasting. I'm sure others will be along soon to concur.

[mross]

So, you don't have a boat yet, is that correct? Look for a boat that has a wood burning stove AND radiators AND a Mikuni or Eberspacher diesel-fired heater. If radiators can be heated by a back boiler on the stove that's even better. Diesel is cheaper than solid fuel.

[dave moore]

I forgot to add that we have spray foam insulation throughout, probably the most efficient form available.

Dave

[Phil Ambrose]

We have lived aboard for 15 years and have never been cold, in fact we only ever have a 4 tog duvet on the bed.

60 foot boat with SF stove in the saloon on 24/7

Phil

ETA our normal clothing in winter is the same as summer.....T shirts

Edited August 7, 2016 by Phil Ambrose

[Nightwatch]

We are looking forward to our third winter as liveaboards. The first two were very kind to us. There were really cold days but we have been comfortable through out. Rain is a pain. I'd rather it be bitterly cold and dry rather than cold and wet.

 

We have an Aldi, rather used, but sometimes, and a squirrel,beavering away in the saloon. Windows open unless windy.

 

Can't decide if winter is better than summer for different reasons.

 

Martyn

Can't spell Alde.

[canals are us?]

I bought my boat roughly 4 years ago mid November and moved aboard. Lit the diesel fired bubble stove and it quickly filled the boat with smoke! Oil was leaking onto the case of the stove through the side rod thing and as the stove was hot burning. It was really cold as a few days before the wharf/canal had had a severe frost and got down to about minus 12. I was really cold, couldn't use electric heater as power supply to the boats kept tripping. Used to use stove with doors open to prevent poisoning.

Ordered a new stove, a woodwarm fireview and that would be ready in Mid February. Installed a little multifuel stove as a temporary measure but it wasn't powerful enough to heat a 50ft trad narrowboat with sprayfoam insulation which varies in thickness!

 

The bedroom used to get ice on the inside, even with the door to the bedroom open! Where I bought the boat I had to wait for winter stoppages. Boxing day I set off on my 54 mile journey to my residential berth I had pre-booked. On route I didn't light the stove as the stove wasn't fixed down, so worried about it moving around.

 

Finally I got a call to say my stove had arrived!! Did a 120 mile round trip and installed it the next day. My word it was fantastic to feel warm. Shortly afterwards I installed the backboiler to it as I wanted to use it to heat hot water. For heat dissipation I also have 2 radiators on gravity circulation. One in the walkthrough bathroom and one in the bedroom.

I only have the stove as the sole heating and find it great. A diesel boiler would be useful for spring/ Autumn when it's not cold enough to light the fire or if going away to time it to come on.

I certainly didn't get a cold and the boat stays dry except a bit of condensation on the single glazed windows. If cooking or having a shower I open the window. When I re-fitted the corridor shower room to a walk through bathroom I was then able to refit the galley by having units down both sides and was able to install a built in indesit washer dryer. I find it invaluable and saves the visit to the laundrette and much cheaper. The washer dryer was free from my old boss. If without mains electricity would need a means of powering the washer part and dry outside/finish off inside? Invertor engine running or genny.

 

Temporary solid fuel stove.

 

New one!

 

James

Edited August 7, 2016 by canals are us?

[MissMax]

Thank you everyone. Are radiators better/cost effective if connected to the stove boiler thingy like Mr James above does instead of having a separate boiler/pump like in a house.

[MtB]

I was toasty warm all last winter.

 

But OMG the mud....

[dogless]

Wellies !

Get some wellies.

 

Rog

[Retardedrocker]

This will be my third winter onboard and I've got to say I can't wait for the cold weather so I can light the stove again. It really is the heart of the boat.

 

I have diesel central heating, but never use it. The stove keeps me as warm as I want to be throughout the boat and it's on 24/7. I'm moored in a marina, so have access to electric and spend about £2 per week, winter and summer.

 

The saloon and cabin (bedroom) are carpeted, which I think helps and I've dealt with most of the draughts which makes a big difference.

 

The key is to learn to manage your stove.

 

Cheers,T.

Edited August 7, 2016 by Retardedrocker

[ValandPete]

We have multi fuel stove at the front and central heating from a Webasto. Keep the stove lit 24/7 and it is warm. We don't mind bedroom at the rear being colder. When it is very cold we use the central heating for an hour or so in the morning, I don't remember using it for heating for the last 2/3 years.

 

Our first winter was 2010 when it snowed late November and we got frozen in a few times. You need a healthy obsession with outside temps and get to a water/Elsan point before canal freezes. It can happen surprisingly quickly.

 

If you cruise remember days are much shorter and in my experience you need to be moored by 3pm at the latest and get the interior comfortably warm quickly, it can take ages to get a cold boat up to a comfortable temp.

 

Then enjoy the peace and quiet that winter brings.

 

Val

[Sea Dog]

We have multi fuel stove at the front and central heating from a Webasto. Keep the stove lit 24/7 and it is warm. <snip>

If you cruise remember days are much shorter and in my experience you need to be moored by 3pm at the latest and get the interior comfortably warm quickly, it can take ages to get a cold boat up to a comfortable temp.

 

 

Val, your set up is similar to mine, and I too have the stove 'in' 24/7 when winter cruising. What I don't understand is your advice to moor up early or why your boat would be cold when you moor up.

[MissMax]

Ooops Forgot that winter has shorter days. I wouldn't like to tackle a lock in the dark let alone watch out for lurking objects in the water.

I bet detangling anything that is stuck on your propeller in winter is blooming eye watering painful

[Robbo]

Thank you everyone. Are radiators better/cost effective if connected to the stove boiler thingy like Mr James above does instead of having a separate boiler/pump like in a house.

Can be connected to both. Boilers (apart from drop fed ones) can be automated, where stoves need attention.

[Lady Muck]

Its ash dust and mould that annoys me, not the cold, because I'm not cold. I run a dehumidifier at the back and keep the burner on at the front, the dehumidifier keeps the back warmer than a heater ever did for less electricity. We are on shore power.

 

Agree re. mud. That's annoying. So I much prefer cold, icy clear sunny winter days to wet mild, dark ones. When it's icy the dog doesn't bring any mud in.

 

And mould, ok I have a dry boat, but a couple of times I've forgotten that leaving shoes with leather soles right near the wall under the bed in the winter creates a blue mould hell. Had to bin them. So posh shoes get stored in vacuum bags now.

Ooops Forgot that winter has shorter days. I wouldn't like to tackle a lock in the dark let alone watch out for lurking objects in the water.

I bet detangling anything that is stuck on your propeller in winter is blooming eye watering painful

Pour a full kettle of boiling water down the weed hatch and you get a few seconds of warmish water to work in.

[Robbo]

Pour a full kettle of boiling water down the weed hatch and you get a few seconds of warmish water to work in.

 

But always leave enough to make a cup of tea, it's the law.

[MissMax]

Thank you for the tip about the boiling water, and i promise to leave enough for a cup of tea

The dehumidifier is a jolly good idea as i have a fear of mold and anything that can either grow on you or lay eggs in you

[cuthound]

Ooops Forgot that winter has shorter days. I wouldn't like to tackle a lock in the dark let alone watch out for lurking objects in the water.

I bet detangling anything that is stuck on your propeller in winter is blooming eye watering painful

If you pour a kettle full of boiling water down the weed hatch before putting your hands down it takes the chill off the water for a few minutes.

 

If whatever needs untangling will take longer than that you need to boil kettles continuously.

 

There is a very real danger that your hands will lose feeling in very cold water and you then accidentally saw through a finger rather than whatever is obstructing the prop!