"It was a dark and stormy night," so the old story by George Bulwer-Lytton begins. Dark and stormy isn’t nearly as bad as freezing cold. During the short days of winter many boaters suffer from the cold.
By Kimmie Haworth
Published: December, 2006
Although we are blessed with a 365 boating season here on the bay, keeping warm is something that must be dealt with realistically, if you want to spend the night on your boat. Heck, even in July, it can feel really cold around here, especially after the sun goes down.
Being tenderfoots at heart, Captain Sweetie and I installed a forced air heater onboard our trawler, Dancing Dragon. Diesel forced-air heaters are used commonly in city busses and motor homes. The diesel heater is an ideal solution because we like to anchor out, away from the dock and modern conveniences – such as AC electric power. We just flip a switch and the heater fills the cabin with a rush of warm air. It sounds a lot like an airplane taking off, but that’s a fair trade for our warm feet. Several forced air furnaces are on the market by Espar and Wallace; ours is a Webasto. Prices range from $2,500 to over $5,000, which doesn’t include installation. Luckily, Captain Sweetie was able to install ours, saving us several thousand dollars. The installation was not an easy task and was done in stages over many weekends. It included running insulated ducting through cramped cabinets, drilling big holes through the hull, not to mention all the wiring and fuel lines that needed to be plumbed.
If you are not willing to spring for a permanent forced air unit, there several kinds of portable heaters available to keep you warm while spending time afloat. Propane, kerosene, white gas and alcohol heaters, which are sold at camping stores, also work well to heat a boat. Though no installation is required and the cost is less, there are tradeoffs regarding health and safety risks.
Propane heaters put out a huge amount of heat and can be used in the cockpit on chilly afternoons. The downside is that propane is heavier than air and a leak could cause your boat to be blown to smithereens. Also, there is a danger of the unit falling over in a rough anchorage. Make sure to find one that has an automatic shut off switch.
Kerosene, alcohol and white gas heaters work well, but the secondary byproduct after heat is water, which you don’t want inside the cabin. We had a kerosene heater on our sail boat for many years and although it was beautiful – brass and very nautical looking – it made the overhead of the cabin sweat like a race horse.
The more intrepid sailor can use an upturned terra cotta flower pot on the galley stove. Terra cotta radiates heat. We used this method on our first boat, and found it better than huddling in sleeping bags as soon as the sun went down. An oil lamp will also add warmth on a cold winter night.
When it gets really cold and that icy north wind is blowing through every crack and crevice, closing off all but the main saloon is the only thing that works. So, please remember that all heaters, portable or otherwise, should be vented overboard to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning.
The next time you drive by Sausalito, give a thought to the people anchored out on their boats and wish them a mild winter.
