Heating your boat - staying warm onboard

Chilling temperatures can keep you off the water. Investing in heating is a great way to extend the overall value of boat ownership.

Some of the calmest days are to be had in winter, along with maintenance and servicing woes that can be experienced from lack of use from your boat being ignored over the winter months, extend the usage by exploring the numerous methods of warming your boat.

Diesel heaters have gained huge following over recent years. They are highly effective at generating heat and do so whilst burning minimal fuel and battery power. LPG has been a common option in the past, however a lot of people are opting for safer systems and methods.

Here's a quick look at some of the options available to mull over on a cold winters day.

1. Diesel stove tops are popular overseas, not only because they are far safer and drier than gas tops, but there are models exclusively engineered to also be an effective cabin heater. “Wallas” have a range where when the lid is lifted up in use its acts as a stove and when closed, blowers inside the lid are activated, blowing the heat of the hot plates into the cabin.

   

2. “Airtonic” ducted air heaters are reasonably simple and very effective cabin heaters with multiple manufactures such as Webasto and Eberspacher, they will have your boat warm if not hot in no time and do so with very little effect on your battery bank or fuel supply.

   

   Exhaust fumes are ducted overboard, and the heated air forced in the ducts installed in the vessel to disperse the heat.

   

3. If a steady supply of hot water and long hot showers interest you then the “Hydronic” version of the diesel heater is a great option. These heaters typically heat glycol which is then plumbed and ducted through the vessel to separate dedicated fan heater units to heat your boat. The advantage of these units is their ability be a source for heating water, heating hotwater cylinders. There are many units available specifically designed for this purpose such as the “Genesis II”

Whatever way you go, keeping your boat comfortable can keep you out on the water when it's cold outside and diesel heaters may well be worth investigating. Even your most sensitive buddies might be influenced to go out with a toasty heater onboard, and let's not forget after all, happy wife equals happy life!