How do you heat your trailer sailer?

[Knot Tied Down]

I was at walmart earlier and found a battery operated carbon monoxide detector for as little as 17 dollars this will save you a lot of over spending 120 dollars for the one in the west marine /Defender catalog. it also its battery operated so you don't have to run wires and worry about killing the on board battery. if you use any heat source it would be worth the 17 dollars for the simple version and 30 dollars for the digital readout one. They are made by kiddie

 

[Sumner]

... 30 dollars for the digital readout one....

We have one and tried it on the last trip, but gave up on it. I can't remember why now , but I think it was going off for no reason. I'll experiment with it more and would sure like it to be working.

There are a few mounting location problems if I remember right on the boat with the confined space, but I thought I had a good one picked out just aft of the port cabin seat on the side of the hull above the aft berth there.

If someone can get one to work well with an S, D or older Mac I'd sure like them to post about the model and where they mounted it. I think the X and M might be easier to deal with as they have a lot more cabin volume below.

Even if I had one working I wouldn't sleep with a heater going.

We have a 12 volt electric blanket that goes 'under' you and used it in the teardrop trailer before, but wouldn't use it on the boat as it just uses too much elect.. 3-4 amps isn't much, but it adds up. Our frig uses about that and runs 8 hours or so a day and we need 180 watts of solar to keep up. If you were going out for the weekend it might be ok.

Our 12 volt blanket has a 110 adapter and we just put in on our bedroom bed the other day since winter is starting. We just turn it on for 20-30 minutes to warm the bed before we get in as we keep the bedroom in the 60's. If you used one like that on the boat it wouldn't use that much elect,

Sum

Our Endeavour 37

Our Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida

Our MacGregor S Pages

Mac-Venture Links

 

[MrBill_FLL]

I have the digital one. only tested it a few times. I got it (forced) to trigger. not mounted, left in the aft berth where I sleep.

(I was testing a honda2000 and a A/C unit.)

 

[Mic Jones]

Mic jones. Where are you from you sound like your from 53 degrees north and about 6 degrees west. Am I right?

Yes 40years ago.

Brought the old habits with me from experience. Now I'm at 50-30' Lat and 119-3'0 long.

Good topic great replies. Moisture must be a challenge for you.

Mic

 

[Kestle]

I am an ultralight backpacker, as I have a bad disk in my back. So weight forces me to be hyper-rational on clothing, and that includes layers. My favorite cutaway shorts/pants are readily available at Boy Scout stores, and I layer with fleece long johns bought at Sport Chalet. It's warm enough to ice climb in it. A West Marine coat and Land's End heavy fleece coat tops it all off. Thick Acrylic socks and UnderArmor polypropylene briefs alow for washing and fast drying, so two pair of each hold me for a week. These and toiletries all fit in a small duffel bag. The ditch bag is also a small duffel.

I have both smoke and CO alarms on the boat. They give me a lot of peace of mind; i have two, one mounted high, and e other low. Our Coleman catalytic heater works well, as my wife has a three degree operating temperature range (70-73 deg). As with others, making coffee warms the cabin up quite a bit.

Cheap walmart comforters are great to leave on the boat, and work really well if you put something wind resistant on top of the comforter. We use one that has a thin flannel lining we got at Walmart for this purpose. It probably adds ten degrees to the quilt. Polypropylene fleece blankets also double as sheets in cold weather and can be washed/dryer quickly. I wash everything in baby shampoo.

One last old camping trick: fill a large pot (2 gallon is ideal) with water and heat it up to boiling right before you go to bed. Leave the lid on and keeps things toasty.

Jeff

 

[WhiteDown]

Yes 40years ago.

Brought the old habits with me from experience. Now I'm at 50-30' Lat and 119-3'0 long.

Good topic great replies. Moisture must be a challenge for you.

Mic

Your very lucky as you know these islands have great wind but maybe a little too much of it.

 

[timebandit]

Ya know it really does not get that cold in Mission Bay.:dance::dance:

We are taking our 26D on it's first sleep over at the After Turkey Day Sail Mission Bay. I have the beds made up in the aft compartment (tested for comfort), front compartment holds all the "stuff" for camping , the pottie is dumped, my new PopTop Cover is being made and we have access to the marina facilities.

Question: If it gets cold, how do I heat the boat if there is no shore power? I saw a alcohol stove on Ebay. How safe are they? Where do you place it?

Thanks

 

[Knot Tied Down]

I am heading home to Michigan in a week and if the weather isnt TOOO nasty I will be pulling the boat out of storage, and taking it out on lake michigan for another couple nights while i'm off I plan to buy one of the Mr. Heater...err heaters
http://www.mrheater.com/product.aspx?catid=41&id=24
and hopefully that will keep me toasty at night when it gets cold. I am buying a carbon monoxide detector if I do get the boat out and run a heater at night. Anyone used one of these? I'm pretty confident that the boat is drafty enough to eliminate any issues with having a heater going, but will probably have a battery powered fan blowing to circulate air. not going to lie...pretty.stinking.excited!

 

[Nodak7]

It works for us very nicely during the early and late season in ND!

 

[dvideohd]

I have a boat with AC hooked up. I was a bit afraid of anything with a "hot" element - so use a oil - electric heater under the table.... It heats fast, is really cheap, will last long, and is the "chicken's way out" for keeping the boat warm... Warm clothes during the day - tie up and use the electric heater at night... Works in a lot of places - but not where it would likely matter the most........ For SoCal and S. Texas - it's mostly OK... I am envious of good, independent heaters....

 

[timebandit]

If I have AC power I like these low heaters with fan because there is no way it will tip over unless you roll the boat and they have a thermostat.

 

[shipwreck66]

The most efficient heat we have found is a Little Buddy heater with a ceramic element, runs on a 1lb propane bottle for several hours. the most eloquent we have found is the gas fireplace which I reinstalled today, which also runs on a 1lb. propane bottle, hangs on the wall like a picture, and puts off nice heat, available at Northern Tool for $99.

 

[Kestle]

Today, I removed the door to he head, and will be replacing it with a curtain. At anchor, it was too noisy. That gave me an idea to mount a heater in the head, as the curtain will be tied back, and unreachable to the header anyway.

Des the model you describe have a wall mount?

Jeff

 

[Kestle]

"We have a 12 volt electric blanket that goes 'under' you and used it in the teardrop trailer before, but wouldn't use it on the boat as it just uses too much elect.. 3-4 amps isn't much, but it adds up...". Sum

OMG, when my wife read that, I thought she was going to send me out to buy it that instant. An electric blanket for the boat? Why didn't you get one?

Sigh.

Anyone who has one of these, I'd appreciate input and sources, as this has become a SERIOUS first mate need.

Thanks in advance - Jeff

 

[Sail123]

http://www.amazon.com/Trademark-Global-12V-Electric-Blanket/dp/B0015ZZFKO

 

[Sumner]

....Anyone who has one of these, I'd appreciate input and sources, as this has become a SERIOUS first mate need.

Thanks in advance - Jeff

Ours came from here....

http://electrowarmth.com/

...but I don't see it on there anymore. I bought it about 12 years ago and it is about 54 X 60 and has dual controls for each side and runs on 110 or 12 volts. I see that they say 6 amps for one on there and that it cycles on about 50% of the time. It was about $110 I think back then. Not cheap, but it is a good product.

You don't need it on a high setting and 50% on time would average about 3-4 amps an hour. That is actually quite a bit as over 8 hours that would be 25-30 amp hours. To keep a battery healthy you can only use about 35% of it's capacity to keep it from going under 50% charge and takes a long time to get the last 15% charge into the battery. So you need to see how many amp hours your battery is and also if you can put 25-30 amp hours back in during the day. Our small outboards only put out about 6 amps max, less at part throttle, so you would have to run the outboard 4-7 hours or so to get back to even and that doesn't count any other loads. When we used it in the teardrop trailer at night the battery was pretty shot by morning, but then we were driving some and the car's alternator recharged it, but the car's alternator puts out a lot more than the typical outboard does.

Now if you just use it to warm the bed like we do at home and maybe on a real low setting at night or just if you wake up and are cold it might work for you.

Ruth and I are pretty happy about one cold night last December on the boat....

http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/FL-fall-2010/FL-Fall-10-15.html

c ya,

Sum

Our Endeavour 37

Our Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida

Our MacGregor S Pages

Mac-Venture Links

 

[Robspan]

Like Shipwreck, I have a Mr. Heater Buddy. I've only used it once, and it was almost too hot. I left it running at low setting and it drained the propane cylinder some time in the middle of the night. It does have a low oxygen sensor.

The next time I'm on the boat during a cold night - and there aren't many of those down here - I'll probably button up, turn it on to take the chill off, then turn it off. I might turn it on when I wake up. But Sum's idea to use the stove to make coffee and warm the cabin at the same time sounds good.

 

[Sail123]

The amazon blanket has good reviews and is $26.95

 

[Kestle]

Many thanks guys...order's been made...

Jeff

 

[Dennis W]

RE: carbon monoxide detector; we, too, have had nothing but false alarms. It does not seem to make any difference where in the 26M it was located. I'm not giving up on it. I think it is a good idea. I just have not solved the problem . . . yet.

RE: cabin heat; when on shore power or auxillary power I have found a small WalMart $15 ceramic heater to be ideal. I have only had it on the low temp settings and still found the cabin getting to hot. On the other hand, the Admiral thinks everything is just fine!