heat on a 27

[sailor]

I recently purchsed a 1984 270. In the pacific northwest we sail year round but the winter months almost require a cabin heat source. I have looked hard at my boat and can't find a good location. Have others been successful adding heat to a 27 or 270?

[Steve Laume]

I have been considering a bus heater. It is relatively cheap and would be fairly easy to install.

Although it would only be useful when motoring, that heat would come free and would go a long way towards drying things out. Think of those foggy windless days when you are motoring. I usually run the engine when anchoring as well. It would be nice to finish up the day with a nice warm cabin, Steve.

[sailor]

I have considered the same but with the extravagant water heater the previous owner installed there is already too much plumbing. Plus, there isn't anywhere to mount it without a long run of water hose.
Also thought about a bulkhead mounted propane unit. That would probably work but don't want another penetration in the roof. Wonder what would happen if you modified the dorade vent over the head?

[Northstar1014]

Look like Hayden and Greg added a Dickenson propane heater to their 27:

http://capedory27.blogspot.com/search?u ... inate=true

[jen1722terry]

Interesting thread, folks.

We want heat on our 31. We have a very old force 10 diesel heater on the boat now which we have yet to use. We've heard about some problems with them.

Since we keep our (American) boat in Canada, we have Canadian insurance some of the time. Our insurer over here forbids propane appliances below decks that were not original to the boat. I argued with them about this, noting that, had there been an original propane appliance on our 31-year-old boat, it would most likely now be a safety hazard. They would not relent, so we are looking at other options (assuming the old Force 10 goes).

Since we also have a non-pressure alcohol galley stove which warms up the cabin nicely while we cook, we're not sure if we want to spend the money for a new diesel heater. We're looking at the Dickinson solid fuel heater. I had one on my old Bristol 26 back in the 80s and liked it. It does require a larger flue and there are the ashes, but they are pretty fool proof and burn a variety of fuels. It's hard to beat for ambiance.

So, does anyone have a solid fuel heater and, if so, any comments?

Winterized the boat today here in Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia. The cover goes on next week. There are still a few boats in the harbor out front as I write this, but they should be gone soon. The buffleheads and goldeneyes showed up a few days ago, a sure sign of the coming winter.

Cheers!

Terry

[Paul D.]

Terry,

We installed a Dickinson solid fuel heater when we got the boat in '02. My brother helped with much of the installation on the port bulkhead. Got a sheet of copper from a discount metal supply store and bended that over a 1/2" backing board for a heat shield. There is a little Hella cabin fan under the deck to port that when directed to the lower part of the flue, really helps distribute heat around the cabin on the coldest nights.



It went in pretty nicely. I wasn't willing to give up ventilation below so I ran the flue almost straight up with a little jog aft and outboard to exit through the deck behind the port dorade box.



I converted the starbrd berth forward locker to a wood bin and keep it filled with hardwood from home and found driftwood. The heater has made many a God-awful night splendid aboard at anchor, including the last sail of the season earlier this month where I had 30 kts of cold wind coming off the lake.

It will not hold a fire overnight, but if you get chunks of wood about 3"x6" or so, a few of those will last an hour. And you can reasonably tend it for an evening. It doesn't even try to be an airtight or efficient stove. I would say I use a five gallon bucket amount of wood over a couple evenings of heavy use depending upon how much you stoke it. Due to the flue's proximity to the dorade vent, I usually pull the vent off and stow it next to the mast when having a fire to avoid blackening it. On Femme, it doesn't take much to warm up the cabin.

If brand new, make the first fire small to avoid warping the door. Over the years, I have not had any trouble with backdrafting even in heavy wind.

Hope this helps,

[Steve Behnke]

One of the great things about replacing the YSM8 with the Beta 14 has been the addition of a bus heater -- it really helps dry things out, and ensures a warm cabin at the end of the day.

[Steve Laume]

If you don't want to put any holes in the boat, have propane aboard, or spend any money this might work for some cool nights. You could secure the can on your stove top and light it up, Steve.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9HQJpQbAVI

[Bob Ohler]

Steve, do you carry one of these on your boat?

[Jim Davis]

Don't forget the old standby. An unglazed red clay flower pot placed upside down on the stove over a low flame.

Re: The Dickensen Newport Solid Fuel Fireplace. I have had one on my boat for quite a while and after trying too many fuels I have settled on chunk charcoal. It is easy to buy, store and gives good heat. Filling the firebox about half full lasts 3/4 to an hour and adding fuel is easy. It doesn't produce too much ash and is easy to control. As has been stated it isn't for all night unless you work a watch schedule to keep filling it. Generally I load it in the evening and light it first thing in the morning. It will warm the cabin from ~45 to a comfortable temperature in about the same time it takes to perc a pot of coffee.

We also use a W&P Trawler lamp for heat. This is mainly in the evening where it lights the cabin and keeps the temperature reasonable. I do use both when it gets real cold.

[Paul D.]

I second Jim's comments clarifying that regular charcoal does create a fair bit of ash/soot on deck that cleans up easily but does require cleaning. Make sure it is the chunk charcoal type. I also agree that a fire made in the morning heats the cabin up quickly.

[Steve Laume]

Steve, do you carry one of these on your boat?

No but I am thinking about the possibility.

I have a Cozy Cabin diesel heater that I have never been able to get to work properly. Lots of soot and smoke but very little flame. These things must have worked at some time but mine never has. I have never ripped it out in hope that one day I will figure out how to get it to work.

I am planning to install a bus heater this winter. A trawler lamp would be great and I might make up a can and toilet paper heater just to try it.

I really have high hopes for the bus heater but it will only work when running the engine so it is very limited in when it will heat the boat. It will be free heat that should be dry and welcome at the end of the day or whenever motoring for lack of wind or to charge the batteries. A solid fuel or good diesel heater seem like the best solution but are both a lot of money.

I don't have a problem with drilling holes in the boat but don't want to spend a lot of money and really don't want to add propane, Steve.

[tjr818]

It looks very interesting, but also a bit dangerous. Doesn't 70% alcohol suggest 30% water? That seems to be a lot of water vapor to add to a cabin. Where does that go?

[Maine Sail]

Interesting thread, folks.

We want heat on our 31. We have a very old force 10 diesel heater on the boat now which we have yet to use. We've heard about some problems with them.

Since we keep our (American) boat in Canada, we have Canadian insurance some of the time. Our insurer over here forbids propane appliances below decks that were not original to the boat. I argued with them about this, noting that, had there been an original propane appliance on our 31-year-old boat, it would most likely now be a safety hazard. They would not relent, so we are looking at other options (assuming the old Force 10 goes).

Since we also have a non-pressure alcohol galley stove which warms up the cabin nicely while we cook, we're not sure if we want to spend the money for a new diesel heater. We're looking at the Dickinson solid fuel heater. I had one on my old Bristol 26 back in the 80s and liked it. It does require a larger flue and there are the ashes, but they are pretty fool proof and burn a variety of fuels. It's hard to beat for ambiance.

So, does anyone have a solid fuel heater and, if so, any comments?

Winterized the boat today here in Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia. The cover goes on next week. There are still a few boats in the harbor out front as I write this, but they should be gone soon. The buffleheads and goldeneyes showed up a few days ago, a sure sign of the coming winter.

Cheers!

Terry

Unfortunately insurance dictates that you need to comply or you get no insurance, right, wrong or indifferent, it is what it is. Perhaps your insurer was one of the ones who paid out on the Paloma LPG on-demand water heater deaths and they now have a zero tolerance policy. I don't blame them as the Paloma's were a very, very, very dumb idea on a boat. Today's LPG marine standards are certainly influenced by this God awfully stupid boat builder tricks history.......

You may want to point them to the ABYC standards, which Transport Canada supports. Most of the ABYC standards are already actual law in Canada. At the last ABYC meeting there were discussions of Canada moving to full adoption of the ABYC standards as law not just "suggestions" and not just for electrical and other key areas.... You certainly can install a safe LP heater but it should always comply with the accepted safety standards which in North America are the ABYC standards. Any LPG heater installed on a boat must be "room sealed combustion".. This eliminates the vast majority of LPG heaters as non-compliant and unsafe as the standards go.

Despite being ridiculously popular on boats, and they should not be, the LPG Cozy Cabin heater has NEVER been an ABYC compliant heater. Quite honestly any surveyor that does not flag an LPG Cozy Cabin heater as a unsafe & non-compliant installation is simply NOT DOING HIS or HER JOB.

This is why the parent company, Dickinson, (same company owns Cozy Cabin, SIG and Dickinson) now offers the Dickinson P9000 and P12000 LPG heaters which actually do meet the ABYC standards and soon, even land based standards, due to the "Tiny House Movement". The Dickinson bulkhead mounted diesel heaters also comply with the safety standards and would satisfy your insurers requirements.

You can always go Espar, Wallas or Webasto too, all diesel. One of the first things we did on our boat was rip out the awful and non-safety compliant Cozy Cabin heater and install and Espar.

[Astronomertoo]

We used a Shipmate kerosene heater in our 27 fter for 6 years in Florida, where we used the boat nearly as often for night as daytime for ICW cruising or anchoring out behind our favorite islands in the winter time, and often with friends on board. The heater required priming with alcohol, like we used with our 2 burner stove, and once started was never a problem. Our exhaust vent was a small diameter SS which went up thru a typical external charlie noble. We made and fastened an aluminum plate with a rail on top of the heater to keep our coffee pot hot and safe while motoring or easy sailing. Our nights never got under 30 degrees but we never got cold. Our friends loved the heated boat, and I would do it again.
However, I can not find a way to add fuel heat to the little CD25.
Bob C