Practical advice for dealing with the heat onboard

[blackrose]

I think the idea of keeping doors and windows closed as recommended by experts on TV and the radio might work in a house, but I'm not so sure about that advice if you're sitting inside in relatively poorly insulated steel box. 

 

At some point during the day the heat will penetrate through the steel/insulation/wooden lining and then the air temperature will be hotter inside the boat than outside, so at that point you may as well open everything up and get some airflow. 

Edited July 16, 2022 by blackrose

[Puffling]

19 minutes ago, blackrose said:

I think the idea of keeping doors and windows closed as recommended by experts on TV and the radio might work in a house, but I'm not so sure about that advice if you're sitting inside in relatively poorly insulated steel box. 

 

At some point during the day the heat will penetrate through the steel/insulation/wooden lining and then the air temperature will be hotter inside the boat than outside, so at that point you may as well open everything up and get some airflow. 

I tend to agree. In addition to the relatively poor insulation, the shell of a boat heats up and cools down quickly, unlike the mass of concrete, brick, stone and tile around you in a typical house. 

 

The downside is that when the sky clears and the mercury drops in the evening, the thermal mass of a house is still maintaining the inside temperature higher than the outside air, even with all windows open, while the boat will be fairly much the same temperature as the outside air with enough through ventilation.

[mrsmelly]

2 hours ago, Ronaldo47 said:

During the hot summer of '75 or '76, a reader's letter in a newspsper recalled how, when the writer had been on active service in Egypt, they used to keep water in unglazed clay pots.  Evaporation of  water oozing through the walls of the pot used to keep the water inside cool.

 

Painting things white certainly helps to  keep them cool when in direct sunlight. On one canal holiday I was able to show my children the different effects of  painting things black or white at a recently-painted lock. It was  mid- morning, and the black part of a wooden lock beam in direct sunlight was bone dry and warm to the touch, while the white-painted end, also in direct sunlight,  was cold, and still wet with the previous night's dew.   

Ahhhh, now they were very good summers. I spent one in the Med and the other Farther east and south.

[David Schweizer]

Some of the old working boatmen used to drape wet cloths over the cabin roof and sides in very hot weather, but whether that was to cool the boat, or to protect wooden cabins and their signwriting I am not sure, possibly both.  I certainly remember Joe and Rose Skinner doing it on Friendship, and somewhere have a photo in a book, but I cannot find it at the moment ( a challenge for RayT !!!)

[Ray T]

37 minutes ago, David Schweizer said:

Some of the old working boatmen used to drape wet cloths over the cabin roof and sides in very hot weather, but whether that was to cool the boat, or to protect wooden cabins and their signwriting I am not sure, possibly both.  I certainly remember Joe and Rose Skinner doing it on Friendship, and somewhere have a photo in a book, but I cannot find it at the moment ( a challenge for RayT !!!)

 

Here ya go. 😃

 

Plus, a bonus, red bands on the chimney. Mike has told me they never had these in their working life but the chimney was a gift after they retired.

Also, the white top rim was usually associated with Northern boaters rather than Midland ones.

 

Edited July 16, 2022 by Ray T

[David Schweizer]

Thanks for that Ray. I have actually found one of my own photos of Friendship, which shows the sheets folded onto the cabin roof to enable the panels to be re-decorated. Taken in 1967at the Leicester IWA rally, after Rose and Joe had retired.  Note:- No red or white bands on the chimney

 

 

 

Edited July 16, 2022 by David Schweizer

[blackrose]

When I was moored at Brentford many years ago, a bloke I knew ran a length of hose over his roof on a hot day. The hose was connected to the tap at his pontoon and clamped at the other end. He'd made lots of holes down the length of the hose so the water could spray over his roof.

 

I saw him later in the evening and asked him how his experiment went. He just shrugged his shoulders and said, "It didn't make any f@cking difference!"

 

I didn't go to the same lengths as him but in the past I have tried regularly hosing the boat down on hot days in direct sunshine. Unfortunately I came to the same conclusion. I'm not sure why we had different results to others who say it works. I know it should work, but it didn't reduce the temperature on the digital thermometer inside my boat. 

 

Mooring in the shade is much more effective. 

Edited July 16, 2022 by blackrose

[Ray T]

We tend to use the caravan in Summer and the boat in Autumn and Spring.

 

In the van we found a Chillmax Air works reasonably well.

JML Chillmax Air Personal Space Air Cooler and Humidifier (ryman.co.uk)

 

It needs mains to run however. We also put ice cubes in the water tray.

[Jen-in-Wellies]

1 hour ago, David Schweizer said:

Some of the old working boatmen used to drape wet cloths over the cabin roof and sides in very hot weather, but whether that was to cool the boat, or to protect wooden cabins and their signwriting I am not sure, possibly both.  I certainly remember Joe and Rose Skinner doing it on Friendship, and somewhere have a photo in a book, but I cannot find it at the moment ( a challenge for RayT !!!)

Another possible reason could be to stop the joints opening up on a wood cabin? Help it keep the rain on the outside when the weather breaks. Plausible?

 

[PeterF]

I have noticed that the chromed tiller tube on my boat never gets too hot, it has a high reflectivity so it does not take in much radiant heat. It is always much cooler than the dark grey painted swan's neck. Therefore the ultimate is bling your boat like a footballers range rover by having it chrome plated. For a quicker slightly less effective alternative, 20 packs of Bacofoil taped over your boat shiny side out.

 

Oops, just noticed the title said practical advice.

[Ronaldo47]

An early 1960's book mentions the use of aluminium foil laid across the joists, shiny side down,  as an alternative to fibrous  loft insulation. Aluminium foil was said to be equivalent to  2" of the fibrous stuff in terms of heat loss reduction. 

[Peugeot 106]

1 hour ago, Ronaldo47 said:

An early 1960's book mentions the use of aluminium foil laid across the joists, shiny side down,  as an alternative to fibrous  loft insulation. Aluminium foil was said to be equivalent to  2" of the fibrous stuff in terms of heat loss reduction. 

What happened to the “Space Blanket” ?

[David Schweizer]

5 minutes ago, Peugeot 106 said:

What happened to the “Space Blanket” ?

 

I've still got mine, somewhere in the loft!!

[Peugeot 106]

6 hours ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

A development of this is known as a zeer pot, or pot in pot fridge. Evaporative cooling fridges work well with plenty of dry warm air circulating.

It was good enough for Bill and Ben and Little Weed

(Don’t know how to insert web photo)

[David Schweizer]

2 hours ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

Another possible reason could be to stop the joints opening up on a wood cabin? Help it keep the rain on the outside when the weather breaks. Plausible?

 

Yes, that is what i was implying when I suggested they were used to prorect wooden cabins.

[Peugeot 106]

2 minutes ago, David Schweizer said:

 

I've still got mine, somewhere in the loft!!

Well get it out. It may finally be useful if you’re sure you won’t be going to space. Hope you don’t mind what you look like but you may be cool!

[Peanut]

On the theme of aluminium foil, London Boaters, suggest using it over the windows to keep the sun out.  Perhaps more practical than covering the entire roof.

[Tonka]

Hammersmith Bridge is currently wrapped in foil according to the BBC to keep cool

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-62176576

Edited July 17, 2022 by Tonka
Link added

[IanD]

19 hours ago, blackrose said:

When I was moored at Brentford many years ago, a bloke I knew ran a length of hose over his roof on a hot day. The hose was connected to the tap at his pontoon and clamped at the other end. He'd made lots of holes down the length of the hose so the water could spray over his roof.

 

I saw him later in the evening and asked him how his experiment went. He just shrugged his shoulders and said, "It didn't make any f@cking difference!"

 

I didn't go to the same lengths as him but in the past I have tried regularly hosing the boat down on hot days in direct sunshine. Unfortunately I came to the same conclusion. I'm not sure why we had different results to others who say it works. I know it should work, but it didn't reduce the temperature on the digital thermometer inside my boat. 

 

Mooring in the shade is much more effective. 

 

Just hosing down doesn't help, it's not the cool water running over it that really does the job, it's evaporation. You need something absorbent over the surface to hold the water in place while it evaporates, this gives *far* more effective cooling.

 

To put some real numbers in place, the latent heat of water is 4.2kJ/kgK, so if the running water warms up by 10C as it runs off the roof it absorbs 42kJ/kg. Latent heat of evaporation for water is 2260kJ/kg, more than 50x higher.

[Nightwatch]

On 15/07/2022 at 17:40, Tracy D'arth said:

Wear wet clothes is the tropical solution.

A soaking wet fleece will stay wet for ages. But do nothing for the water shortage.

[Alan de Enfield]

1 minute ago, Nightwatch said:

But do nothing for the water shortage.

 

There is no shortage of water - in fact there is (probably) no less that there was millions of years ago.

 

The problem is that it is in the wrong places.

Huge cities of millions of people demand it be available where and when they want it so storage and distribution is the problem - not the amount of water the planet has available.

 

Climate change / Global water has not reduced the amount of water available - in fact it has increased the amount of 'free water' by melting the ice caps and glaciers.

[Tracy D'arth]

8 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

There is no shortage of water - in fact there is (probably) no less that there was millions of years ago.

 

The problem is that it is in the wrong places.

Huge cities of millions of people demand it be available where and when they want it so storage and distribution is the problem - not the amount of water the planet has available.

 

Climate change / Global water has not reduced the amount of water available - in fact it has increased the amount of 'free water' by melting the ice caps and glaciers.

Could someone please move a glacier into the Leeds Liverpool canal and  into the Ashby canal?

[IanD]

1 hour ago, Nightwatch said:

A soaking wet fleece will stay wet for ages. But do nothing for the water shortage.

If my numbers are correct, it only takes 4l per hour of evaporating water to give cooling equivalent to running a typical portable aircon unit  (9000BTU=2.6kW). Not exactly enough to lead to a water shortage... 😉

Edited July 17, 2022 by IanD

[Nightwatch]

Sometimes do you ever wish you hadn’t said a semi humorous comment. You lot, anyone would think this dramatically dangerous heatwave had got to you.

[BEngo]

The solution to excessive heat is simple.  Moor up in any one of the broad tunnels.  Available on the GU, GU Leicester line, N Stratford, Worcs and Birmingham and possibly the Leeds and Liverpool, if there is any water.  Mudweight fore and aft will sort it.

 

If you have a really bright, preferably cold white LED light  at both ends passing boats will not be able to tell which way you are going and will simply assume that you have stopped to let them pass.

 

N

Edited July 17, 2022 by BEngo