Warning new boaters...prepare for winter.

[Naughty Cal]

Don't jump onto the back of the boat or off of the boat. It can be very icy or slippery.

 

Take extra care around locks and extra time when mooring up.

 

Also keeping the boat well ventilated will help keep condensation at bay. We keep a roof hatch cracked open and the windows ajar. The heating still keeps the boat toasty warm.

[Chalky]

We tend to completely drain the water tank each year and also drain the pipe work. When I fitted the boat out I fitted drain cocks at the lowest point and use this to empty the system. I leave these open and put a bowl under to collect any residue. I also leave all of the taps open and make sure that the shower hose is able to drain into the shower tray - this froze one year and I was lucky it didn't damage the valve. I also close the sea cocks on all of the skin fittings just in case.

The batteries are trickle charged via a small solar panel - never had any problems. Usually aim to run the engine once a month for a few hours to allow me to run the heating (runs off engine), will probably light the stove at the same time.

[bizzard]

Electrically heated mooring ropes will stop them going all stiff with the frost and will be nice and warm to handle.

[sueb]

2 hours???

Unless you have a Rayburn, in which case make it 4 hrs and the chill maybe off but don't bank on it.

[Guest]

We tend to completely drain the water tank each year and also drain the pipe work. When I fitted the boat out I fitted drain cocks at the lowest point and use this to empty the system. I leave these open and put a bowl under to collect any residue. I also leave all of the taps open and make sure that the shower hose is able to drain into the shower tray - this froze one year and I was lucky it didn't damage the valve. I also close the sea cocks on all of the skin fittings just in case.

The batteries are trickle charged via a small solar panel - never had any problems. Usually aim to run the engine once a month for a few hours to allow me to run the heating (runs off engine), will probably light the stove at the same time.

 

One thing I have found is that with the bathroom sink taps and the shower valve open if I blow down the shower hose I can expel quite a lot of water from the pipework into the bathroom sink. This may not work on every system but it does on ours.

 

The main reason we don't fully empty our water tank is we still use the boat in winter and don't leave it for weeks on end. It would be a faff to empty and refill it each time we wanted to go boating. Partly emptying it allows for some expansion at least.

[sueb]

A complete. total and utter waste of money. Save the money for coal. Fall in to the same category as Snake oil and chocolate fireguards. A bit like drinking lager realy.

 

Tim

Tim have you ever owned an Eco fan? They were brilliant on our boat. I resisted buying one for years because I didn't believe they worked, then a friend, who I trusted, said how good they were so I bought one. I had warm feet in the winter for the first time and discarded my blanket

[Phil Ambrose]

Eco fans are good,had one on my last boat and have one on this boat. If they were'nt any good they would have gone out of business years ago. My opinion only.

Phil

[Guest]

Eco fans are good,had one on my last boat and have one on this boat. If they were'nt any good they would have gone out of business years ago. My opinion only.

Phil

 

Or perhaps people who have spent so much money on such a useless piece of scrap are too proud to admit they have made an expensive mistake and delude themselves into believing they work.....My opinion only....

[comfortably numb]

 

But only to warm the bed before you get in

 

As an ex-firefighter I strongly urge people NOT to sleep on an electric blanket that is still switched on.

 

 

 

I remember a few years ago my brigade ran a campaign on electric blanket safety. people who had had an electric for a blanket for a long time were invited to bring it in for testing. Any that were faulty were replaced free of charge from donations from business.

 

We replaced an awful lot.

 

The point being that there is a surprisingly large number of defective electric blankets out there - each one is a potential disaster, especially if it is slept on while still switched on

I found this out from bitter experience 15 years ago when I set my house on fire this way and was minutes away from leaving this world according to the firemen. It was a very old electric blanket and I'd gone to bed but left it on so as to keep it warm for the wife who was supposed to be joining me in a few minutes.

 

Long story but she ended up in a drinking session with the neighbours and 2 hours later with me in a deep sleep the blanket caught fire, then the bed/bedding, carpet, curtains. What amazed me was that it didn't wake me up, I think due being overcome by the toxic fumes. What saved me was that the fire began to burn my knee and woke me up just in time.

 

Suffice to say that I still use an electric blanket but I religiously replace it every 2 years now.

 

Edited to say that I never sleep with it switched on, and never did before except for that one occasion.

Edited September 19, 2013 by comfortably numb

[Phil Ambrose]

Seems that I made an expensive mistake TWICE on 2 different boats

Phil

[Mick_B]

Having spent my first winter on the boat last year. the only problem I found was the bedroom was cold at night. no central heating but the stove done a good job in the rest of the boat. Thinking about a eco fan this year. but a lot of money. is it worth it. Comments please.

 

Yes it is worth it.

 

Or perhaps people who have spent so much money on such a useless piece of scrap are too proud to admit they have made an expensive mistake and delude themselves into believing they work.....My opinion only....

Opinion is the operative word there Martin. My stove is in the front with two bulkheads seperating it from the back doors. The day I bought my eco fan I went for a few pints. (as usual). The differance is when I returned and opened the back doors I felt heat coming out for the first time ever. I have felt this heat each time I open the doors when the stove is lit. I also experienced the "no need to curl my feet up on the couch anymore" as there is now heat near the floor.

As a result I am sorry to say you and others who slag off the eco fans either have not tried them, or have boats where the heat is able to spread by itself without need of assistance.

Those of us who tried the eco fan and found a differance KNOW they work and are not just sharing "opinions". We have the proof. You have your snake oil. As for deluded??? No. I'll leave it at that mate.

[Black Ibis]

Tip: Keep a tiny bottle of lock (as in door lock) de-icer outside the cabin when leaving the boat!

This is a very good idea! This is our first full Winter on Willow (bought in Feb but didn't live on full time until April). On our old boat we had a combi padlock, but Willow has a mortice lock so we've not had the experience of a winter with a key yet!

 

Other tips:

 

Drain down all water systems but leave all taps open just in case, when going away for more than a day.

Use solid fuel stove as a slow cooker whenever possible! Tis the season for stews! Yum!

[cheshire~rose]

I'm not sure what you mean? You say you don't drain your water tank but you do drain your water system? What's the difference? And why do you need to let air in under the ice?

 

 

We isolate the water at the pump and drain the rest of the domestic water down by opening all the taps and shower. - like your number 4

 

We have arrived at the boat in freezing weather before now to find even when we switch the water back on at the pump there is none coming through. There is plenty of water in the tank below the ice crust but it forms a vacuum preventing the water flowing as we try and draw water off unless we break the ice crust.

 

We enjoy using our boat throughout the winter but as yet work stops us staying on board so we do take some precautions without actually closing the boat right down for winter

6. When returning to a cold boat after a weekend away, light the fire, then go to the pub for 2 hours.

 

Before you go to the pub open as many cupboard doors as possible to allow the warmer air to circulate into all the nooks and crannies - during the first night on board also leave cupboard doors open as there will have been a lot of condensation formed on glass, ceramic and tins in the galley

Edited September 19, 2013 by cheshire~rose

[Ssscrudddy]

Following this thread. I never had a boat, but hoping mine will be ready in about 2 weeks, if I can survive the winter the summer should be easy.

[cheshire~rose]

 

Or perhaps people who have spent so much money on such a useless piece of scrap are too proud to admit they have made an expensive mistake and delude themselves into believing they work.....My opinion only....

 

We didn't buy our Eco fan. We were given it by a boater that was giving up boating. I doubt we would have paid out to buy one new, especially reading so many people rubbishing them on this forum.

 

We tried it and it definately made a difference on our boat. Our back boiler went a few years ago and we have not bothered replacing it as we do not need the radiators on I know if the radiators were on it would be warmer again at the back of the boat but it is warm enough, even in bitterly cold weather. The added advantage of not having the radiators on is we don't have the irritationg noise of the central heating pump working (and draining our batteries) during the night. For us the Eco fan was a winner - so much so that we have sent it off this summer to have it refurbished at the princely cost of £25 and we thank that kind fellow who gave it to us and allowed us to experiment whether it would work on our boat every time we see it whizzing around.

Edited September 19, 2013 by cheshire~rose

[Guest]

 

Yes it is worth it.

Opinion is the operative word there Martin. My stove is in the front with two bulkheads seperating it from the back doors. The day I bought my eco fan I went for a few pints. (as usual). The differance is when I returned and opened the back doors I felt heat coming out for the first time ever. I have felt this heat each time I open the doors when the stove is lit. I also experienced the "no need to curl my feet up on the couch anymore" as there is now heat near the floor.

As a result I am sorry to say you and others who slag off the eco fans either have not tried them, or have boats where the heat is able to spread by itself without need of assistance.

Those of us who tried the eco fan and found a differance KNOW they work and are not just sharing "opinions". We have the proof. You have your snake oil. As for deluded??? No. I'll leave it at that mate.

 

Mistakenly given you a greenie there instead of hitting quote.

 

We actually have an Ecofan - it came with the boat and all I can say is that it makes no difference what so ever on our boat, so I'm afraid you are incorrect as my opinion is actually based on my actual experience. We do however enjoy watching it spin around when there is nothing on telly....

 

I can't explain however why some people find they don't work and others claim they do (the deluded comment was actually light hearted and tongue in cheek there is however no appropriate smiley).

 

Boat layout perhaps? is the only suggestion I can offer. With the central heating off the rear of our boat is always much colder than the front irrespective of whether the fan is running or not so it doesn't dissipate well with or with out it.

 

What I would strongly urge anybody to do is borrow one and actually decide for themselves before laying out such a large amount of cash when there is (in my opinion of course) much better things you could spend money on, such as beer or as Tim suggests more coal.

Edited September 19, 2013 by The Dog House

[BD3Bill]

We bought the cheap version of the ecofan that a certain 'chain of chandlers in the midlands' sell.

 

I think it was about £65 or so. (Yes, I know, it won't last long--- thanks )

 

I do agree that is a lot of coal!!

 

However the intended use for ours was to make the saloon actually a bit cooler/more comfortable as the stove we have is a bit of a beast for our little 45ft Tug

i.e. too hot/too big

 

The fan IS effective at doing this.

 

The warmer feeling at the rear (bedroom) end of the cabin ( which is pretty open plan/no corridor ) may be a placebo effect as we aren't

going to bed glowing like a steel workers belt buckle OR NOT as it is a small boat??

 

Incidentally our stove is about 7ft from the bow doors, one wonders if a fan can be effective on a stove mounted by the bow doors ( as is quite common place), maybe circulating the

cold draft from through the doors ???

 

Cheers Bill

[jake_crew]

Tip: Keep a tiny bottle of lock (as in door lock) de-icer outside the cabin when leaving the boat!

 

Many men have a convenient container of de-icer about 3' off the ground, with applicator nozzle already attached.

 

They say that some ladies are similarly capable tho' I've never witnessed that.

[Jambo]

also......make sure you have loads of kindling to get a fire going. Coal doesnt light on it's own, and big wood chunks dont catch that easily. Some folk use old teabags kept in a bottle of diesel as cheap firelighters.

 

Pine cones work really well.

[davidc]

This will be my first winter on a boat, I have at the moment a webasto diesel heater, is it advisable to leave it on when away from boat or would it be wiser to get a thermostat electric rad for when I am at work.

 

advise please

[Guest]

This will be my first winter on a boat, I have at the moment a webasto diesel heater, is it advisable to leave it on when away from boat or would it be wiser to get a thermostat electric rad for when I am at work.

 

advise please

 

Assuming you just wish to maintain a 'background' warmth whilst away from the boat and if on shore power I would go the rad route - on balance I reckon overall that would work out cheaper.

 

Webasto's tend to be 'all or nothing' with no thermostat and diesel is not cheap where shore power can be very cost effective and you have the advantage of thermostatic control of the rad.

Edited September 19, 2013 by The Dog House

[Phil Ambrose]

When returning late at night from work (midnight) it was very common in the winter to find my dinghy mooring line like a bar of iron and I often had to make use of the male de-icer to allow me to untie the rope so I could get home. Armed with this knowledge I kindly soaked my wife's dinghy line in Brine to a similar effect, I,m good to that woman LOL

 

Phil

[pooie4]

As a new boater I have found condensation to be a problem when more than just one are staying on the boat even tough I have two windows open all the time I still get a bit dripping from the screws that hold the t+g boards to the roof , I got thingy from b and q that sucks up moisture but still getting a bit and it's not that cold yet???

[Naughty Cal]

This will be my first winter on a boat, I have at the moment a webasto diesel heater, is it advisable to leave it on when away from boat or would it be wiser to get a thermostat electric rad for when I am at work.

 

advise please

We often leave our Webasto on if we are away from the boat for the day. It is on a thermostat and 7 day timer so we can set it to come on at a certain temperature and at a certain time for a certain number of hours.

 

During the week when we are at home we leave an oil filled rad on. But the Webasto is set to come on a few hours before we arrive at the boat on a Friday. The oil filled rad kept the cabin above 10 degrees all winter last winter although it wasnt really a cold winter, but we set the Webasto thermostat at 5 degrees incase the electrical supply went out at the marina.

As a new boater I have found condensation to be a problem when more than just one are staying on the boat even tough I have two windows open all the time I still get a bit dripping from the screws that hold the t+g boards to the roof , I got thingy from b and q that sucks up moisture but still getting a bit and it's not that cold yet???

Try reducing the amount of moisture you create during the day. Put lids on pans, open the window when boiling the kettle etc. every little will help.

[Chalky]

Tip: Keep a tiny bottle of lock (as in door lock) de-icer outside the cabin when leaving the boat!

 

I used to spray waxoyl into the lock before the bad weather started - lubricated the mechanism and helped keep the water out. Spray grease would work just as well.