Winter on a GRP boat (with no heating) vs Sleeping in my car

[Ben69]

I may become homeless shortly.

 

I have a car and a Petrol GRP boat (with no heating system). If you had to choose between the two which would you rather spend the winter on in Berkshire?

I am thinking the GRP boat would be more comfortable along as my sleep system is the same as a person who camps over the winter period (aka 4 season_. Have I missed anything?

 

 

Thank you

Edited September 8, 2016 by Ben69

[W+T]

boat defo, more room, more comfy, should get a mattress in but not sure as dont know boat size, i have done it int he past, some will say DONT, well most will, but get an LPG mobile heater if you dont have a hob/cooker to help keep warm. just dont forget detectors to stay safe, as long as theer is good ventilation.

 

it gets cold and damp, been there and done it as i was in same boat, excuse the pun, for near 6 months. never again.

[Grebe]

As W+T says. More comfort which will be better for your muscles.

 

Do the simple things, hot drinks and food inside you, hot water bottles in the bed.

 

Flasks are good to bring hot water to the boat if you have no method to heat it.

[Catnip King]

Go for the boat

[W+T]

i forgot to mention, heat packs, they are great when needs must, i used them when fishing at times and work real good. just get good ones as cheap ones dont last that long at the full temp. good over night warmth

its the hands and feet to keep warm more, the rest can be kept warm with good clothing. i spent hours and hours sat in minus temps fishing and feet and hands get cold so quick. on my boat i lived on ruff i wrapped up my feet and hands in plenty of blankets. not knowing about the heats packs. it worked though.

Edited September 8, 2016 by W+T

[magpie patrick]

All other things being equal being able to sleep on a horizontal bunk will be a lot healthier for you than sleeping curled up on a car seat. You will also probably be more secure, and overall more comfortable, i.e. room to get out of bed, sit down, eat, drink coffee etc

 

As well as having a good sleeping bag and sleeping fully clothed try and have a source of hot food and drink (but not at the expense of blowing the boat up or gassing yourself!): in mid-winter fish and chips will do you a lot more good than a beetroot and hummus sandwich. People may bang on about long term health benefits, you need to think of the short term ones of keeping going from day to day.

 

At the other end of the K and A there is an outreach officer from Julian House, I don't know whether the Berkshire end has something similar - might be worth being on their radar.

[Phil Ambrose]

Some very sound advice offered in this thread, I hope the OP soon gets sorted.

Phil

[nbfiresprite]

Stone Hot water bottles stay warmer longer than rubber ones. Stick one at the bottom of the bag about half hour before you get in.

[KJT]

Where will you moor the boat? If you have the possibility of electric hook-up then you can have an oil filled radiator or similar to heat the cabin.

[Taslim]

Ventilation. (One of W+T many knowing points) Stopping up vents and gaps to 'save heat' will make maters worse. The condesation will get you.

 

Better an air temperature of -5 in a dry sleeping bag than +5 in a damp one. Use cold dry winter days (we do have them) to air your space & kit.

 

Eat well. Good luck.

[bizzard]

The human thermos flask technique. Wrap yourself up from head to foot with oven foil,(shiny side inwards) If you do it whilst your warm it should keep you warm. If you do it when your cold, it might keep you cold, especially appendages.

[Taslim]

The human thermos flask technique. Wrap yourself up from head to foot with oven foil,(shiny side inwards) If you do it whilst your warm it should keep you warm. If you do it when your cold, it might keep you cold, especially appendages.

With the bonus that one is radiation proof and the beings on the space ship won't be able to detect you and abduct you for experiments.

 

That said I do hope the OP can work something out before he has to take up your, doubtless workable, idea.

[AllanC]

I would go for the GRP. More comfortable, more space, possible cooking facilities etc. I would also jury rig a small tent or bivvy inside to sleep in. The boat will keep you dry and the tent will be a much smaller space to retain any body heat. It wouldn't need to be anything elaborate, just a way of enclosing a smaller area inside the boat.

[Naughty Cal]

Get yourself a decent sleeping bag and some thermal nightwear. A hot water bottle will also take the chill off before you go to bed.

 

During the day the boat will heat up naturally in the sunshine but will lose heat quickly at night.

[sal garfi]

These are all good responses. The boat is best - I spend winter months on my un-insulated GRP when at work and I've never been uncomfortable. If you can get a hook-up then you can get quite toasty with an oil filled rad and/or a fan heater (the leccy rates at my marina are cheaper than my home domestic ones). If not, get CO alarms and give it a go with a gas camping heater but DEFINITELY keep the place ventilated and when not in the boat, store the heater in the cockpit (according to the BSS such heaters and similar hobs are supposed to be able to leak some gas when not being used).

 

Anyway, it should be possible and maybe even not that uncomfortable. Good luck!

[bottle]

The human thermos flask technique. Wrap yourself up from head to foot with oven foil,(shiny side inwards) If you do it whilst your warm it should keep you warm. If you do it when your cold, it might keep you cold, especially appendages.

 

This may be the best and correct advice that bizzard has ever given.

 

Insulate your self and sleeping bag from whatever it is resting on, you will stay warmer.

 

A flask of hot water wrapped in a towel or similar, saved over night, will make a hot drink in the morning before leaving the cosy sleeping bag.

 

Wish you well and good luck, Oh. nearly forgot the boat in preference to the car.

[Ben69]

Thank you so much for the fabulous response.

 

Armed with such good advice I am pretty confident i will be fine. Thank you. I don't have shore power but I do have a gas stove. Hopefully a few hot water bottles will keep me warm. I am guessing i could use some hot water bottles to stop my inboard (raw water fed) petrol engine from freezing up (i guess thats another thread )

 

 

Thank you everyone again , muchos love (and green thumbs up when the forum software allows it) <3

[cobaltcodd]

Take some time now and try to insulate your boat somehow with stick-on insulation, maybe some temporary double glazing, plug and fill any holes, make doors fit better etc etc

[MissMax]

Carbon monoxide alarm is important ( as I have been repeatedly told) so is a cassette toilet with extra cassettes.

 

Sorry your miles away, we called have fought off spiders and looked at pictures of Brian Blessed together

[J R ALSOP]

DO NOT get a mobiles LPG heater to use in the boat or use the hob for space heating, you WILL KILL yourself.

[cereal tiller]

DO NOT get a mobiles LPG heater to use in the boat or use the hob for space heating, you WILL KILL yourself.

Absolutely right!

 

CT

[Alan de Enfield]

DO NOT get a mobiles LPG heater to use in the boat or use the hob for space heating, you WILL KILL yourself.

 

To compare this to sleeping in the car : you may as well just run a hose-pipe from the exhaust into the car so you can get the benefit of the warm exhaust gases from the engine.

 

You won't worry about the cold for very long.

[Greylady2]

Ben all the best with with which ever you choose, if it gets too cold on the Boat and you cant handle it you can turn up at a council housing office and they have a duty of care to make sure your not living ruff.

 

I did this about 8 years ago and lived in a hostil until they found me a nice flat.

[Neil Smith]

see if you can get an ex army arctic sleeping bag, they are the nuts, or if not get 2 normal ones and put one in the other, and get a thermal balaclava to keep your head warm. If you can fit a chimney you could fit a little pot belly stove.

 

Neil

[Arthur Brown]

The skill in keeping warm is to keep dry, this always needs ventilation. The issue with a petrol engined boat is keeping ahead of the BSS and the fuel fume fire issue, then there is the mooring permission.