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Narrowboats Too Cold For Winter Living


Alan de Enfield

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Narrowboats too cold for winter living

Friday, 11 November 2016 08:03

HAVING recently attended two live aboard boaters suffering pneumonia, a doctor has approached narrowboatworld telling of her concerns at the conditions of people living in narrowboats in winter.

Dr. Alison Fells is concerned that conditions in a narrowboat in winter is putting the lives of people living in boats, especially older retirees, in danger owing to their virtually complete lack of insulation from the cold weather, explaining:

 

Lack of insulation

 

"I was completely amazed at the answers to my questions to the patients about the living conditions [in narrowboats] that there was normally only an inch of insulation between the steel hull and the inside including the roof, [Current building regulations stipulate 270mm (10½ inches of loft insulation.] and none underfloor giving any any extra protection between the cold winter water and the interior.

"The heating of the boats of the patients I attended was abysmal and way below the standard expected, having a stove at the end of what I was told in one case was a 65ft boat [the cabin space is less of course] yet the bedroom at the other end, and though with a radiator, this was completely cold, though I ascertained it was fully turned on, the stove not having the capacity to drive the many radiators in the boat."

 

Transferred to hospital

 

Dr. Alison remarked that the patients told her that the stove gave out plenty of heat and lasted all night, that she refuted after accessing the situation, and told that both the boaters were immediately transferred to hospital.

It seems that neither of the boats had secondary heating from either a gas or diesel heater, but relied solely on the stove.

[No details of the patients names, boats or even where moored were of course given.]

Edited by Alan de Enfield
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Oh dear, I will just have to drink more Malt Whisky to stay warm!!

 

Seriously, maybe she should visit more retirees living in poorly insulated older housing stock. They can struggle to afford to hear the bigger, sometimes uninsulated space. To be fair to her, we have seen some people living aboard what appear to be very poorly maintained boats.

Edited by MHS
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From Narrowboat World :

 

Narrowboats too cold for winter living

Friday, 11 November 2016 08:03

HAVING recently attended two live aboard boaters suffering pneumonia, a doctor has approached narrowboatworld telling of her concerns at the conditions of people living in narrowboats in winter.

Dr. Alison Fells is concerned that conditions in a narrowboat in winter is putting the lives of people living in boats, especially older retirees, in danger owing to their virtually complete lack of insulation from the cold weather, explaining:

 

Lack of insulation

 

"I was completely amazed at the answers to my questions to the patients about the living conditions [in narrowboats] that there was normally only an inch of insulation between the steel hull and the inside including the roof, [Current building regulations stipulate 270mm (10½ inches of loft insulation.] and none underfloor giving any any extra protection between the cold winter water and the interior.

"The heating of the boats of the patients I attended was abysmal and way below the standard expected, having a stove at the end of what I was told in one case was a 65ft boat [the cabin space is less of course] yet the bedroom at the other end, and though with a radiator, this was completely cold, though I ascertained it was fully turned on, the stove not having the capacity to drive the many radiators in the boat."

 

Transferred to hospital

 

Dr. Alison remarked that the patients told her that the stove gave out plenty of heat and lasted all night, that she refuted after accessing the situation, and told that both the boaters were immediately transferred to hospital.

It seems that neither of the boats had secondary heating from either a gas or diesel heater, but relied solely on the stove.

[No details of the patients names, boats or even where moored were of course given.]

 

I must invite Dr Fells to sample the interior temperature on Mr Jinks!

 

I usually end up in shorts and t-shirt whilst the canal is iced up.

 

In fact, the thermometer in the kitchen at the stern says 20C and the thermometer in the front room is around 34C

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no different if they were living in a house I suspect . Our boat is warmer than our old house used to be , depends on boat and heating provision and affordabilty where ever you live surely ? honestly the do gooder establishment would have us all living in controlled enviro bubbles I am sure .

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Mross, you're a bit previous: the report says that they had been taken to hospital, not that they had died. Your premiss is a possibility, but as it's generally more expensive to heat a house (not many householders come across a supply of free wood as they cruise along) I hae ma doots.

 

 

 

 

 

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The mention of loft insulation standard has nothing to do with standards of living but more energy use.

 

Just because a boat has less insulation only means your going to burn more fuel to keep it at a nice temperature, not that it is going to be any colder inside. I could take all the insulation out of my loft and still have the house the same temperature inside as it is now however it would cost me more in heating bills.

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We do let ours get quite cold at night in the backcabin where we sleep, I like it that way, though we do like to keep the saloon at about 20 in the evenings and just a little lower in the daytime. If I go into a hot centrally heated house I start to feel ill.

I expect it won't be long before the medical profession advises people not to go outdoors in the winter.

 

.................Dave

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To be fair, heating a house is far cheaper than heating the boat (I think). Insulation, even when done well, is poor compared to the average house.

The argument of finding wood is irrelevant as you could just drive to your local wood to do the same for a home (assuming you have a fire / wood burner).

 

I only have the Squirrel and it's back boiler, I get through a fair amount of coal if I keep it lit 24 hours a day over the weekend.

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The insulation on a boat is different to loft insulation, being solid. I wonder what the heat transfer coefficients are like in comparison.

 

Wouldn't be hard to work out if anyone knows the U-Value of sprayfoam.

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As a 'youngster' we lived in an old 'Manor House', solid walls, big single glazed sash windows, built in 1660 and subject to being 'listed', little could be done.

 

Glued silver foil to the walls before wall papering but the wall paper still fell off with the damp.

Would wake up Winter mornings with frost on the inside of the windows.

Would wake up Winter mornings with frozen condensation (from breathing) on the blankets.

One Winter my gold-fish bowl froze completely (dead fish obviously)

 

No central heating and only fires 'allowed' on the ground floor.

 

Never had a cold, sore throat or any 'usual winter ill'.

 

Heated boat - LUXURY - Youngsters today - Pah.

  • Greenie 1
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The insulation on a boat is different to loft insulation, being solid. I wonder what the heat transfer coefficients are like in comparison.

That depends on how old the boat is and how its insulated. 20 year old rock wool that has been damp and compressed to the bottom, 1 inch sheets of polystyrene laid between hull and lining or a good all over layer of spray foam. Also the area of glass which in some cases is 20% of the cabin side completely un-insulated in lots of cases.

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I wonder if the boaters who died were struggling to afford the cost of running their heating. It's a sad fact that winter cold sees off hundreds of elderly people every year.

That is far more to the point I would think. I know our boat has a smaller wood burner than most, yet in the coldest of winters it can cope well (-20 C outside a few years back.)

Then again perhaps some boats are not well insulated etc (again possibly due to lack of funds.) This of course would mean still extra fuel.

I have worked in many homes over the years, some of which were extremely cold and poorly insulated. Seems odd to target narrowboats in this way.

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To be fair, heating a house is far cheaper than heating the boat (I think). Insulation, even when done well, is poor compared to the average house.

The argument of finding wood is irrelevant as you could just drive to your local wood to do the same for a home (assuming you have a fire / wood burner).

 

 

I think not.

The argument is far from irrelevant, for the simple reason that many homes (I have no idea of the percentage), especially in urban areas, do not have a fireplace or, if they have, are not allowed by local by-laws to use it. Not all live-aboard n/b's have a stove, but I would wager that the vast majority has.

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FWIW, I've now hit my 70's and my boat is warmer than any of my central heated houses, we spend the winter in T shirts and only have a 4 TOG duvet on the bed, yes there is a 10 deg temperature gradient down the length of our 60 footer but that works out fine as it's cosy in the saloon and just right for sleeping in, our bedroom is mid ships.

The only thing we do is put the gas CH for an hour in the morning which provides hot water for ablutions and warms the stern bathroom a bit.

In short, never cold.

Phil

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