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deblobbie
United Kingdom
3 Posts |
 Posted - 16 Dec 2010 : 16:31:38
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I am thinking of buying a Norman 23 and braving the great British freeze. It has gas boiler powered central heating fitted, as well as a gas cooker. Does anyone have experience of living a winter, or indeed this winter so far in a similar circumstance? Also I am thinking of the possibility of installing a small pot belly stove with tiled surround as I think that it would be more efficient and effective, has anyone done this? Does it affect the BSS?
Any advice would be appreciated, please bear in mind that I already know it might be a little mad, just wondering if it is recklessly stupid.
Best regards,
Debbie
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Deano
United Kingdom
1843 Posts |
Posted - 16 Dec 2010 : 16:58:19
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Possible I guess. Reckless, no. Foolish, yes. It will be bloody uncomfortable, damp and miserable.
Due to the confined space, any open flame heating will generate condensation. Gallons of it!! It will be like it is raining indoors.
Other thinks to think about.
Storage space... OK for a week
Toilet? Bucket anc chuckit - what about mid winter??
Marina? Residential mooring?
Buy a caravan, slightly more bearable.
Dean - Boating on the Great Ouse.
Freeman 30 "Silver Gem"
See the photos http://deanos.fotopic.net
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Edited by - Deano on 16 Dec 2010 17:22:27 |
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Ollie Ollman
United Kingdom
196 Posts |
Posted - 16 Dec 2010 : 18:37:20
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Debbie,
When you say central heating do you mean an air heater such as 'Propex' I have one fitted on a 23 foot boat and, according to the manufacturer, it will use a 4.5 kg bottle of gas for 30 hours running! At my marina thats 14 quid a bottle and with this cold weather I'd probably use 2 a week. I have a mains power hook up and just to keep the boat interior above freezing with an electric fan heater set at 'frost' it costs about a quid a day! I agree with Dean' condensation will be your biggest problem.
As a 'Norman' friendly BSS examiner I'll draw your attention to the 'small print' on the back of your certificate. It says:
"any alterations, modifications, or a lack of good maintenance after the date of issue of the BSSC may mean that the evidence of compliance is no longer valid" ... In other words a modification such as you propose may invalidate your BSSC
Can I suggest a stove on a plastic boat is fraught with danger! but please read all the guidance on the BSS website. Solid fuel stoves are the biggest cause of fire on narrow boats and have caused death by CO poisoning due to owners not operating them properly or leaving them unattended!
regards
Ollie |
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Ollie Ollman
United Kingdom
196 Posts |
Posted - 16 Dec 2010 : 18:42:11
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Sorry, Last part is not clear - unattended leads to fires - banking up stoves before bed and then closing vents etc leads to possibly fatal CO poisoning- It happened twice last year!
regards
Ollie |
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df
United Kingdom
5994 Posts |
Posted - 16 Dec 2010 : 18:54:06
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Welcome to the madhouse, I know there are a few wood burning type stoves around in grp boats but it's not something I would consider, a lot of narrowboats are surprisingly cosy through bad weather but most grp cruisers are not nearly as well insulated, also in such a confined area condensation from yourself will be a big problem before you take into account a gas cooker or heater.
It's do-able but doesn't sound like fun to me.
NBAS--The communal colostomy bag of the boating community.
Visit leomagill.co.uk |
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deblobbie
United Kingdom
3 Posts |
Posted - 16 Dec 2010 : 21:05:13
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Thank you for your replies.
It is as I suspected about the pot belly, a shame as they seem more effective than other forms of heating. I don't want to go affecting the BSSC so if the boat suits me it is something I may research when the certificate is due for renewal anyway.
Is there a type of heating that is preferable as I am going to look at the boat again on Saturday and it will be good to see what it is. I have been researching condensation and it appears that insulation is the best defense against it. As well as air circulation, but of course with ventilation comes coldness.
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Deano
United Kingdom
1843 Posts |
Posted - 16 Dec 2010 : 21:18:42
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The generally accepted 'dry' heat for boats is an Eberspacher. It is similar to the Propex in that it blows dry, hot air but it runs on diesel. It also requires 12 volt electricity. They are popular in truck cabs to provide heat when the driver is sleeping. It will be cheeper in the long run for fuel, but you will need some way of charging batteries every few days, or shore power.
If you have shore power, a few oil filled radiators may do, but at what cost??
There is no BSS reason why you can't have a pot belly on the boat, it is just impractical and probably not safe.
Dean - Boating on the Great Ouse.
Freeman 30 "Silver Gem"
See the photos http://deanos.fotopic.net
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strangerover
United Kingdom
108 Posts |
Posted - 17 Dec 2010 : 21:24:09
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A guy at Beeston where I'm moored lives in his 20ft Norman Conquest (I kid you not!) so a Norman 23 is penthouse by comparison. But he moves to electric moorings in the winter and uses a fan heater, which he says gets lovely and warm. If no electric you'd need a hefty generator, 2-3kw minimum to run a fan heater but it would be useful for other stuff.
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Ant and 'Delilah' the Conquest
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Knighty
United Kingdom
654 Posts |
Posted - 18 Dec 2010 : 19:17:35
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Golly, he lives in a Conquest  Is he a midget!! Couldn't image long cold nights stooping down making a cuppa. |
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strangerover
United Kingdom
108 Posts |
Posted - 19 Dec 2010 : 16:18:47
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haha he's actually quite a big hefty guy. His son even comes to stay some weekends, and he isn't exactly small. And tho I've not been in the boat from what I've seen he has it well organised. Kettle is in the cockpit, so no stooping required there 
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Ant and 'Delilah' the Conquest
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mike
United Kingdom
80 Posts |
Posted - 20 Dec 2010 : 18:06:51
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Evening All
This is not a suggestion, more a question really.
Lots of yachts use charcoal heaters (and most yachts are either wood or plastic). Allegedly they are very good for keeping the cabin dry and snug, main problems I can see are cost of charcoal, and similar problems re carbon monoxide and fire, the real question is has anybody got any real experiance of them ?
For more info look at Bengo or Force 10 to see what I mean
Mike
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deblobbie
United Kingdom
3 Posts |
Posted - 21 Dec 2010 : 13:48:44
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Thanks for the recent replies. I also know someone who stays on his 22ft dawncraft a lot, even at this time of year and recently, he has no heating at all, is just very hardy.
I have decided to get the boat, but I am going to take it steady on the moving in front. I am not that hardened to cold so I will take some time testing a few of the ideas mentioned here. For the long run the best option looks like the eberspacher, but not going to leap into an investment like that straight away.
Out of interest can you get quieter generators, I can't imagine being too popular running the types I have seen.
Deb |
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lord john
United Kingdom
262 Posts |
Posted - 22 Dec 2010 : 09:16:20
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the most quiet generator I have seen (there must be others) are honda ones,but they dont come cheap.But the two people that I know that use them for boat use are very happy with them.
if a hammer wont fix it,it must be electrical. |
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merlin
United Kingdom
400 Posts |
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Deano
United Kingdom
1843 Posts |
Posted - 22 Dec 2010 : 16:42:00
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The EU20 and EU26i are both very popular with boat and caravan owners. Mainly due to their ultra quiet exhausts. They are not cheap, but if needed regularly, good value. I would not recomed one of those £80 specials.
Dean - Boating on the Great Ouse.
Freeman 30 "Silver Gem"
See the photos http://deanos.fotopic.net
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mike
United Kingdom
80 Posts |
Posted - 23 Dec 2010 : 14:52:13
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MachineMart do the Honda generators.
They also do their own brand of quiet generators under the Clark banner, they are a lot cheaper than Honda, but you normally get what you pay for.
It may be worth going into your nearest store and having a chat?
Happy Christmas everybody
Mike |
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Topic |
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Wintering on a Norman 23?
