Baby, It’s COLD Inside! Keeping Warm on a Boat

Don’t assume you won’t need a heat source while on The Great Loop … even if you’re a Florida boater.  I can assure you from personal experience that if you’re wintering on your boat somewhere – even Florida – there will be nights and days you wish you had some heat…

Over the years, we’ve accumulated several choices for taking the chill out – usually if we’re plugged in to a marina, reverse cycle heat does nicely.  But anchored out, or if a marina doesn’t have 50 amp service, we like our options!

Option #1 … Portable Mr Heater.  

Mr Heater Indoor Safe Portable Propane Heater  $69 … uses Coleman camping propane canisters  4,000- to 9,000-BTU radiant heater for spaces up to 225 square feet. Approved for indoor/outdoor use; clean-burning; nearly 100-percent efficient  Auto shut-off if tipped over, if pilot light goes out, or if it detects low oxygen levels.

We have also used it on the upper helm just to keep the edge off the chill.

Using it inside, we prefer to have a separate battery operated CO2 alarm just in case the built in Mr Heater low oxygen level auto turn off doesn’t work.  Here’s what’s aboard Optimystique …

First Alert Battery Operated CO2 Alarm

Option #2 … Caframo True North Electric Heater

We also have a small electric heater which is wonderful at just adding a bit of heat to chilly areas – a friend says she totes hers to the marina showers when it’s cold and there’s no heat in the showers.  We like ours because it can’t tip over and it has different heat settings which we can use with our inverter if we chose – again, saving on generator noise and hours.

Option #3 … Electric Blanket or Mattress Pad

Of course, there’s our trusty Sunbeam electric blanket….

Sunbeam Quilted Heated Blanket

Ours is actually a twin size because it it fits our “queen” size bed without overhanging too much on the sides.  A full size would have been better, but wasn’t available when we needed it THAT NIGHT!  🙂

Others have heated mattress pads – your choice, but it sure is nice to have a nice warm bed to climb into … we sleep better if our  bedroom is a bit chilly.

Option #4 – Reverse Cycle Heat – Actually Option #1 at a Marina

Last but far from least … is our reverse cycle air conditioning – perfect when plugged in at a marina, or even running the generator at anchor.  The downside is, at anchor, the generator needs to be running.

We prefer QUIET and the Mr Heater allows us to have the best of both worlds.  After the main salon is toasty, we can move it downstairs to the bedroom heating it a bit just before bedtime.

Deciding what heat is right for your boat is a personal choice and comfort zone.

The only caution I would advise is DON’T ASSUME you won’t need heat.  Our sailboat had no heat and no way to generate heat at anchor … until it was 30 degrees one night anchored at Marco Island and we had had enough of waking up freezing in the middle of the night. We promptly walked to west marine and bought the Caframo heater you see above.  The boat next to us advised us to get a propane Mr Heater then, but we couldn’t obtain one RIGHT NOW within walking (or Lyft) distance in Marco!  🙂

After all, this is supposed to be FUN, right???  I’m not having fun if I’m freezing.  Cheers!  Jan