New Live Aboard- Staying Warm & Dry on the Chesapeake?

[proudsailor]

We've moved aboard our DeFever 44 and living in Baltimore this winter (retirement and points south are next year!). Three old cruisair units, a dehumidifier, radiator type heater- what else? We plan to:

• Weather strip our leaky doors/hatches
• Indoor window clear insulation kit
• Heated mattress pads
• Cover engine room vents (when not underway)
• Considering a portable engine room heater- any recs?

Not sure how cold bay temps get to make cruisair units ineffective. Should we also consider engine room heater? Recommendations? Although would love diesel heat, no plans as we think our winter stays in colder climes are soon over and not worth the expense. Appreciate the collective wisdom of this group and anything else we should/could do. We do not plan to winterize engines as we're hoping that some warmer days would allow for cruising.

Thanks!
Mark

 

[psneeld]

Be careful with mattress heating pads as they can void warranty and damage foam mattresses popular nowadays for boats/RVs as they can be compressed to fit through narrow boat doorways.

I had a fairly nice one fail in about 3 years that I can only attribute to the pad, the next one I got rid of the pad and it was fine the day I sold the boat 5 or so years later.

As far as diesel heaters, remember even snow birding (did it for 8 years) that it can be below freezing all the way to mid Florida. If planning to anchor out a lot, unless you love running your genset all night, diesel heaters are really nice....at least the Wallas I had was GREAT! (just expensive that was worth every penny).

 

[johnrupp]

Welcome to year round Baltimore boat living. In answering the question on your reverse cycle HAVC units it depends on the winter. Baltimore Harbor is right on the line. Some winters the water temps don’t fall below the high 30’s, other years it will settle in the high 20’s/low 30’s for weeks at a time. Most have some form of electric resistance heaters for the cold snaps.

As far as winterizing the engines it really depends on your usage. Those who never leave the dock in the winter generally always winterize their engines. Those of us who boat year round often use a heater as needed and winterize if/when it gets below freezing for more than a few days. Just remember, you can buy a lot of pink antifreeze for the cost of replacing a cracked block.

John

 

[psneeld]

Agree with the above having wintered aboard in Annapolis and South Jersey areas all or part of the winter. from the late 90's to 2018.

Was also the USCG Ice Patrol liaison from USCG AirSta Cape May for years for the Chesapeake during the 90's and kept tabs on the ice line in the Northern Chesapeake. So know it does come in cycles.

 

[O C Diver]

We've moved aboard our DeFever 44 and living in Baltimore this winter (retirement and points south are next year!). Three old cruisair units, a dehumidifier, radiator type heater- what else? We plan to:

• Weather strip our leaky doors/hatches
• Indoor window clear insulation kit
• Heated mattress pads
• Cover engine room vents (when not underway)
• Considering a portable engine room heater- any recs?

Not sure how cold bay temps get to make cruisair units ineffective. Should we also consider engine room heater? Recommendations? Although would love diesel heat, no plans as we think our winter stays in colder climes are soon over and not worth the expense. Appreciate the collective wisdom of this group and anything else we should/could do. We do not plan to winterize engines as we're hoping that some warmer days would allow for cruising.

Thanks!
Mark

If you have 50 amp 220 volt and a block heater on one engine, it's pretty simple to turn on and off one block heater on the coldest periods. Doesn't take much to keep the engine room above freezing. With twin 30 amp shorepower, it's a much greater percentage of available power.

With water cooled reverse cycle air conditioners, water flow is king. In late January of 2016 I took my boat South. The boat basin in Crisfield MD went below 32 degrees the night before I left. Slush was forming in the brackish water. While the AC units never froze up, heat had diminished to the point where electric heaters produced more heat per amp. At 35 degrees the heat was probably less than half of what it was normally. My units had 7 gallons per minute of raw water flow for a 12,000 BTU units. I would plan on periods where your reverse cycle AC units aren't going to work.

Ted

 

[johnrupp]

I have a couple of questions for you Mark,

Do you have 30, dual 30 or 220/50 amp power on your boat?

Does your marina leave any domestic water on over the winter? In other words how are you going to get water to your boat?

Does your marina keep docks snow/ice free in winter?

Weather permitting does your marina offer in slip pump outs over winter?

John

 

[johnrupp]

Agree with the above having wintered in Annapolis and South Jersey areas all or part of the winter.

Was also the USCG Ice Patrol liaison from USCG AirSta Cape May for years for the Chesapeake during the 90's and kept tabs on the ice line in the Northern Chesapeake. So know it does come in cycles.

Then you got smart and went south in winter. Lol

John

 

[DavidM]

A lived in Annapolis (just south of Baltimore) for a few years. The creeks would freeze over for about a month each year. A seawater cooled/heated heat pump will also freeze up in those condition, so you need to plan for another heat source.

I assume your “radiator” is a bus heater type and heated with engine coolant. That won’t do you any good.

The only real solution during that freeze up period is to use 2-3 electric space heaters, but as noted above your AC system may be limiting.

David