Staying Warm Onboard

How to Stay Warm Onboard During Winter

From oil lamps to heaters, here’s your guide for staying warm onboard this winter season.

Heaters

If you are like us, live on boats 7-24 in summer/winter, the main way to spend the winter season without getting sick and staying onboard in the winter season is to install a heating system on the boat. You may also try to warm up with more than one electric stove, but we preferred to install a central system that works without electricity in order to be comfortable during our winter and autumn travels and to use it at anchor or while navigating. All the workmanship belongs to us as always.

You can install this system for a very reasonable price. This diesel-powered system simply works like a car air conditioner. Hot air is blown in through the plastic pipes passing through the 3 rooms and the saloon of the boat.

Since the living room is larger than the rooms, we have two valves that blow air into the hall, and we have one valve in each room. You can close these valves whenever you want. So, for example, if you want the hot air to be given to a single room, you can transfer all the power here by closing the valves of the other rooms.

You will not only be warmed up, but you will not believe how the humidity in the boat has decreased. No more getting under wet duvets at night and waking up cold and wet in the morning! 

Baking and Cooking

Of course, we cook for food, not for getting warm, but one of the best things about living in a small house is that we are also warming up. The versatility of tools and items is a pearl for boat life. Baking cookies is fun and will fill the boat with warm wafts of tempting smells.

Oil Lamps

It is both old school and decorative and it gives heat as well as light. Can you imagine an object more useful than this for the life on board.

For staying warm onboard in the winter season, get a couple of oil lamps with good smokeless lamp oil. They’re clean and smell-free. Oil lamps will add a delightful glow to anywhere and take the chill off as well. Please do not use real candles onboard ever.

Candles are a major hazard for boats for the same effort get an oil lamp instead.

Rugs/Carpets

I can hear you saying what the hell Carpets? But i can assure you will not regret. Once you keep your feet warm then everything is gonna be better.

Staying warm onboard in the winter season starts from the feet. The best thing to do to keep them warm is to buy a rug suitable for your boat.

In Turkey, the country that I was born in, there are colorful rugs and carpets in almost every house. The shoes are left outside when entering the house, so to protect the feet from the cold floor we use rugs. Same as the mariners do.

We bought our rug in the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul. Of course, the fact that the rug is handmade from the Anatolian Region was another beauty for us.

Relocating 

If you work remotely like us, one of the smartest things you can do is spend time in places where the winter is not too hard. We love the warm and the sun. That’s why the first thing we look for before choosing a winter marina is the average temperature of our destination.

We have generally preferred places that do not fall below 10 degrees until today. Valencia, Sardinia, Sicily… If you are having trouble living on the boat during the winter months, re-examine your location.

As a couple who lives on a boat full time, these are our ways to fight with winter season. Please leave your ideas in the comments. We will be very glad to hear yours!