Do boats have heat?

[AChotrod]

Was out last night and it got pretty cold to the tune of 39F and everyone was pretty much freezing by the end of the night. So it got me wondering if there is a decent portable heater that would be safe to use on a boat? I personally didnt get that cold besides my hands since I wore long underwear and my snowmobile mid layer gear, but it would be nice to dry off the hands and keep the GF warmer so she doesnt hate going out in the cold.

 

[agallant80]

Re: Do boats have heat?

My boat has reverse cycle AC which can get the cabin up to 80+ in the winter. What type of boat do you have? Is it a cuddy?

 

[rallyart]

Re: Do boats have heat?

I have two heaters in my boat. They are like these but have two Hot Tubes each instead of just one. Having them is an excellent addition. They run off engine heat.

 

[AChotrod]

Re: Do boats have heat?

I have a dual console Nitro with a 60hp outboard. I need something battery operated.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Do boats have heat?

Nothing you can do except better jackets.

No such thing as a battery heater that wouldn't drain your battery in 20 minutes.

 

[chriscraft254]

Re: Do boats have heat?

You can pick a portable heater at lowes that runs on (2) small bottles of propane. Nothings going to keep you really warm on an open boat like that, but it will warm your hands and feet.

 

[moosehead]

Re: Do boats have heat?

...or leave the GF at home. No offense, just sayin.

 

[ricohman]

Re: Do boats have heat?

My bothers Malibu has heat. Runs off the coolant like a vehicle and has a fan. He stay pretty warm pulling early or late season knee boarders.

 

[AChotrod]

Re: Do boats have heat?

...or leave the GF at home. No offense, just sayin.

She is the only one I can get to go sometimes, and she paid for our last trip up to Northern Wisconsin. She is a good sport but dont want to ruin it for her.

Ill have to look into the propane heaters. Feet and hands is the most important thing. Once it gets cold you can not keep your hands dry no matter how many times you dry them with a towel.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Do boats have heat?

My bothers Malibu has heat. Runs off the coolant like a vehicle and has a fan. He stay pretty warm pulling early or late season knee boarders.

He has an outboard.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Do boats have heat?

You need a bigger boat, as the saying goes.

A small boat can't be all things, and yours is an open air boat with no cover at all. Overall, that's good, because in a boat under 22 feet an enclosure gets in the way most of the time in fair weather.

INstead of looking at outfitting the boat, outfit the bodies with better cold weather gear. Two prialry strategies: stop heat loss and cut wind exposure. For the first, wool hats. For the second, in addition to the clothes and face gators, windshields.

Add some hand and toe warmers and put them in your gloves (or hand pocket ) and on top of your toes.

Nothing does the job better than skins--serious fishermen bib overalls and jackets.

You need serious PFD's in cold weather boating. A good military issue float coat is warm as toast and safe safe safe.

Most cold weather fatalities are found wearing cotton.

I fish in open waters at night until Dec. 31 and duck hunt through the end of January, small open boats the whole time, often alone in remote and/or dark areas. I take comfort and safety very seriously and accomplish both at the same time.

 

[rbh]

Re: Do boats have heat?

They make a couple of different versions of marine diesel heaters, they work quite well in a boat with a camper top.

 

[MH Hawker]

Re: Do boats have heat?

I use one of the big buddy tent heaters but I am on a pontoon and it has to be still or it kicks off. And yes its in the open air, mostly to warm up the hands.

 

[southkogs]

Re: Do boats have heat?

Good gloves, good socks and some portable hand warmers can help out quite a bit. Probably a little easier than a campfire on your casting deck too.

 

[AChotrod]

Re: Do boats have heat?

You need a bigger boat, as the saying goes.

A small boat can't be all things, and yours is an open air boat with no cover at all. Overall, that's good, because in a boat under 22 feet an enclosure gets in the way most of the time in fair weather.

INstead of looking at outfitting the boat, outfit the bodies with better cold weather gear. Two prialry strategies: stop heat loss and cut wind exposure. For the first, wool hats. For the second, in addition to the clothes and face gators, windshields.

Add some hand and toe warmers and put them in your gloves (or hand pocket ) and on top of your toes.

Nothing does the job better than skins--serious fishermen bib overalls and jackets.

You need serious PFD's in cold weather boating. A good military issue float coat is warm as toast and safe safe safe.

Most cold weather fatalities are found wearing cotton.

I fish in open waters at night until Dec. 31 and duck hunt through the end of January, small open boats the whole time, often alone in remote and/or dark areas. I take comfort and safety very seriously and accomplish both at the same time.

I'm an avid snowmobiler(the AC in my SN stands for Arctic Cat) so I have the warm clothes down pretty good.They are all KLIM which is pretty much top of the line for sleds and I wear synthetic wool socks, base layer, mid layer and windproof/waterproof top layers. I stay warm at 100mph+ in -30F on the sled but they have hand warmers built into the handlebars. I also have military issue Gortex rain gear that helps with wind and water but not so much warmth. Ill look into the PDFs.
My main concern is hands, I would prefer not to wear gloves if I had a way to dry and warm up my hands once in a while, while giving the GF a little spot to keep warm.

Would it be possible to bring a extra battery, a car 12v DC to 120v AC converter and one of those little ceramic plug in heaters. Or would the heater just kill the battery too fast?

 

[AChotrod]

Re: Do boats have heat?

I use one of the big buddy tent heaters but I am on a pontoon and it has to be still or it kicks off. And yes its in the open air, mostly to warm up the hands.

That might be perfect.

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Do boats have heat?

Would it be possible to bring a extra battery, a car 12v DC to 120v AC converter and one of those little ceramic plug in heaters. Or would the heater just kill the battery too fast?

It takes A LOT of energy to produce heat! So most electric heaters are rated at 1500 watts. That is enough to drain a good deep cycle battery in about 20 minutes. So even if you cut it in half to 750 watts, you won't get much more than 30 to 40 minutes max runtime.

 

[chriscraft254]

Re: Do boats have heat?

Lowes heater I have, works really well. 18,000 BTU Holds two propane tanks. They have a cheaper one, but its only 9,000 BTU.


http://www.lowes.com/pd_131258-5164...=1&currentURL=?Ntt=propane+heaters&facetInfo=

 

[AChotrod]

Re: Do boats have heat?

It takes A LOT of energy to produce heat! So most electric heaters are rated at 1500 watts. That is enough to drain a good deep cycle battery in about 20 minutes. So even if you cut it in half to 750 watts, you won't get much more than 30 to 40 minutes max runtime.

Guess thats out. Just looked at a tiny one here at work and its 1200 watts. Tent heater is looking pretty good right now.

 

[AChotrod]

Re: Do boats have heat?

Lowes heater I have, works really well. 18,000 BTU Holds two propane tanks. They have a cheaper one, but its only 9,000 BTU.


Shop Mr. Heater 18,000-BTU Portable Radiant Liquid Propane Heater at Lowes.com

Thanks! This is what I will get!