Selecting and installing heating systems.
Careful!
These audio interviews are candid conversations with highly experienced staff from our shop—people who have worked on boats for years. However, the content of these interviews does not imply any particular result on your boat nor extend our warranty in any way. Please contact us directly for specific project questions or bring your boat to the yard for a consultation.
A properly sized and installed hydronic heating system can extend the cruising season into the chilly winter months.
In this interview, our head of the Mechanical Department at Townsend Bay Marine, discusses using marine heaters (12:54, 1.47 MB Streaming MP3) to stay warm and cozy all winter long.
Issue # 1: Furnace location
A common concern about heating systems is noise. Although modern furnaces are much quieter than earlier units, the unit still needs to be mounted in a remote area like an engine room or lazarette. Since the boiler will radiate some heat, it can keep an otherwise damp outside locker warm and dry when running. Additionally, the hot exhaust piping must be insulated as well as routed safely away from combustibles and looped above.
Issue # 2: Interior installation
Once the furnace is in place, water hoses are routed through the interior joinery to fan coils, which blow warmed air into the cabin space. The temperature in each cabin can be controlled with separate thermostats. The piping can be similar to the heater hoses used on car engines, needing little space and not requiring large holes to be drilled through lockers. Some fan coils can be mounted remotely and have multiple ducts leading out into the cabin space.
Issue # 3: Other uses
Some boats tie their heating system into their engine’s cooling loop, allowing waste heat to be used for cabin heating. The furnace can also be plumbed to the domestic hot water system. Using this setup, after running the engine during a passage the hot water tank can contribute to cabin heat without having to run the furnace. Likewise, the furnace can heat the domestic hot water without the need to run the engine at anchor.