How do I heat a Tiki 21?

[Brandon Gamble]

I hope to do quite a bit of winter sailing / camping and need to heat the cabin from time to time. using my cook stove or any other open flame seems unsafe. Any ideas?

Thanks
Brandon

[Russell and Janet Puryear]

Much the same as winter camping, use a warm sleeping bag and good thermal pad. Your body heat will raise the temperature a few degrees. Given the small volume you need to heat, it shouldn't require much. A larger problem may be the condensation on the inside of the hull from your breath. Although plywood is better than plastic, the water will still keep the surfaces cooler than the air.

Another alternative is to use your trailer to heat the boat. Take it south to sail!

[Carl]

Brandon. That's a good point and a challenge. Fortunately the Tiki 21's cabins are not big, so it would not take too much to heat. I agree an open flame is risky, probably more so in an enclosed space using gas.
I have not given this much thought but something like a car heater (not taking heat from the motor) may be the way to go if you can fit a 12v system. It is possible that someone sells a 12v fan heater, which would be ideal, but I have not come across those as yet.
The first thing would be to ensure condensation is kept to a minimum which would mean some ventilation. When you have sorted it out let us know as I've often wondered whether just a sleeping bag will keep me warm enough!
Cheers ~ Carl

[Brandon Gamble]

I like the idea of that... But using my cooking fuel for heat bothers me a little...
Russell I agree with you I'm just thinking of the nights it gets down to 2 deg here... I'd like the cabin to be comfortable at least some. Of the time to be able to write... And relax... To have a heat source other than my own caloric burn...
I live in TN I'll be doing a lot of lake camping and hopefully a trip the the Marquesas Keys in Jan .. And who knows after that...

[Ralf]

There are some very small wood burning stoves. This one measures only 400 x 135 x 140 mm, not cheap though. http://www.toplicht.de/shop/ofen-herd-und-kocher/feststoffofen/schi...

Have you thought about using hot water bottles like the rubber ones we used as kids when we had stomach aches. I am not sure if have them in the US. Of course you must heat up the water first but under a blanket it gets very cosy with one of them. 2 or 3 of those hung up in the cabin of a T21 will certainly raise the air temperature.

I would think that foam pad insulation will be neccessary to controll the condensation and improve effectivity of whatever heat source you use. Good luck with your winter sailin/camping and please post a few lines what your solution was and how it worked for you. I`d like to learn about it.

[clif high]

now here is a solution. It is expensive though, so more of a sparkly dream than an actual thing to buy, but
http://www.marinestove.com/sardineinfo.htm produces some kick as cast iron mini stoves. I end up getting a really good very small tent camp stove. These are for the canvas kind of tents. About 100 or less in some discount sites. They work very well, and will burn multiple fuels, BUT will not last as long as a cast iron.

[clif high]

another way to deal with cold creep is to use either straight up foil...like the thickest commercial grade aluminium cooking foil you can find. Just press against the walls. It will stick as it is formed around surfaces. It reflects back heat, even body heat to you. And it will allow condensation to rapidly run down to the floor where you mop it up. Another way is to use the foil sandwiched foam for the same effect only with added benefit of the insulation. Neither has much weight. Must be removed later though.

Cork is one of the most effective marine environment insulation materials around. Or if you can find it....synthetic fiber felt. This is very light weight, and helps to fight molds.

[Axel]

I have a small catalytic Propane heater in my van that runs off the small, green, disposable cylinders. It is about 3000 btu and will take the edge off the cold in a small space. They are available in larger sizes that connect to big propane tanks. They do require ventilation and personally I would only use them with a CO alarm but they are efficient, quite simple and cheap compared to the alternatives. These guys sell some different brands:

http://www.pplmotorhomes.com/parts/rv-furnaces/portable-propane-hea...

(No affiliation, just came up close to the top when I googled "catalytic heaters".)

Add some insulation and a small catalytic heater and you should be comfy. RV's also use forced air heaters using propane and there are some available that burn diesel or regular petrol. I think those are typically quite a bit more complex and expensive.

[Ann and Neville Clement]

The main problem is that the space is small and if you have any kind of flame, it will use up oxygen. I used to camp in the snow using a plastic tube tent backpacking. I had to keep the end near my head open a bit to let in fresh air. Condensation on the Tiki 21 will be running down the sides. We heat our Tiki 46 by latitude and that is really the best way. With a trailer you will be in the warm in a day or two.
We have heated Peace 10 degrees over the temperature in Rhode Island just by sailing to Norfolk, Viginia. Tomorrow we sail further south. Bahamas will be about right. ann and Nev

[Brandon Gamble]

I like the heating by Latitude idea... although what kind of temps should I expect say in Key west in January? Also I'm thinking of installing solar vent fans in the cabin tops to deal with condensation and just to help keep the boat dry inside in general...

[Russell and Janet Puryear]

average hi 75, lo 65. That wouldn't even need a heavy sleeping bag. But I've heard it can be expensive there. Check out Cruising Guide the the Florida Keys by Frank Papy. He was at our last Wharram Gathering in May, charming fellow and it's a good guide.

[Brandon Gamble]

I was planning on shooting over to the Marquesas Keys about 40 miles west of there.

[Russell and Janet Puryear]

That high on my to visit first list. So many islands, so little time.