Hi there!
Any experiences on living in a houseboat year round?? I'm planning to move in a houseboat here in Scandinavia but I'm a little concerned about the winter and stuff... If it gets real cold outside like it does here very often can you keep the cold outside and what other things should you take into concideration when planning such a thing?
Thanks 4 your time!

T

I GUESS THE COLD WHERE YOU ARE IS THE SAME AS THE COLD IN THE UNITED STATES. THERE ARE A FEW LIVEABOARDS IN THE NORTHERN AREAS (NOT MANY). WE GET BELOW O DEGREES F.

#1 CONCERN IS PROTECTION OF THE BOAT SO IT ISNT DAMAGED BY BEING FROZEN IN. COMPRESSED AIR (BUBBLER) SYSTEMS AND UNDER WATER ELECTRIC MOTORS WITH PROPELLERS ARE 2 METHODS USED TO PROTECT THE BOAT. SOME PEOPLE WITH STEEL BOATS ALLOW THEM TO FREEZE IN. THIS IS TAKING AN AWFUL CHANCE IN MY OPINION.

YOU HAVE TO INSULATE EVERY THING AS BEST YOU CAN. WATER AND SEWAGE ARE REAL CONCERNS. ELECTRIC HEAT IS MOST COMMON HOW EVER DIESEL FURNACES ARE ALSO USED. ELECTRIC COOKING IS BEST BECAUSE PROPANE GENERATES A LOT OF WATER VAPOR THAT CONDENSES ON EVERYTHING IN THE BOAT.

I WOULD INVESTIGATE YOUR LOCAL AREA LIVEABOARDS FOR INFORMATION ON HOW THEY DO IT IN YOUR AREA. HOW COLD DOES IT GET?

YOUR BOATS ARE DIFFERENT FROM OURS. I WOULD BE VERY INTERESTED IN KNOWING HOW IT IS DONE IN YOUR COUNTRY. PLEASE SHARE YOUR FINDINGS.

DON'T JUMP INTO THIS UNTIL YOU HAVE ALL THE FACTS. MANY NORTHERN LIVEABOARDS, IN THE UNITED STATES, ONLY DO IT ONE OR LESS WINTERS.

We liveaboard in Iowa and it gets cold here. We have a steel hulled boat that freezes in, but we bubble the outdrives. We're going on our 5th winter of living aboard. We have a regular house furnace in our boat that we had installed professionally when we first bought the boat that runs off of propane, and yes there is a lot of condensation. We run a dehumidifier all winter long.

We use the 3M plastic on our windows to keep some of the cold out, but the tape usually ends up giving up before winter is over. We love it anyway, and we're not ready to give it up!

Best of luck to you!

Hi,



I live in Sweden, stockholm, in an old former steam tug. I have done
that for 20yrs... In stockholm in winter times we do have down to -20
dedgees celsius.



We do froze in in the winter, but that is not a problem. (steel hull)
The heating system is inportant, I use a wood stove, diesel hetaing,
and electrisity, and also a heat pump. So I can use what is the most
ekonomical for the moment.



The boat is oated with 15cm rockwool.



Good luck