View Single Post
Old 08-18-2015, 10:40 AM   #10
ksanders
Moderator Emeritus
 
ksanders's Avatar
 
City: SEWARD ALASKA
Vessel Name: DOS PECES
Vessel Model: BAYLINER 4788
Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 6,266
Being in Alaska this is a subject near and dear to my heart.

On a boat of the size you are considering, having the ability to provide differeing amounts of heat to different areas of the boat is essential.

That is where a central furnace, or furnaces is very handy.

As to technlogies...

Electric would be cheapest, if you are willing to run your generator when you need heat. Built in electric heaters are easy to install, (except pulling the cable) and are very safe. You can use the built in units designed for home use.

Diesel heat is an option as well. You can choose from forced air, hydronic, or convection, just like in a home. All three technologies have advantages and disadvantages. I have had several of both forced air and hydronic systems on my boats and have installed several of both types.

On our current boat I designed the heating system, and installed part of it, leaving the rest to a ship yard when I ran out of time. I used three Wallas forced air furnaces. One for the salon, one for the cabin deck, and one for the pilothouse.

Why Wallas? Why forced air?

Well, the Wallas units are dead quiet, something the other units are not.

I chose forced air specifically because of the ventilation capabilities. In my environment it rains approx twice as much as Seattle, something over 60" a year. The weather often hovers close to the dew point as well.

My furnaces are set up provide a mix of outside and recirculated air. This fresh air is in my experience very good at keeping the boat dry and fresh.

I chose this over hydronic simply because it was easier to get fresh air intake with a forced air system.

On a large boat, expect to spend between ten and fifteen thousand dollars for a heating system, parts and labor. Parts on my system ran about $7500, and i paid another $5,000 for installation of two of the three furnace units.
__________________
Kevin Sanders
Bayliner 4788 Dos Peces
Seward, Alaska - La Paz, Baja California Sur
https://maps.findmespot.com/s/XLJZ#history/assets
ksanders is offline   Reply With Quote