Carver Owners Forum

Due to myriad circumstances, I have been living aboard since we were able to launch in early June. It's been pretty nice. My cat is not too nuts about the arrangement but she is coming around.

I have been seriously contemplating living aboard through the winter. I know I will need a couple bubblers to keep ice away from the hull and t-stats to operate them. I have heard from others at the club that all they use beyond the typical shrink wrap is a few insulated tarps and a bunch of electric heaters.

Would be interested to know everyone's thoughts on this.

Keep in mind some of your potable water lines are outside the heated cabin area and subject to freezing, as well as the bilge area. Next question is how will you deal with your waste tank?

This is a good point, Tom. I will have to ask around. Maybe because the water is not frozen around the boat, the lines will not freeze either? I'm assuming shore water connections must be out because the hoses would freeze up surely.

The folks I did talk to say they even use their shower (although the club has facilities for that too).

There is a portable waste tank gizmo at the club for dealing with the unmentionables.

I would think water lines in the boat would freeze in unheated areas or anywhere with a draft. Look what happens to house lines that are on outside walls and with the house insulated and heated.

I seem to remember at port credit there were quite a few live aboards. Do all the services except electric power get shut down to the docks and ask how reliable the electric power is during the winter there.....it is one thing to have heaters going but if the power keeps going out you will have to have a portable genny, then other problems crop up with that fix.

Bud these are good questions and I will inquire. There is quite a community of liveaboards at Port Credit Yacht Club so there is a support network which is nice.

I do have a portable generator (Honda 2000) and a charger/inverter system that is smart enough to add current to whatever AC is provided to accommodate temporary high loads.

So if my shore power is 15a only (via genny or hard wire) and I demand a 40a load, then the inverter will provide the add'l 25a for as long as my bank will sustain it.

I wouldn't be leaving a boat in the water if all I had to work with was 15 amps, that's one heater, and you won't be running another one on an inverter or the generator full time.

Outside plumbing fixtures like transom showers, wash-downs, etc. usually get isolated from the rest of the system by shutting off water to those fixtures. A lot of guys will have valves in the system to do that and a means to drain the lines going to them. Any fixtures exposed to the outside will freeze and crack if they have water in them.

You also want to keep the inside spaces fairly warm as a big concern is water lines running along side the hull. If you have plastic lines, they will have some give if they freeze but the trick is preventing them from freezing in the first place. Once they do, it's a pain to thaw them out in spaces you can't get to. Moving water also helps prevent plumbing and fixtures from freezing. I've been in shops that leave certain faucets open to a slow steady stream all winter long so lines on cold outside walls and well mains don't freeze up. It works but doubtful that its practical to do on a boat that can't run off dockside water all winter.

It's a scary thing if you're not use to it for sure but I know a lot of people do it. I'd have a hard time sleeping at night worrying about a power failure. In my area, that's pretty common in the winter.

Ask the live aboards if they do anything with their seacocks.

Thanks for the comments Viper - I will inquire about that stuff.