As the days grow shorter and the temperatures drops below 0, living on a sailboat in Denmark during the winter becomes a unique and rewarding experience. With the right preparations, we have stayed warm and cozy even as the icy winds blow. Here’s how we’ve prepared our sailboat for the Danish winter.
First and foremost, we’ve installed a Hydronic S3 Economy D5E heater. This powerful heater turns diesel into hot water that is circulated troughout the boat, ensures we stay warm even on the coldest nights. To distribute the heat evenly, we have radiators in each cabin, creating a comfortable living environment throughout the boat. In total they can radiate about 3000 watts without any fan noice. For the every cold days (below -10) we have a Eberspächer Xeros 4200 Heat exchanger we can turn on that is able to draw every last watt of heating out of our D5E.
The entire system has been engineered to allow it to be put under pressure by connecting it to a hose. This makes it easy to flush any air out of the system. A new expansion tank has also been added to handle any small leaks and to manage pressure changes in the syste
The advantage of a system such as ours, compared to compared to diesel to air heaters is the low noice (untill the Xeroes is turned on) and high efficency. The drawback is to pain of running all the waters pipes and eleminating all leaks.
Compared to eletric heating its often cheaper but you do need to fill the diesel tanks ever so often. It is possible to add a immersion heater to our setup to avoid having to use diesel for the early spring or late fall, something I would look into if I wasnt leaving for warmer weather.
One of the key steps we took was to insulate the most exposed areas of our lockers. We used K Flex, a cost-effective alternative to Armaflex, which we purchased from isotec-isolierungen. This insulation helps to keep the cold out and the warmth in, espesially under the waterline, making a significant difference in our comfort level
We also added foam floor mats in the entire boat, this really helps with the comfort level as its both isolates and does not feel cold to walk on, unlike the normal teak flooring. It can also be easily removed in the spring and stored for next winter.
To tackle the issue of moister getting into our mattresses, we added Aquamaster mesh under all our mattresses. This product helps air circulate under the mattresses to reduce moisture buildup, ensuring that our sleeping areas remain dry, comfortable and does not get moldy, we purched the mesh in large roles from esvocampingshop, then cut it to fit each bed.
Lastly, we’ve added rockwool insulation blankets on top of the boat. This additional layer of insulation is expected to save us about 25% on our heating bill, but more importantly, it helps maintain a more stable temperature throughout the boat, reducing drafts and making a big difference in the perceived heat level.
We’re now ready to face the this years cold months ahead, hopefully that last cold nordic winter for us in a while. Stay warm and happy sailing!