early days of liveaboard - lessons or regrets ?-gctid679855

[Guest]

Hi all,

As a new liveaboard in near future .. I was wondering if you had any newbie tips / lessons learned / or regrets .. to pass on regarding the challenges of newly living aboard in the PNW area ?

Thanks all .. you've all been very helpful ((-:

[Old_Man_With_A_Boat]

Once I started living aboard I realized I needed to spread the electrical load out. After this was done I had no more problems. Three circuits instead of two. A 50amp splitter to two 30amp cables. A third 30amp by itself. I now have three 30amp cables going into the side of my 3870.

[NZ_4588]

It took us a good long while before we tried using the dockside mains water connection on our boat. With water connected directly, you can rest your onboatd fresh water pump and have endless town supply water at the tap.

I was and still am wary that a burst pipe could sink the boat. If we leave her overnight or longer I always disconnect the water connection.

Ian.

[Old_Man_With_A_Boat]

+1Big time on what NZ4588 just posted.

[Dooglas]

I have lived aboard several boats thru a NW winter. You want to keep the boat warm and dry, so you are comfortable and so it doesn't develop mold or other issues. I don't believe it is practical to operate diesel heat on a constant basis thru the winter. The diesel forced air systems are quite high maintenance if used constantly. That means a propane forced air system (which few boats have), or electric heat well distributed thru the boat. Some boats have a heat pump/air conditioning system which may do the job. Electric heat requires an electrical system which can carry the load. That may mean some rewiring.

[Guest]

I've read about not using land tie up water vs just filling up the tanks once a week .. seems like a good compromise as you described ..

[weiss]

We just moved aboard this month and certainly the biggest issue is power management. With 50 amps at the dock , I split the loads up evenly between the lines but even then we shut off heaters if using the oven etc. We have hydronic diesel heat onboard but hope to use electric with the diesel heat as suppliment for really cold evenings. I have 2 "oil radiator" type heaters that provide even safe heat +the built in electrics { noisy}. also use a de-humidifier but only when we are sleeping or away [ noisy}

Lastly we use the dock water supply for convienience and keep the boat tanks full in the winter for the days when the dock is frozen. I turn the water off when we go away but otherwise its always on. It would suck if a line burst onboard but really the bilge pumps will handle the volume of water { 1/2 inch at 40psi is 6 gpm}... if they are working ;}

Cheers, Gary

[LeePTI]

Check your marina's water pressure. Our was over 100 psi; dangerous for a boat. We have a built in water pressure reducer, but I installed another 40 psi reducer at the hose faucet just in case. We also shut off the dock water every time we leave the dock.

[canoel]

We have never fully lived aboard, but have spent winter long weekends onboard.

Electrical load spread out, heat and water.

Some marinas turn the water off in the water as well, so keep that in mind.

[Guest]

Could you elaborate on what you mean by "spreading out the load" ? i.e. how do you physically to this ?

Newbie Q1) Do you all have several lines coming off your boat .. connecting to several different receptacles on the dock ?

Q2) did your boat have to be modified for this "spreading out" ?

Thanks all !!

"canoel" post=680210 wrote:
We have never fully lived aboard, but have spent winter long weekends onboard.

Electrical load spread out, heat and water.

Some marinas turn the water off in the water as well, so keep that in mind.

[canoel]

Sorry I worded it a little strange.Power management would have been a better choice of words.

An example, at our marina there is mostly 20 amp shore power. So basically we can only run two high draw items at a time. Stove and one heater, or two heaters, or hot water heater and a heater.

It will all depend on your marinas show power service and your boats electrical service/connections.

You can spread the load by running a second line into the boat, and running one or two high draw items off this.

[Guest]

For a second line you suggest .. I guess you are talking about plugging into a second electricl receptacle post .. in that case wouldn't the marina then charge you double the electrical rates (if flat per hookup) ?

"canoel" post=680262 wrote:
Sorry I worded it a little strange.Power management would have been a better choice of words.

An example, at our marina there is mostly 20 amp shore power. So basically we can only run two high draw items at a time. Stove and one heater, or two heaters, or hot water heater and a heater.

It will all depend on your marinas show power service and your boats electrical service/connections.

You can spread the load by running a second line into the boat, and running one or two high draw items off this.

[canoel]

Yes they would charge you double. That is why diesel heat is a good choice. Propane stove and oven.

But all of this depends on what boat you buy. Some boats will have 50 amp, and many marinas will as well.

[Guest]

The marinas I'm looking at offer both 50 and 30 amp service .. I suppose one would try 30 amp for awhile first .. i.e. to see if that suffices over a PNW winter.

[canoel]

30 amp will be ok if you have diesel heat. It all depends on the size of the boat, as well as how well insulated it is.