HAVING tried a winter living on a narrowboat, I'm afraid my experience is in opposition to that of your writers who claim they are warm during the winter months, writes Elvin Greaterex.
The cabin space of my boat is 34ft, with the stove in a corner at the front of the boat in the saloon, that I kept going all through the winter. It is connected to radiators in the galley, the toilet and the bedroom at the stern, and when I ordered the boat I asked about a diesel heater being connected to the radiators, but was told the stove was sufficient, but getting the impression that the plumbing was outsourced and the builder not really interested, but I took his advice.
Differ
It was a bad decision, as though the radiators do get warm whilst the fire is going, damping down at night to make it last for eight hours simply kills the flow of hot water to the radiators, that cool-off very quickly, leaving the bedroom bitterly cold, virtually the same temperature as the outside, and though I have amended the system to operate both with and without a pump, there is still no heat in any of the radiators once the fire has been damped down.
Money is not really a problem so I can afford the fuel, and admit that whilst the fire is blazing away it does get the saloon hot as your writers say and even warms the radiators, but no way does it give even a modicum of heat in the bedroom when it is damped down, and getting on in years getting up to a freezing bedroom is no joy for either of us, so the boat is now definitely 'summer only'.
Buyers should be warned
I do feel that your writers give someone considering living in a narrowboat as it being something near that of living at home, but bitter experience shows that it certainly is not, and prospective buyers should be warned. Should a diesel heater be connected to the radiators however they would make a difference, always providing the system is on some sort of timer, set to switch on early morning!
Whilst writing I should add that another big problem was washing clothes, as there simply is not the space in a narrowboat for a washing machine and a tumble dryer, and speaking to other boaters, the smaller combined ones designed for boats, I was told 'are worse than useless', though I have no experience myself. Attempting to dry clothes in winter on damp days is impossible.
Alas I have not finished, as though we can managed of course without such as a dish washer, vacuum cleaner and such like, a microwave would have been very handy, but would need an extra generator on the engine, and of course running the engine, that I feel is anti-social.
Perhaps we are not 'made' for winter boating, but I am just telling how it affected us.