The Cost of Winter on our liveaboard narrowboat home

Spring has arrived and with it the reduction in our fuel costs. So How do we heat our boat and how much does it cost between September and March?

There are three fuels used to heat our narrowboat. Wood, Coal and Diesel. The wood and coal are burnt seperately or in conjunction in our multi fuel stove. This is situated in the front of the boat so if we are just using the stove if can be quite cool in the other half of our boat (the toilet and bedroom). The wood we forage for free, from wherever we can or our tree surgeon friend, Lee.

The coal comes from different sources. The main one used to be the coal boat, who deliver fortnightly to the marina on fuel boat Halsall. Unfortunately we stopped using the brand Excel and our preffered choice was Ecoal50, which as coal goes is the most eco friendly option. Unfotunately it wasn’t available from the fuel boat so we decided to buy in bulk and have it delivered to the marina.

Our final source is Red Diesel, which is also available from the fuel boat. This feeds our Webasto Thermo Top water heater that heats four radiators that run along under the gunwales the entire length of the boat. This heater was only installed late last year so it’s the first winter aboard that we have actually had the radiators working. And what a difference it makes, within 20 minutes of the heater coming on the temperature gains a nice ambient level in the lower half of the boat untouched by the heat of the stove.

The added bonus of the Webasto, is that it also heats our hot water and stores it within our calorifier ( basically a very well insulated tank that is heated by one of three sources Webasto heater, engine running or an immersion heater). This is a point I haven’t mentioned in the YouTube vlog we made on this subject, and that is the money we have ultimately saved with the heater not having to turn the immersion on. The last two winters our only option for hot water was the immersion, or the slow process of boiling water on the stove top!

So thats how we heat the boat but what are the quantities needed for the coldest 6 months of the year?

So just in case you can’t read my scrawl here are the important numbers from the graph above:

341.3 litres of diesel = £257.60

555kg of coal = £395.00

Unfortunately we haven’t got anything to compare this too and there are numerous factors that must be taken into consideration-

We had 2/3 of the roof full of chopped wood and this lasted until early November (free)
Shell was working from home for the whole of this period, so coal usage would be up on a normal year, but how much is unknown
It has been a particularly cold winter, with periods of freezing running into weeks not just days as the winter before
Our insulation of the side hatch and bow doors desperately needs work before next year, we lose a lot of heat through these two points

So thats our summary of our heating costs. All things considered that is pretty much what I had imagined give or take 50 notes. As mentioned in the points, our insulation needs some work over the summer, and it would be nice to gather more wood (*sits waiting for windy day with chainsaw) this year. So a solid C, “with a little more focus and preperation they could do much better!”

Thanks for reading.

We will see you soon

Love Yourself and Stay Afloat