How to extend your sailing season

by Nancy Knudsen on 18 Apr 2009 Looking forward to summer sailing? Spare a thought for those keen sailors who live in cold climes, whose summer hasn't started yet, and when it does it doesn't last long. But wait, that was until ducted diesel heaters came along....

Johan Strömbäck and his family, from Stockholm in Norway, sail almost into a full winter, and have sent us these pictures of their sailing even when it is snowing.

'A recent message reads: We had a wonderful day at sea, my six year old daughter and myself.

'Outside the air was +2 degrees, the water was +5 degrees, wind NW 20 knots, with a light snowfall. The interior was 22 degrees, including unlimited capacity of hot water.

'The previous weekend, we did an overnight sail to the Outer Skerries, before the snow came.'

How to they do it? They have simply installed a ducted diesel heater into their Lagoon catamaran, because, in a master piece of understatement, he says 'As we are living in Stockholm, we need a good heating system in order to
extend the season.'

He is also so enthusiastic about the system he has installed that he needs to assure us,'I'm not paid for marketing the heating system - I just like it so much!

Well, Johan, a message like this needs to be passed on, with a reminder to readers that Sail-World Cruising not paid for marketing the system either, but all good products deserve a hearing.

The system that Johan is using is called the MPC Comfort system – Mini Preheating Central. It is produced by a company called Bil & Marintrim, who have long been in the business of heating systems, and the current system is based on the reliable (in my experience) Webasto brand diesel heater.

Johan is very happy with all the functions of the MPC-systems which include:

.. Thermostat in every cabin in order to provide individual temperature control
.. Very fast warm-up period and practically unlimited availability to hot water even under sail or by anchor thanks to the diesel heater heating the tap water
.. Very fast warm-up period thanks to generous capacity and high efficiency
.. Environmental friendly
.. Hot water from engine (while motoring) reduces diesel consumption
.. When need of heat is limited and shore power connected, 230V electrical coil is used
.. Low power consumption (electrical) and low diesel consumption
.. Control panel is easy to use
.. All different heating sources can be operated simultaneously independent of each other
.. The central unit is easy remove for e.g. service needs

So the message is, with a good diesel heater, in most climates you can sail year round, and if in a very cold climate your season is extended dramatically. If you haven't already, try it and see!