What is it like to live on a boat in winter? We get this question from time to time. Most people wonder if it is cold to live in a houseboat, or perhaps if it is damp. Or they wonder if the docks are slippery. We can promise that there is no need for us to worry! But of course, winter comes with some challenges.
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Snow and real winter cold
We had a real cold snap in February/March, with snow and temperatures below ten degrees centigrade in Stockholm. And of course it is no less cold here in Pampas marina where we live! The snow is falling, the wind is blowing and ... the ice is settling.
Is in marinan
We usually say that we live in an ice-free marina, and so usually it is. There are several propellers in the water that keep the water circulating and therefore not freezing. Now, however, the cold seems to have outwitted the propellers. Large areas are still free of ice, but in between, the ice has settled. We have ice around a large part of the boat now and although our steel hull is certainly capable of handling it, we would prefer not to have ice pushing against the boat ...
You can walk on the piers!
We are often asked if it is slippery on the piers, but it is usually not. When it has snowed, Pampa's staff comes with a snow blower in the morning, and it is usually possible to walk.
No, we are not cold
Everything is relative, but compared to many large houses and workplaces, we are not cold indoors. On the contrary! We have a Nibe boiler and hot air pump and a relatively small area to heat. Yesterday and the day before, we still thought it was a bit chilly and then we lit a fire in our stove. And then it will be warm, we promise!
Challenges of living in a boat in winter?
The snow does not bother us so much, but when the wind is from the north, it tilts easily in the boat ... Otherwise, we can conclude that 12 degrees below zero works ok. However, a neighbour's water froze in the pipes, so it can probably happen if it gets even colder. But it's not often it gets colder than this ... How do you feel in the cold?
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Lena - good for the soul says:
It seems to work perfectly well for you 🙂 I'm currently living in a rental apartment, so this is warm and delicious!
Have a nice Friday!
Hug Lena
02 March 2018 - 7:10
Helena says:
Nice to be able to crawl into the warmth after being out in the cold! 😉
02 March 2018 - 15:29
pilla says:
I have a little chilly in my house, I live in a 19th century house in Vasastan but quite high up but it is not so you sweat directly.
02 March 2018 - 7:26
Helena says:
Then it's all about blankets and hot tea?
02 March 2018 - 15:30
Fantasy Dining says:
Looks cold but very beautiful. Glad you are warm and cosy.
02 March 2018 - 8:39
Helena says:
Everything is so nice in the winter, I think! 🙂
02 March 2018 - 15:31
Lisa / life from the bright side says:
It's clearly cold in a house - large surfaces are more difficult to heat. I can imagine that it is cosier and worse inside your house during the winter!
02 March 2018 - 9:00
Helena says:
Yes, the bigger you have, the more to heat. I often think it is cold in large villas 😉.
02 March 2018 - 15:31
Mr Nils-Åke Hansson says:
We have had 12 degrees at the coldest here in Ödåkra (Väla). We have had minimal snow this winter and we are warm and cosy in our house. District heating so it is just to enjoy.
02 March 2018 - 9:13
Helena says:
Nice to have good heat when it's 12 minus outside!
02 March 2018 - 15:32
Claes Wilhelm Burger. says:
Houseboat(s) OK - that's one thing, but living in a nine-metre plastic boat for the winter.......
Is that realistic?
It would be good if it was possible, as I have no other accommodation at the moment. Is there anyone out there who knows anything about this. Claes.
18 August 2019 - 9:23
Helena says:
Hi Claes! It's all about being able to heat the boat in some way. Maybe tricky if it is completely uninsulated? Then it's good if it's ice-free too, so the boat doesn't get damaged by the ice!
18 August 2019 - 12:28
maria says:
I live in a 29ft sailing boat all year round, it's great!
22 December 2022 - 11:04
Ama de casa says:
It's not very cold, so it's fine. But it's actually much colder here on the Spanish mainland than many people realise. Things like central heating barely exist, and the stone floors get very cold. But we have found our way to keep the heat at such a level that we feel comfortable 🙂.
02 March 2018 - 9:32
Helena says:
I agree that it can be cold indoors in southern Europe in winter! Cold floors and less insulation.
02 March 2018 - 15:33
Mr Steve says:
So true, there is no need for you. You seem to be quite cosy even now that winter has set in.
We have no problem with winter. We live in a house from the late 19th century that is built of solid timber and in such houses it rarely gets too cold or too hot. In addition, with geothermal heating and in parts of the house underfloor heating, we are warm and cosy. Should it be necessary, we also have a wood stove, a brick stove and a fireplace. Have a nice weekend!
02 March 2018 - 10:18
Helena says:
Good that your house keeps the heat so well! And what is more cosy than making a fire in a stove or similar? ?
02 March 2018 - 15:34
Barbro Becker says:
I have to say, that I prefer the warmth of Portugal where we are right now. But even here the weather has become worse, windy and rainy and it will be like that for some time to come.
But your accommodation in a boat seems really good, we ourselves live in a caravan when we are not in the south and it works great....
02 March 2018 - 12:37
Helena says:
Portugal is so nice, understand that you like it there! 🙂 Too bad about the weather, but after rain comes sunshine they say 😉 Sounds interesting and smooth with the caravan accommodation! Nice weekend!
02 March 2018 - 19:23
Ditte says:
We live on the quay, but in an apartment, so we have both the proximity to the water, the feeling of the ice (frozen here too but the boats in the canal make gutters) and see the houseboats along the quay. A middle ground simply. The boat owners below us also said that it sounded when the ice floes go against the steel hull. But otherwise no problems there either, a very solid boat. And water and electricity is municipal if it gets stuck ...
And you're having a great time in your boat on the Pampas.
02 March 2018 - 13:45
Helena says:
You live with a fantastic and eventful view! 🙂
02 March 2018 - 19:24
Eva - People in the Street says:
But! I was thinking about you the other day, how you are in the houseboat in the cold. Now I know ?
I have been in Stockholm for a few days and it felt as cold as at home in Luleå. Right now we are driving up from the capital to the north with our newly purchased car in a winter beautiful and white Sweden.
02 March 2018 - 14:27
Helena says:
Congratulations on the new car! Yes, it can be real winter in Stockholm as well, even if it's not as many days a year ...
02 March 2018 - 19:25
BP says:
There is certainly no need for you. You have to tolerate a little inclination when you live on a boat;-)
We don't need it either. The apartment maintains an indoor temperature of between 21.5 and 23.5 degrees. In other words, absolutely perfect.
02 March 2018 - 16:49
Helena says:
Haha, yes, we have to tolerate a little slope simply 😉 Nice set you have warm inside!
03 March 2018 - 5:53
Across the board says:
There is no need for you, I hear. Hope the cold eases a bit, it would be nice to get some spring feelings 😉.
02 March 2018 - 17:36
Helena says:
The cold is already a bit milder! And nice with snow and sun 🙂
03 March 2018 - 19:43
Anna, Travel on a Cloud says:
How interesting to hear about how you are doing on the boat in the cold. I actually didn't realise that it was propellers that kept the water in the marina from freezing. Glad you have a stove.
In our gigantic house we have district heating, but when it's this cold we use our tiled stoves and especially the stove in the kitchen. It reduces the costs while increasing the cosiness factor! 🙂
02 March 2018 - 18:57
Helena says:
Of course it's cosy with a tiled stove and fireplace! And if it reduces the costs, it is not wrong either 🙂 .
03 March 2018 - 19:43
Birgitta in Umeå says:
We have a cottage on Norrbyskär, 3 km from the mainland in Kvarken. We don't go there in the winter, the ferry only runs during the "season".
A little further north is Holmön, where about 50 people live. The ferry Capella usually runs all year round. Now the ferry has frozen in the harbour. The residents have to rely on snowmobiles and skiing, a kilometre to the mainland.
They have now been forced to deploy 3 helicopter flights per day.
The ice can probably not be broken with icebreakers inside the harbour, so they are now waiting for April. We hope that the heat will come soon.
03 March 2018 - 15:02
Helena says:
A little different to live that way! Can especially think that it will be a little tricky in the mid-season between thick ice and free water!
03 March 2018 - 19:45
Emma, sun like sun? says:
Yes, it's really rough here, it has rained a lot!
Thinking about your pipes, that they can freeze. When we lived in a villa and it was so hysterically cold, we let a tap drip a little around the clock so that the water pipes between the well and the house would not freeze. Because if it freezes, it becomes a clog and that's not much fun ... Not being able to flush toilets, not for hygiene and food ...
03 March 2018 - 19:30
Helena says:
We have a thin heating cable inside the pipes going out from the boat and for us it has worked, even though it was 15 degrees below zero at night. Two neighbours have had frozen water, but they both have longer pipes than us. They have had to try to heat the pipes with construction fans and fire blankets,
03 March 2018 - 19:46
Åke says:
How delicious you live! Sea view 365 days a year 🙂 Clucking and waves... Now I got jealous 😉
05 March 2018 - 14:06