SOME LIKE IT HOT

My boat, like many boats, needed more hot water. Here's how I got it without breaking the bank.

- ROGER HUGHES

With 345 gallons of fresh water, my 50-foot schooner, Britannia, has larger-than-average tankage. The boat has two heads, each with a washbasin and shower, and a pressure pump as powerful as a house supply. Unfortunately, with only an 11-gallon hot-water tank, my hot water runs out quickly, especially if both showers are used at the same time. And if the hot runs out, you're on your own, so to speak.

Britannia's hot-water tank is the square Kuuma model, sold by just about everyone in the marine-supply business. Eleven gallons might sound like a lot to boats that have the smaller, 6-gallon version, but neither delivers its full capacity of hot water to a shower or sink faucet. This is because as the hot is drawn off, it is replaced with cold (ambient) from the boat's tankage. This process dilutes the remaining hot, so by the time about half of the hot is used up, the rest is somewhat lukewarm. Of course, it helps to leave the electric element on, and even to run the engine to compensate for this loss, but that might not be practical every time.

This problem was exposed recently when we had four guests staying aboard who were new to boating. I had to explain (tactfully, of course) that they were on a boat, not in a house, and the hot water wouldn't run endlessly. I suggested that only one morning shower should be taken at a time; otherwise, there would be a good chance of someone finishing with a cold rinse. It was embarrassing for me to have to admit that, even though my schooner has just about everything that a house has a washer/dryer, freezer, fridge, air conditioning, 120-volt power in all roomsit is woefully lacking in hot-water capacity. I therefore decided to look into rectifying the deficiency.