Recently one forum member inquired about people’s experiences with tankless hot water heaters:

dalehollow: We’re going to replace our existing hot water heater. We’re thinking about going the tankless route. We don't have a clothes washer or dishwasher, just a shower, bathroom sink and kitchen sink. We have looked at YouTube and gotten a general idea/understand some of the principles of its operation. One question my on demand pump that has worked well in the past for the existing system. (Old Housebooater I found your article on another site regarding tankless.) We googled the owners manual, read the Coast Guard requirement laws and regulations, have plumber with all the required credentials for code installation, and checked with my insurance company and the harbor master. Always nice to have those with personal knowledge or experience reply. Thanks again.

Amelia: We installed a little Excel on-demand water heater (propane) a couple of months ago, and so far as we can tell, it works just fine, even considering our low water pressure. We haven't put it to a hard-core cruising test just yet, but it fires up promptly, and delivers a good hot stream of water to the basin and shower in the head, as well as to the galley sink faucets. The Excel directions advise using only one-at-a-time, please, with this breadbox-size unit. It claims to be vent-free, but we installed it on the outside bulkhead just a few feet from the propane locker. I believe they make more than this wee-est size, but this seemed to be quite adequate for our needs. I had bought an earlier model, and life got in the way before we managed to hook it up. Several years later, the unused first one didn't fire up, so Excel gave us a generous credit for the inop unit, and promptly sent us a new one. It was easy to install, and had no issues at all. Nice people to deal with.

42gibson: Our electric is figured in our dock rent so it wouldn't help us any. I am considering it for our house though since we switched to propane for heat. The gas models are very efficient. As I'm writing this we’re sitting in Maine looking out the window at 22 inches of fresh snow and another 16 coming tonight. We’re heading home Sunday and looking forward to summer!

What kind of hot water heater set-up do you have onboard, and what would you recommend? Share your thoughts on the forum!

Photo credited to ExcelOnlineStore.com