My boat, Mondial (hull 215), was originally delivered to the Puget Sound area. The first owners installed a diesel heater mounted on the main bulkhead. The unit works by natural convection only, so they swapped the port bulkhead lamp for a small fan to stir up the air. A 3" diameter chimney pipe is cut through the cabin top between the shrouds and the mast. We normally keep it covered and stow the "Charley Noble" chimney top fitting under the sink. The installation has a small pump mounted in the engine compartment which sends fuel from the main tank to a pressure reducing valve and then to the heater. We've used the unit quite a bit to extend the cruising season in the Chesapeake. It can put out enough heat to make the cabin a sauna, if that's what you want. The lighting process is a bit of a pain, but it's tolerable. What I like about it is that it doesn't require carrying a second fuel, that it's a reasonable safe fuel, and that the unit doesn't weight much. The last parameter is now moot, since my crew made me remove it for the racing season! ;-)
Let me know if you have any other questions.
