Sailing Climbers

A small wood stove in a sailboat

Liz and Marvin from Germany were tired of the mundane city life in Germany and knew they wanted something more—being outdoors, traveling, gaining new experiences, and living a simpler life. When they came across some videos of young sailors exploring the world, they immediately knew that was what they wanted too—even though they had never set foot on a sailboat before! Everything happened quickly from there. They got their licenses, found their new floating home during a boat-viewing road trip through the Netherlands, moved aboard with only the essentials, completed a short two-week refit, and set sail toward the warm south.

The beginning was especially exciting and exhilarating. Now, nearly a year and a half into their adventure, the sailboat is truly their home. That meant spending the winter aboard was a given, and the nights would get very cold.

Liz and Marvin had always dreamed of having a wood stove one day, so they thought—why not on the sailboat? They were looking for a small yet sturdy stove that would retain heat well and had a separate ash pan. That’s why our Salamander Stove caught their eye. A stainless steel flue kit is also essential in a saltwater environment, so they made the most of our bespoke flue consultancy and got the stove and the flue kit together.

“The incredible team was extremely helpful in figuring out how the stove could fit in our boat, advising us on which flue parts we needed, and answering all our questions quickly and thoroughly. This gave us confidence that we had the right materials and allowed us to complete the installation quickly. We also got an anti-downdraught cowl to ensure we could use our stove even on stormy days. The installation process was straightforward and well-explained. The YouTube videos by Salamander Stoves were a great help, too. The biggest challenge for us was working up the courage to cut a 25 cm hole through the deck! But once that was done, we completed the installation quickly and lit our first fire. The stove has completely transformed our salon—it’s a whole new level of coziness. It provides the perfect amount of warmth without overheating the space, and even hours after the fire has burned down, it still retains heat. We absolutely love the warmth it brings and enjoy falling asleep while watching the last flames dance in our Hobbit.” ~ Liz and Marvin 

Follow their journey here!