Bart,
I have a Red Dot heater in the pilothouse and when its cold I run the
diesel at a fast idle for the Red Dot and the PH stays nice a warm. I
also have a "Heat Pal" which does a good job keeping the PH Cozy and I
can turn the top grill upside down and cook a stew are BBQ ribs. I've
found that running the engine for the Red Dot uses less fuel than the
Heat Pal. Both do a good job.
The coldest I've ever seen was a trip from Sag Harbor to Greenport on
Long Island Sound in a freezing rain. That was a lot of years ago and I
was a lot younger.
I've sailed a lot more in cold weather out here in the NW but have
managed to stay pretty comfortable. Winter Sailing can be fun; if you
set up for it.
Ole Thom
http://community.webtv.net/tassail/ThomsHomePage