magnetic heater, lightbulb or other

[WBL skier]

I ski later into the year in MN. I am trying to decide if I should go with a magnetic heater, a 100 watt lighbulb or something else. Is one safer than the other or more effective? The boat is probably 200 feet from the house, so I'm not sure if the magnetic heater works as well on a long cord or not. Can the magnet damage any components in the engine (i.e. do I need to be careful about where it touches)? Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[Bill_AirJunky]

The magnetic heaters really don't keep the engine warm enough to do anything other than keep the oil viscosity thin. They won't keep the water from freezing, especially in places like the far side of the engine block, the raw water pump, shower, heater, etc.

Your best bet is either the light bulb or a real bilge heater. Xtreme & Boatsafe both make bilge heaters for our size of boats. They run $200 or $300 but are a LOT more reliable than a light bulb.

There is an active thread going on about this here.