I've found several articles on here regarding winterizing, but most dealt with boat's in a harsh winter climate, and/or out of the water. Mine will stay in the water. I plan on doing the following:
1. draining the water tanks
2. drain hot water heater (if I can figure out how to reach that valve)
3. Run antifreeze in head system like Ron suggested in an earlier article, except the PO disconnected the shower sump and put in a sea water anchor wash system. I can still get antifreeze into the plumbing by putting it in the sink and wet pumping into the holding tank.
I will have a West Marine heater on frost setting (39deg) and all hatches to engine, galley and head sink area open. I'd put my dehumidifier in the sink, but that would require keeping a through hull open.
Anything I'm missing for this Bremerton, Washington climate? Maybe draining the heat exchanger?
Dave, I moved to BC in 2016 after 18 years with this boat in San Francisco. You simply do NOT have to winterize anything. Why? Because the water temperature is 47F. Even with a prolonged deep freeze it hasn't affected anything inside the boat EXCEPT when it snows, then with the colder snow on deck it literally rains inside the boat unless you have a heater going.
That's the best news I've had all week! Thanks Stu.
Porch : How close to the boat will you be?? Will you be able to check on it weekly??
A few thoughts and questions!1
The only thing I did for PNW winterizing was drain the aft tank and drain the water out of the shower valve that is in the cockpit. Those two items are a fair distance above the "warm" water we sit in. When we had weather forecast for prolonged freezing weather, I would put a heater on board till the cold spell broke.
As Stu said, prob not necessary, but those couple things were easy enough to do.
Quote from: Stu Jackson on October 31, 2022, 12:13:09 PM
Dave, I moved to BC in 2016 after 18 years with this boat in San Francisco. You simply do NOT have to winterize anything. Why? Because the water temperature is 47F. Even with a prolonged deep freeze it hasn't affected anything inside the boat EXCEPT when it snows, then with the colder snow on deck it literally rains inside the boat unless you have a heater going.
Absolutely!!!!!
Even when I was in Buffalo and left her on the Niagara River over the winter only one thing froze. The galley water faucet had an icicle hanging from the spout (no harm but I should have drained between the pump and faucets. )
Guys : Besides blowing out all water I always then add a bit of anti freeze or Vodka. Belt and suspenders!!
A few thoughts
Why not just run the dehumidifier drain hose to the bilge??
I will be hundreds of miles away all winter but my slip neighbor volunteered to check on her regularly. I should have run the dehumidifier into the bilge but it is the canister type. Workable though if I'd thought of it.
As Stu said, virtually nothing needs to be done here in the Pacific NW.
I've had our boat for 24 years and nothing has ever frozen.
I do fill the fuel tank to avoid condensation in the tank and leave the water tanks full (drain nothing)!
I do put a couple of 60W lights bulbs on the floor in coffee cans on legs to move air and run a dehumidifier until its close to freezing. The dehumidifier does freeze up at that point so I turn it off
Never a problem though
As others have said, the water temperature stays well above freezing so inside the boat does too. Humidity is an issue though. Unless you have some source of heat, a light bulb or heater, and a way to move the air, mildew can be a problem. Not a big fan of de humidifiers since they work best in warmer climates by condensing high humidity warm air. Heat will decrease relative humidity. Also, flip cushions on their sides so air circulates. Leave a window cracked that won't let rain in. Use a boom/cockpit cover to minimize potential leaks.
Jeff & mark : How about listing your location so readers will know if they should follow your recommendations - based on their winter layup location!!
Quote from: Ron Hill on November 09, 2022, 02:37:15 PM
Jeff & mark : How about listing your location so readers will know if they should follow your recommendations - based on their winter layup location!!
The Pacific Northwest also includes the "Pacific Southwest" of British Columbia, where many of us sail.
Anywhere from Portland, Oregon to up past Vancouver covers us all. It's a vast territory.
As Stu says, this area cover A LOT of territory. We needn't be any more specific than we are.
Hi Stu, a little off topic but what do you use for heating when at anchor?
Quote from: Jon W on November 09, 2022, 03:46:48 PM
Hi Stu, a little off topic but what do you use for heating when at anchor?
Jon,
All I have is a catalytic heater run off green propane canisters. It serves to "take the edge off" but doesn't truly heat the boat in these waters (literally as well as figuratively :D).
What this means is that my shoulder seasons are shorter. When I first moved here in 2016, two of the first three Catalina Rendezvous at Roche Harbor in the San Juans were delightful as far as the weather was concerned: early May high 60s.
Other years it was nice in June, a couple of years it continued to rain and stay cold until July.
One year I had a wonderful Indian Summer cruise the last week in October. One year it started raining on October 1st and didn't stop until June 30th.
In order to use a boat here comfortably outside of July, August & September the solution is diesel heat. Whether one chooses hydronic or air is up to the individual skipper. If I was to do so, I'd go for hydronic because I could get hot water, too. I'm a glutton for a good comfy shower. :D My friend with a boat similar in size and engine as ours reports his fuel consumption goes from 0.5 gph to 0.79 in heating season, with a mix of heat on when motoring and for only at anchor. They usually start their seasons in late April and run through mid-October.
I'm an HVAC engineer and I've read all about the pros for air heat and inside humidity, but I've been on lots of boats with hydronic systems. It turns out that in reality a reasonably sized hydronic heating system gives off more than enough heat to overcome that potential issue. Why? It turns out that even the smallest hydronic system (unless deliberately and woefully undersized) turns out to have both enough heat in the central heater core as well as the smallest fan&coil individual space heaters to overcome the heat losses with enough to "spare" to get enough heat to overcome any potential condensation issues on uninsulated surfaces. (This is true for our "Mediterranean Climate" in this area, not at all true of Alaska.) Another way to say it is that even the smallest hardware available is more than equal to the task. Without oversizing any of the components, friends report they can heat up their boats quickly and then turn the individual heaters down to low to stay comfortable.
Jon : I've used a "Black Cat" cyclitic propane heater for many years. Got it from a camping store - they sell them to be used inside tents!! Perfectly safe indoors. I set our in a small square metal cake pan - that's for a just incase it were to tip over while sitting on the salon floor. Does a great job of "taking the edge off".
We also light up the oven and have muffins or corn bread for breakfast!! :clap
A few thoughts
I actually take all my cushions home for the winter. It's great to dry and air them out. It also makes any projects down below so much easier.
For heat I have a Wabasto diesel forced air furnace that is fantastic. Dries and heat the boat fast when aboard on those cool nights.