Winter Sailing

[fordo]

50-50 should not be used in the raw-water side of the cooling system. The 50-50 is automotive antifreeze mixed with water and is very toxic; it should not end up in the water. Use non toxic RV antifreeze in the raw-water side; it is much less harmful to the environment

[robfinora]

I have a simple way to flush out your sea-water and replace it with anti-freeze without removing a fitting every time you sail. On my boat I have a raw water cooled yanmar. I have a diverter valve on the raw water pick-up off the sea **** - I have this "T"ed into the non-pressure side of my on-board fresh water system. Every time I am done sailing for the day, with the engine running and hot - I close my raw water seacock and open the diverter valve to allow fresh water to pull through the cooling system and flush out the salt - then shut down the engine and close all valves. I would recommend you installing this set-up to keep salt from building up in your engine. With regard to your winter sailing solution - I would plumb the diverter line (or better yet add a 2nd diverter valve) to the sink drain line above the sink drain sea ****. Add a inline strainer as well. When your done sailing - work the valves to first flush out the salt water and then throw the needed amount of anti-freeze in the sink (with the sink drain sea **** closed) and allow the system to pull that through the engine.

Good luck! - Rob

[labatt]

Since this thread has already gone slightly off topic... can I ask a regional "can I keep it in the water" question? Does anyone think there is any issue with keeping a boat in the water on Mill Creek (right next to Annapolis off of the Chesapeake) through the Winter? I'm thinking Hallberg-Rassy 53 - much cheaper to keep it in the water than on the hard, but not easily rapidly winterized if need be. I won't be close by to check on it frequently either (once a month). I guess I could pay someone to check on it once a week... thoughts?

[sailingdog]

It depends. Will you be keeping it in a marina that has aerators in the water to prevent icing, if the temperature drops too low. I know that freezing is still a risk in Baltimore, having lived in Northern Virginia for seven years, although not as great a risk as New England. If they don't or won't have aerators or bubblers, then I think storage on the hard would be better. It also matters how much it would cost you to have someone check on the boat on a weekly basis.

One other thought—do you really want a stranger on your boat every week, when you're not there? It'd be different if you knew and trusted someone local to where the boat is being kept, like I have with mine... but paying a stranger might cause more problems than its worth. In my case, one of my best friends and frequent crewmates lives five minutes from my marina, and he has keys and checks on the boat whenever a storm is imminent and I can't be there. I don't know if I'd trust a stranger, even one I'm paying to take as good a care of my boat.

[Newport28Defiant]

If you install a y-valve as suggested, it will also make for an excellent emergency bilge pump if you run the (fresh water) hose long enough to reach into the bilge. It is pretty amazing how much water the engine can pump out the exhaust when it is running.

[mrh40cal]

To the original thread... The only thing I don't think I saw covered is the seacock. If you leave the boat in and re-winterize after sailing, be sure to get the 'raw' water out of the ball valve. I have a T-fitting above my seacock with a ball valve attached that gives me the ability to winterize without removing hoses. So, to winterize the ball valve, after the engine is filled with anti-freeze, I blow into the secondary hose and open the seacock until I hear bubles blowing out the bottom of the boat, then close the valve. Then I fill up the secondary hose with anti-freeze until it is above the water line. Then open and close the seacock again, allowing the antifreeze to sink down into the ball valve.

To labatt regarding keeping a boat in the water in Annapolis... I keep my boat on Rock Creek outside Baltimore. This will be the 5th winter in the water. We have ice eaters and it keeps the ice off the boat. My creek freezes hard enough to keep a thrown brick from penatrating, so it is a hard freeze. Just winterize thoroughly and make sure ice eaters keep the ice away from the hull. You do risk scratches and some minor damage from ice as the boat will move around in the hole in the ice where it can rub. I have had no problems with this, but it can happen. Good luck.

[andydroit]

I wet stored my boat last year, with saildrives. I can shut off the raw water where it enters the boat, but there is still salt water in the sail drive leg. I don't winter sail, and was concerned that antifreeze would mix with seawater and become ineffective. I ended up winterizing the engine with antifreeze, thru the raw water strainer, then, with the engine off, poured some cooking oil into the raw water strainer until it showed up in the water outside the hull. This stuff is edible, so I assume non-toxic, and it floats on top of the salt water, not mixing. It stayed in the saildrive over the winter. Also, not a conductive medium, so should help galvanic corrosion.
Any thoughts?

[davidpm]

What is an ice eater. Around hear they use bubblers

[christyleigh]

It's a small amphibian imported from Iceland that lives on ice.

[sailingdog]

IIRC, pouring oil into the water is a MARPOL violation, even if it is just vegetable oil. If the local LEO's see the oil on the water and trace it back to your boat, you might be in some trouble. The fines for pretty nasty... the law doesn't distinguish between petroleum-based oil and vegetable-based oils as far as I can tell.

Discharge of Oil and Other Hazardous Substances

Regulations issued under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act require all vessels with propulsion machinery to have a capacity to retain oil mixtures on board.

• You are not allowed to discharge oil or hazardous substances. The penalty for illegal discharge may be a fine up to $10,000.
• You are not allowed to dump oil into the bilge of the vessel without means for proper disposal. Fuel spills can be removed using absorbent bilge pads.
• You must discharge oil waste to a reception facility. On recreational vessels, a bucket or bailer is adequate.
• You must immediately notify the U.S. Coast Guard if your vessel discharges oil or hazardous substances in the water. Call toll-free 1-800-424-8802. Report the discharge’s location, color, source, substances, size, and time observed.
• If your vessel is 26 feet or longer, you must display a 5 x 8 inch placard made of durable material, fixed in a conspicuous place in the machinery spaces, or at the bilge pump control station, stating the following:

Originally Posted by andydroit

I wet stored my boat last year, with saildrives. I can shut off the raw water where it enters the boat, but there is still salt water in the sail drive leg. I don't winter sail, and was concerned that antifreeze would mix with seawater and become ineffective. I ended up winterizing the engine with antifreeze, thru the raw water strainer, then, with the engine off, poured some cooking oil into the raw water strainer until it showed up in the water outside the hull. This stuff is edible, so I assume non-toxic, and it floats on top of the salt water, not mixing. It stayed in the saildrive over the winter. Also, not a conductive medium, so should help galvanic corrosion.
Any thoughts?