[JoeLena]

Hello all. Posted this on the Moyer Marine forum, but thought I would try here as well since more of you read Sailnet .

I've read thru most of the winterizing threads and they seem to be all about winterizing for the entire season. I'm on a fresh water lake near Atlanta and sail year round mostly. I'm concerned about the upcoming cold snap and protection for a couple of days. Forecast is for around 6 degrees, the coldest it has been so far during my short ownership.

What should I do for protection for a couple of nights? I plan on going back out next weekend. It's a Catalina 27 in a marina slip with no electricity it that matters.

 

[chuck53]

In the water, you probably won't have a problem. Yes, the surface of the water, maybe an inch or two will freeze, but the water underneath is what will keep your boat insulated. Close any vents you have and most likely you will be fine.
Once, I went to my boat to winterize. It was a bitter cold night, maybe 15 degrees. I stepped inside the boat and the cabin was at least 20 degrees warmer and the engine room (I had a powerboat) was even warmer and it was due to the fact that the water was much warmer than the air.

 

[JoeLena]

Thank you Chuck. I guess I am worried about any water in the exhaust. I'm sure I could close the water intake and run for a second. I might even have a drain on the hot section I can open. I will check on that when I go up there today.

 

[MikeOReilly]

Hello all. Posted this on the Moyer Marine forum, but thought I would try here as well since more of you read Sailnet .

I've read thru most of the winterizing threads and they seem to be all about winterizing for the entire season. I'm on a fresh water lake near Atlanta and sail year round mostly. I'm concerned about the upcoming cold snap and protection for a couple of days. Forecast is for around 6 degrees, the coldest it has been so far during my short ownership.

What should I do for protection for a couple of nights? I plan on going back out next weekend. It's a Catalina 27 in a marina slip with no electricity it that matters.

Hi JoeLena, I assume you mean 6 degrees Fahrenheit, which translates to about -14 Celsius. And I assume your boat is in the water. If this is just the low, and the daytime high will go up close to zero during the day, then I wouldn't worry about it too much. This won't produce a hard freeze. The things most at risk would be water pumps or small water/waste hoses. If you're worried you could drain the water out of the plumbing water lines, making sure the pumps are clear.

I really doubt your A-4 will be at risk. It will be below the water line, so reasonably well insulated. If you're really worried you could close the raw water intake seacock, and run the engine for 30 seconds to pump the water out of the raw water cooling system. Be careful doing this. You don't want to burn out the impeller, but you can safely run a cold engine for a minute or two without fear of damage.

 

[JoeLena]

It is indeed in the water. Daytime highs around 25F for 2 days.

Don't have to worry about any other plumbing, it is all drained and dry. I'll run for a few seconds with the intake closed.

 

[MikeOReilly]

It is indeed in the water. Daytime highs around 25F for 2 days.

Don't have to worry about any other plumbing, it is all drained and dry. I'll run for a few seconds with the intake closed.

I really wouldn't worry too much about it then. That's not cold. We had-48C (-54F) up here a few days ago ... now THAT'S cold.

 

[chuck53]

If you are concerned, you could probably do a quick winterize. Not sure how your engine is set up, but with mine, all I do to winterize...close the raw water intake thru hull, open the strainer and pour in a couple gallons of AF while the engine is running. Shut down the engine and it's done.
My engine is FWC, so all I have to do is winterize the raw water side. If your engine is RWC, I would suggest taking out the T-stat before running AF thru the engine. Either way, it really is a quick and easy procedure.

 

[Stumble]

The easier thing is to just stick a heater in the boat for a few days (assuming shore power). So long as the interior never drops below freezing you are fine as I understand it. But then I am south of you, so my info may be bad.

 

[JoeLena]

The easier thing is to just stick a heater in the boat for a few days (assuming shore power). So long as the interior never drops below freezing you are fine as I understand it. But then I am south of you, so my info may be bad.

No shore power.

 

[Stumble]

No shore power.

Really, really long extension cord

 

[miatapaul]

I think I would stop off at Wal-Mart and see if they have any RV Antifreeze left. I would just put some in any drains that might have sitting water. Really depends on how long it will stay cold. If only a few days then I would flush a gallon or so in the toilet. If the water tank is not empty, I would empty it out. Pour a bit of the antifreeze in the galley sink drain, then close the through hull and put a bit more to make sure any water in the line is diluted. Close all through hulls and fill lines leading to them with anti freeze. If you have access to the strainer fill it up too. For a few day cold snap smaller bits of water are what you are going to be concerned about Scuppers too, and if you have a wet bilge I would put some in there as well. I would try to drain out most of the raw water from the cooling loop and replace with antifreeze. I don't think you have to worry about getting it completely drained as it will not be that cold inside the boat, the water temp will likely stay above freezing so a slightly dilute solution should be ok.

 

[JoeLena]

Thanks for all the relies. I think I will be okay. The water temp is 50F right now and although it will be much, much colder tomorrow I will be okay. Everything in the boat is dry and I drained the hot section so should be fine. Last year when is was almost as cold a guy near me said the water in the bilge was still 42F and the water outside was the same. I appreciate all of the good advice. It is something I have worried about quite a bit.

 

[Bene505]

What about using a small propane heater in the boat, with a bar-b-que sized (20#) tank? There would be extra condensation but the boat would stay warm.

(Don't do without a CO detector!)

I've heard of someone using his onboard oven for days at a time in cold weather -- and getting free baked potatos in the process. It seems the overn burns propane better without creating a lot of CO, better that then burners on the stove.

Regards,
Brad