Winterizing in the PNW..Lake Washington..

BellevueDA

Member
Sep 28, 2019
52
Boat Info
Sundancer 260
Engines
350 MAG MPI w/Bravo III
My boat is in Lake Washington year round in a slip. I have a lift so I can keep her out or in the water.

The air temps here are not harsh and sometimes drop below 32 but not for an extended time and water temps never go below 32.

I plan of using a Bilge Heater and Cabin Heater with Shore Power, drain water lines and
drop her into the water when air temp is forecasted to drop below 32 to protect the outdrive.

Power in Bellevue where the boat is hardly has power loss and if so , not for long.

Anyone else in the area or similar climate do something similar or better??

I love taking her out in Jan on a great sunny day...
 
Bellevue, your situation is similar to ours. We leave the boat in the water all year, but in the winter months I blow out the freshwater system using a small Harbor Freight air compressor. That way I know if we do get a few days of below freezing weather my lines are not going to freeze if the power quits for some reason.

I take a few one gallon jugs of water to the boat for flushing, hand washing, etc., while we're out on the boat.

When I refill the water system in the spring it's a good chance to disinfect it with some bleach before filling it with clean water. Then it's all ready for the summer fun.
 
Gofirstclass, thanks for the reply. Do you use a Bilge heater? My thought was Bilge Heater, Flush out the water like you,
and get out there when the weather gets good!
 
I have block heaters on each oil pan and it keeps the E.R. at a nice even warm temp. I run my Caframo in the salon and have a temp. sensitive outlet in the cockpit with another Caframo heater. My alarm system Simplisafe also has a freeze alarm sensor that I added for insurance. We are in the water year around... And welcome Bellevue !!!
2019-10-29 18.29.38-1.jpg
 
Bellevue I'm in the exact same climate as you and I don't typically winterize. I do have a Caframo heater I keep in the bilge, and a heater inside the cabin on a very low setting. I also like taking the boat out in the winter when weather permits. My boat comes out of th water once a year in the spring for routine maintenance ...otherwise it's in our slip.

The only exception to this is when we go on our winter vacation, I typically put 5 gallons of the pink stuff in each engine's raw water cooling system just for peace of mind and drain the fresh water tanks and lines ...just in case of a power outage and a severe cold snap when we're far away. We were in Hawaii two years ago for two weeks over Christmas, and temps were in the 20's here for nearly a week at night ...so I was happy I did this. Marina never lost power though regardless.

This is the heater I use. It will keep the blocks at a steady 42 degrees no matter how cold it gets outside.

https://www.ebay.ca/i/323723655171?..._h_tawj0YsrAx-uF1xlcszb9wyhqTWE4aAnBqEALw_wcB
 
One side note... as long as the outdrive is in the full down position, the cold won't bother it one way or the other. Nothing in the drive retains water.
 
Bill Collector, First I would like to say that you have a great looking boat! Thanks for the welcome..

Planning on a very similar pathway... Bilge Heaters, Cabin heater, etc.. Planning on using Sensor push to check temps..

Cheers
 
Welcome Bellevue! Another bilge heater option is Xtreme heaters https://www.xtremeheaters.com/
My boat stays in the water all year. But the previous owner of my 290 kept in it on a lift in Lake Washington. The GFCI to the boat the boat tripped during a winter storm, it wasn't checked on, and one of the exhaust manifolds cracked from freezing. Thankfully for me, we saw it during the Survey.
But the lesson is to check the when there are prolonged cold snaps, or drop it back in the water (the lake/sound is a great heat sink). And yes your sensor should be a nice insurance.
 
Tacoma290 Thank you. I have the Xtreme 600W which will be in the bilge. Planning on another for the cabin heater and dehumidifier.. I think I will drop the lift and keep it in the water while travelling or for any prolonged cold...that will at least keep my outdrive warmer..

Great point on the breaker.

I will talk to my Marina Manager and see what his habits are to check power and GFCIs.

Cheers
 
Thanks for all the help and great ideas.

On another note, my BoatUS insurance policy does cover Freeze damage... But I am wondering if it will only cover if
the boat was winterized and somehow the winterization failed or will it cover damage if I did not winterize, use Bilge Heaters only and still got damage...

I know should look up the policy details but wondering if anyone had this experience..
 
Yes and I have this in the E.R. too, but with the block heaters on I don't think it has activated in a while...
Michael, when are you updating your boat profile ?
Thanks for the reminder, I'll update later today. As a matter of fact, I'll be in your neck of the woods to have the 340 hauled at Hylebos 3p tomorrow. I'll check out the facilities!
 
Thanks for the reminder, I'll update later today. As a matter of fact, I'll be in your neck of the woods to have the 340 hauled at Hylebos 3p tomorrow. I'll check out the facilities!
I am 5 minutes away, so if you need anything give me call...
 
One side note... as long as the outdrive is in the full down position, the cold won't bother it one way or the other. Nothing in the drive retains water.
So even on a lift, exposed, if the drive is in the full down position then I am safe? Thanks
 
So even on a lift, exposed, if the drive is in the full down position then I am safe? Thanks
Yes. Just make sure it's in the FULL down position - which basically means the props are angled downward.
 
Yes. Just make sure it's in the FULL down position - which basically means the props are angled downward.
So in essence, as long as the outdrive is in this position, there is theoretically no reason to winterize it, since there is no water in the system. Correct?
 
As far as the drive is concerned, correct. The drive will drain by itself. When we refer to "winterizing", it's all about the engine and other raw water systems on the inside of the boat.
 
As far as the drive is concerned, correct. The drive will drain by itself. When we refer to "winterizing", it's all about the engine and other raw water systems on the inside of the boat.
Thanks for the info. Makes total sense.. I was going to focus on the engine room mainly with the heaters and keep the boat in the water to protect the outdrive when we get a cold snap but now I might just keep the boat on the lift the whole
time..:)
 
Bellevue, I have one of these in the engine room...
s-l1600.jpg

and 6 or 7 household type 110 V heaters spread throughout the boat, all set at a low temperature and operating on 750W.

I was down there yesterday. 38* outside, 54* inside the boat. I'm comfortable with that.
 
BTW, to keep my feeling of safety from the cold I picked up one of those laser temperature guns from Harbor Freight. It's right near the salon door where I can pick it up and check temps as I walk through the boat. I use it all the time.
 

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