Anyone else do Winter Boating?

[Dave S]

When winter came in the past we always winterized our 240 SD in November or December and didn't start using it again until March. The winter boating blues always set in right about now. :smt021 So when we purchased our 260DA in September one of our goals was to boat all thru the winter :grin: . It has full camper canvas and is wet slipped year round. Our climate is not exactly what you would call warm (during the winter) but it's not bitter cold either like some areas of the north. Our lake never freezes and right now our water temperature has been hovering around 50 degrees. Our tempature usually goes below freezing every night but we seldom get days where the temperature doesn't go above freezing in the daytime. January average highs are around 50 degrees in our area.

So far we have been on the lake at least once a week all winter long. As long as the sun is shining, it gets real warm in the camper enclosure. Yesterday outside temperatures were in the upper 40s when we were out and the temperature in the cockpit was 73 degrees.......strictly from Solar Heat! We saw only two other boats on the lake the whole time we were out.

We enjoy going out to explore seldom travelled areas of the lake and checking out the wildlfe in the area. Without other boats to contend with, it can be a lot of fun having the whole lake to yourself. :thumbsup:

I am really surprised there are not more boaters in our area that take advantage of winter cruising. In our Marina, I am only aware of maybe 2 other folks who take their boats out with any regularity in the winter. The rest of them just sit there in the water. :huh:

So what's winter boating like in your area?

 

[mrsrobinson]

Richmond VA here and we boat year round. Went for a short cruise last weekend, in the 40s, going on one today, suppose to be in the 50s. It's the best time to boat as nobody else is out, except the bass boats of course.

 

[midway]

Yes, was out a couple of weeks ago. :grin:

 

[chuck1]

Hey Dave,

Winter boating is great :thumbsup: We have the lake all to ourselves but for a couple of die hard bass fishing boat. I would say our weather is just a bit colder then your but not much. Last Sunday had to run the heater.

 

[kg4vgh]

Bit North of Dave

Dave, am in the Hampton Roads area, Norfolk / Virginia Beach.....also boat all winter...have for 3 years now....absoulutly (sp) love it......weekend warriors are home in front of the fireplace.....in fact...currently on the hook at Hospital Point.....
My slip mate is also a full time boater....makes it nice and often hook up on the river or the bay.....
Temp right now up here is 53....weather geeks say that is going to change this afternoon....
Cheers and safe winter boating
Pete

 

[PMvdb395DA]

I also hit the lake yesterday.

It was a cold (low 40s), dry, not windy and very sunny winter day.
Very nice, because it was very quit on the water.
I was alone and watching the beautiful sky.
Testing her on full speed :grin: (normally forbidden for my size boat on the lake)

Than back to the marina, and drink a nice cognac in the restaurant at the fireplace... :thumbsup:

Peter

 

[nina and plum]

boat heater

I will likely have a Boat Safe Heater installed by the dealer after I de-winterize my boat (can't wait for that to happen). I think I might be saving more money by not doing it myself. I do need to familiarize myself more with the bilge and will certainly get back to you if I encounter any problems with those lines you mentioned. :smt001
-Ron

 

[Dave S]

Re: boat heater

I will likely have a Boat Safe Heater installed by the dealer after I de-winterize my boat (can't wait for that to happen). I think I might be saving more money by not doing it myself. I do need to familiarize myself more with the bilge and will certainly get back to you if I encounter any problems with those lines you mentioned. :smt001
-Ron

Ron......I'll take a few pictures of what I did with the water lines in the bilge and send you a PM. If you are going to have the heater installed, why not consider doing that now and get a head start on Spring boating. :thumbsup:

BTW............if you need a couple of winter boating projects to occupy your wait time, take a look at these "fixes" I posted for our 260DA's http://www.byowneryachts.com/forums/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1252

http://www.byowneryachts.com/forums/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1482

 

[islandhopper00]

Dave what lake are you on? Wylie or Norman? I'm in the process of getting my knowledge together on these cruising boats as well as inboard/outboards. I've mostly run outboards and no winterizing was needed except for fish boxes and such. I'm from Florida so no winterizing needed there. I boat mostly on Wylie. I keep my boat on a trailer, so every time I run it I'll have to rewinterize it I guess. I looked at your mod for the cockpit table and it looks great. I might have to give that a try as well.

 

[Dave S]

Dave what lake are you on? Wylie or Norman? I'm in the process of getting my knowledge together on these cruising boats as well as inboard/outboards. I've mostly run outboards and no winterizing was needed except for fish boxes and such. I'm from Florida so no winterizing needed there. I boat mostly on Wylie. I keep my boat on a trailer, so every time I run it I'll have to rewinterize it I guess. I looked at your mod for the cockpit table and it looks great. I might have to give that a try as well.

I am wet slipped at Lake Wylie Marina. I do all of my boating there. Let me know if I can be of any help at all. You should be able to put a bilge heater in your boat (as long as you have power available nearby) and avoid winterizing the engine each time you use it.

Just out of curiousity, did you get your 240 from Hall Marine? And did you per chance trade in a yellow center console with outboards? If so, we have already met.

 

[islandhopper00]

Yes I did buy from Hall, and yes I traded a yellow W/A in. Small world. Hopefully I'll run into you on the "river".

 

[islandhopper00]

Here's a question. If I use the boat and put it on the trailer and it gets below freezing, is it necessary to run anti-freeze thru the outdrive or will it drain like the lower unit on an outboard?

 

[lorenbennett]

Hey Dave

Just got back from 2 days on lake mohave. Normally can get a couple of times a month all winter but the wind was not stop all of december and january. We too have no problem with our 260 as we have the camper inclosure. Sometime I open up the hatch and turn on the heat to warm up the top side if its real cold in the morning. I'll leave out the fact that my battery's were not checked when I had it serviced a couple of weeks ago and they were dry and went dead as soon as I parked friday. Had to have the parks service run out and jump me. :smt043 Any how winter boating is great around here as the summer is tough with all the little boats in the way trying to get in and out of the marina. Jet skis have no idea how hard it is when you can't even see them near the ramps. :thumbsup:

 

[Dave S]

Here's a question. If I use the boat and put it on the trailer and it gets below freezing, is it necessary to run anti-freeze thru the outdrive or will it drain like the lower unit on an outboard?

If you lower the drive it will drain just like an outboard. But the engine will only drain if you remove the drain plugs on the engine. Your Merc Owners manual will tell what you need to know about draining the block.

 

[Alex D]

we do, but winters here are so mild ... often in the 60s and hitting 70s every once in a while ... with a full camper no problem ...

 

[PMvdb395DA]

still funny...

 

[Dancin Dave]

I was in Hilton Head this past weekend. On Friday I cruised for about 5 hours and the same on Sat. 55 degrees on Fri and 65 on Sat. NO other boats out there, your right it was nice to own the water!

 

[Sadler]

Dave,

We've boated in winter in Charleston for many years. Charleston's a little warmer than Charlotte, but not that much. Winter is almost my favorite time to boat. Very peaceful, and beautiful. But you do need a camper canvas to be comfortable, or go very slow. And you do need to up the safety awareness a notch due to the danger of the cold water.

Like you, I'm amazed there aren't more people out. Usually, we are among very few boaters in the Charleston harbor area. I think we've gone the last four weekends in a row to the boat and been the only ones at our marina overnighting. Last weekend, the marina manager was slowly shuttling us out to our boat on the marina boat. (The walkway to the docks is being replaced). It was partly cloudy, cold, and almost dark. Our car was the only customer car at the marina. He looked at me and smiled and asked "Don't you guys have anything better to do?". :lol:

Sadler

 

[Oh Me!! - 280 DA]

We go out about once a week or so. Sometimes we just visit out the dock and sometimes we go out for a spin! We went to a pig roast about two weeks ago, but it was 70 degrees!!!

Not yesterday or today! It was 16 degrees yesterday morning! :smt009

 

[CarreraDan]

Dave,
I was out the first week of December with my brother from AZ on Lake Keowee. The water was in the mid fifties and we got some really nice wakeboarding in. It was wierd to be one of the only boats out on the lake (especially one the size of Keowee). We had a great time and the boat did great. I don't worry about winterizing the boat anymore since I use it year around and it does sit in a heated garage 99% of the time. If I have a major car project and need the garage space I just pull the drain plugs on the manifolds and block which let the water out.

I wish I had more time to do winter boating but with work and school my schedule is very full. I also tend to work on my car a lot more in the winter and hang out with my car buddies. I am anxiously awaiting spring and the return of Saturdays at the lake. I do need to get a minor oil leak looked at before then--first mechanical issue with the boat since new.