Can I get away with this?

[Jakester218]

Team,

I recently purchased a 2000 270 Sundancer. The boat is located on Lake Grapevine in Texas and is being shipped to Grand Lake, Oklahoma in the middle of next week. I am having it dropped off at the marina mechanic for some basic maintenance and it should be put back into the water on February 28 (ish). That basically puts me into the first week of March. The low has been hovering around 30-32 degrees here and should move completely out of any kind of freeze by mid March. I would sure like to save the expense of winterizing the boat for like 3 weeks until I start to use it, but want to play it safe. Anyone in the Oklahoma/Arkansas/Kansas area (Grand Lake is in the North-Eastern part of Oklahoma) think that I'd be safe not winterizing. The boat has a bilge heater which I plan on leaving on.

I welcome any thoughts.

Thank you

 

[just me]

I wouldnt count on anything the way the weather has been this year .

 

[JimG]

Winterize the fresh water system, and drain the block and risers. Sitting in the water makes a big difference... your outdrive will sink the heat out of the lake water into your engine. Are you close enough to where you could check the bilge heater periodically?

 

[FootballFan]

Thinking bilge heater will only work with shore power, will not run off of batteries - so make sure your plugged in ( at least on my boat, its on the AC side ).

I second the concern about being out of the water. For sure winterize the freshwater system.

 

[Gofirstclass]

By way of a FWIW item, we keep our boat in the water all winter. The only thing I do to winterize it is blow out the fresh water system. I do keep a few space heaters throughout the boat and a FailSafe heater in the bilge. With the boat in the water, like JimG mentioned above, you won't have to worry about the engine and lower unit freezing..

And congrats on getting the new boat. But I gotta tell you....none of us really believe anyone who says they have a new boat until we get to see some pics of it.

 

[Jakester218]

Here is a picture of the boat at the seller's marina. I can post a few more once I take possession mid next week.

 

[Molson]

Looks great!!

I would at least drain the block and the water lines. It will give you some peace of mind.

 

[almostenuff]

Consider finding a climate controlled storage facility for a month. Easier and cheaper than winterization!

 

[FootballFan]

Nice looking boat. I live close by - any questions about the area I can help with let me know. Glad to help out.

 

[sbw1]

You may want to go to weather.com and check the 10 day forecast. You could be taking a risk hauling it at 60 MPH on a trailer if temps drop into the teens or 20s while it is in route. Winterizing is cheap insurance if the weather is iffy. More pacific storms are on the way based upon what was on the news last night. All it would take to freeze things up would be for it to sit on a highway somewhere waiting for a snow storm to pass.

 

[Jakester218]

I don't think there will be any freeze during the transport, next week it appears to be 35-40 degrees for the (approximately) 6 hour trip to Grand Lake, Oklahoma. I'm having it dropped at the marina mechanic's shop for some maintenance and they will then drop it in the water. We just got a bit of this weather from that is moving through the Midwest, but it appears to be clearing. The boat will be in a covered slip on the lake, and has a bilge heater. Perhaps I will see if they can just drain the systems, or heck, its only $600 for the complete winterization, which is a small price to pay not to have a panic attack if the wind blows a little bit here.

 

[copb8tx]

You're just a little north of me at Texoma Lake. I rely on a bilge heater all winter long without doing anything else in the bilge. Obviously you'll need to be plugged into shore power to keep the heater working. I do have freshwater cooled engines and run the pink stuff through my freshwater systems though. I think you'll be ok.

 

[Jakester218]

Grand Lake is a few hundred miles North of Texoma, but I tend to agree, its roughly the same climate. The seller kept the boat on Grapevine right next to Texoma and told me he only had to winterize it once in the last few years.

 

[copb8tx]

Is the bilge heater a marine unit? What size is it? I'd personally block the vents, plug it in, and be good to go.

 

[FootballFan]

Is the bilge heater a marine unit? What size is it? I'd personally block the vents, plug it in, and be good to go.

Assuming your on the hard - and that you have AC power plugged in - I would still drain the freshwater system. That would protect the water lines inside the cabin - bilge heater wouldn't help much there. And I would watch closely - that anyone doing repairs - should they disconnect power that they get it hooked back up at the end of each day.

My boat is 15 miles or so from Lake Grapevine ( Lewisville). I didnt do any winterizing. Bilge heater hooked up and tested, inside cabin heater set at 55. After each use and the fresh water pump turned off - I do open the transom shower and outside sink to let any water drain backwards into lines in the Bilge area.

No problems so far - and I think we are past the worst of the winter in North Texas.

I am familiar with the North OK area - it can be 10+ degrees cooler there at times. Talked to a friend in NWA yesterday - they had snow and ice - we were 65 and sunny.

 

[Converse48]

+1 on winterizing the water system for sure. You can probably get away without winterizing the engine, but as stated earlier it's fairly cheap insurance compared to the price of failure.

FWIW, my dad kept his boat in Baltimore for the last 18 winters before he moved aboard and headed to Florida for his winters. He stopped winterizing the engine 8 years into that 18 years, not winterizing the engine for the last ten years without any issues. The fact is that it takes a deep freeze to do any damage, but again the cost of failure makes it an easy choice for me, but it's a basic risk/reward situation.

 

[Larry&Leisa]

If you're in the water and have shore power you'll be fine. I put a space heater in the cabins, turn off the water system and open the cabinet doors and drain the faucets. I have a bilge heater and monitor that temp and never been below 34 at the furthest, lowest point in the bilge. ( I do block the vents if its going to be below 20 for a few nights. Done this for 5 years over on Keystone and no problems ( even thru that nasty -17 we had )

I get out all winter. Most times the extended lows are not for that long of period. You'll hate missing days like this Sunday otherwise ;-)

 

[copb8tx]

^^^ as I mentioned in my original post, there's no way I'd do this without draining the freshwater system or running the pink stuff through it. I'd also pour the pink stuff down the head and flush a few times.

 

[Larry&Leisa]

^^^^^ I understand .... Just giving my experience

 

[Jakester218]

Hey Larry&Leisa; how is Keystone Lake? I got lobbied pretty hard to put the boat up at Grand Lake, but Keystone is a heck of a lot closer, I just couldn't find anyone up there and I have a few friends on Grand. I'd love to hear your thoughts.


Thanks;