If water system was not winterized what problems could there be?

[jdpromo33]

having bought my boat at the very end of the season last year it seems that my water system may NOT have been winterized.

When the marina asked me if I wanted them to winterize the boat, I said yes thinking it was a complete winterization service, not knowing that the water system was an additional service.

So the boat is going in the shop in the next 3 weeks to have everything checked and commissioned before it's dropped in the water.

With such a cold and snowy winter, I am concerned that if the system wasnt winterized, there could be some costly damage.

What problems might I now have?

Thanks

 

[chuck1]

...

What problems might I now have?

Thanks

It depends. With the global warm should not have a problem.:lol::smt043:lol:

Sorry to hear, but I think you are looking at some busted pipes and maybe a cracked pump. They did winterize everything else didn't they?

 

[jdpromo33]

It depends. With the global warm should not have a problem.:lol::smt043:lol:

Sorry to hear, but I think you are looking at some busted pipes and maybe a cracked pump. They did winterize everything else didn't they?

Yeah the pipes I thought might be the most common problem but the pump? But hey, I may have gotten lucky
Yes everything else was winterized

 

[DougLas]

In saying that everything else was winterized I hope that also included the airconditioning unit if you have one. And the head.

 

[jdpromo33]

In saying that everything else was winterized I hope that also included the airconditioning unit if you have one. And the head.[/quote

Well will soon find out

 

[wkearney99]

Keep an eye on the spigots and the shower mixer (handle). I had a dealer do a shoddy job winterizing my fresh water system a few years ago. There was just enough water left in the shower mixer to cause a very slight leak, as well as a sink spigot. The pump would keep coming on even when no taps were open. You'd have to be on board for a while, but listen for the pump running intermittently. Then start the bug-hunt to find the leak...

I didn't nail down the shower leak until well into the Spring. The good news is Shurflo sent me replacement parts at no charge since I was still within their warranty period. Even so, the various parts that make up a water system aren't terribly expensive. You'd likely pay more for the labor to find/fix the leaks that the parts.

Anywhere that had water running though it should be watched closely for the next few weeks/months. The pump running is a dead giveaway.

That and the waste tank was left full. It didn't crack the tank but forced waste water out around the level sensor.

I picked up a wireless refrigerator thermometer off Ebay and put it on the boat. It has two wireless sensors. I put one in the cabin and the other in the engine room. It tracks both the highest and lowest temps seen by the sensors. It was good to see neither of them dropped below 40F over the course of the winter. Surprisingly the high temp got to 62F in the cabin. It seems the tan Fisher canvas cover warms the boat up pretty well on sunny days. I have a pair of Boatsafe heaters (one in the engine room, the other in the cabin) and the lowest temps came after power had been out for a day or so at the marina.

The real danger isn't only during the freeze, it's the thaw. When the ice freezes it usually also plugs what its broken. In those cases the leaks only start once things begin to thaw.

 

[jdpromo33]

ok thanks Bill. To be honest I'm a little pissed at the marina because they new I was a new boat owner and could have explained everything to me before taking my $2100 for winter fees.

I almost feel like they didnt tell me in order to get themselves some work for the spring season.

Who know but I will only make this mistake once.

 

[Sundancer]

If they said they were "winterizing" I would assume that meant EVERYTHING!! I would hold them accountable. You put your trust in them to do it, so they should fix it! Winterizing doesn't cost much and $2,100 should cover everything including shrink wrap and storage! That's a LOT!

 

[jdpromo33]

If they said they were "winterizing" I would assume that meant EVERYTHING!! I would hold them accountable. You put your trust in them to do it, so they should fix it! Winterizing doesn't cost much and $2,100 should cover everything including shrink wrap and storage! That's a LOT!

Thats what I thought too. Although to be fair the $2100 included the winter storage and winterization of motors and outdrives
I guess you live and learn and I wont make that mistake again

 

[Sundancer]

If they put shrink wrap on it, how were you supposed to get in and winterize the rest of it? Are you sure they didn't do it??

Rereading your original post, if they said winterize your "boat" that would cover everything! I think they did it!

 

[JVM225]

If they said they were "winterizing" I would assume that meant EVERYTHING!! I would hold them accountable. You put your trust in them to do it, so they should fix it! Winterizing doesn't cost much and $2,100 should cover everything including shrink wrap and storage! That's a LOT!

Believe it or not, $2100 isn't a whole lot of money in this region when it comes to winter storage, shrinkwrap, and winterization of two motors and drives.
I was in a boatyard prior to this year and my average winter bill for those services on my 30 Sundancer with bottom painting in the spring, zincs and re-launch was typically about $3900. That included fresh water system, head, A/C, and oil change on the mootors. If I wanted the drives serviced it was extra and they had to do it. I waited for the boat to be back in the water to do a tune-up myself, but many places won't even let you do that if you dock with them.
Fortunately, I was able to buy a small piece of property on a canal last summer to dock my boat at, and it has enough room to store it up on land for the winter so I'm now able to do everything myself and save a pile of cash.
I'm surprised that the marina or boatyard owner didn't do everything for him though. The general rule of thumb around here is that if you winter with them around here then you have to let them do everything. They don't give you a choice. Winterizing his water and A/C systems is all profit for them. You'd think they would be eager to do it.
At least the place that I was in let me wax the boat in the Spring and work on my teak. Many places around here won't even let you do that.

 

[Sundancer]

JV, I agree but the incremental cost to include the freshwater system, head and A/C wouldn't have been much more. I have a feeling that it probably was done. If they shrinkwrap it and didn't leave doors, how was he supposed to get in and do it anyway?

Of that $3,900 how much was the bottom paint? Just curious. Mine is painted, but on a trailer. I know at some point I'll either have it taken off or re-apply it myself! Thanks!!

 

[jdpromo33]

No they didnt do it and didnt shrink wrap either as I had good covers on the boat and had to enter the boat several times during the winter to do work on the inside

They def didnt do the head or the water system so just have to cross my fingers that nothing bad happened or that maybe the previous owner did when he took the boat out of the water before shipping it to me.

I'll know by March 22nd

 

[randerson]

In this part of the country, winterize means everything but shrink wrapping. I'd go hard after your marina, if they didn't do your water system that is absolute BS!

BTW, winterizing cost me $550 (complete). Shrink wrapping is another $500.

 

[Mr Salt]

If they put shrink wrap on it, how were you supposed to get in and winterize the rest of it? Are you sure they didn't do it??

Rereading your original post, if they said winterize your "boat" that would cover everything! I think they did it!

While you won't know until spring comes and you get on the boat, I would expect that if they are a reliable marina they would have done it all. In any event there is nothing you can do now so sit back and relax until you can test the system. No sense in getting all tied up in your underwear over something you can't do anything about.

 

[Glen S]

If you have a reciept or contract with the marina that says "winterize the boat" I would be all over them about this. As an alternative talk to your insurance if there is damage and you have the contract. I know my insurance will cover freezing damage if I paid a company to perform the winterizing - if I did it myself....well.

 

[jdpromo33]

If you have a reciept or contract with the marina that says "winterize the boat" I would be all over them about this. As an alternative talk to your insurance if there is damage and you have the contract. I know my insurance will cover freezing damage if I paid a company to perform the winterizing - if I did it myself....well.

No the contract states the different levels of winterization and I didn't check off the head or water system so the fault is mine.
Again it's more about the marina knowing I'm a new boat owner and telling me I should have considered having everything winterized.

They didn't do anything wrong from a legal standpoint and I guess they assumed I would have done my own Head and Water system

However lets see what happens when she gets in the shop and gets checked over

 

[SCORPIO]

Don't forget to have a look at your water heater if you have one. Do you have a gernerator? If so, did they winterize that? The head, water heater and generator would be my biggest worries. The waterpump and tubing to faucets aren't that expensive or difficult to replace. So sit back, relax and wait for spring. Good luck

 

[Bridog]

"Winterized" service means many different things to different people. In New Jersey if you have a marina do everything on a twin engine 30 foot boat, plus storage, it could easily be over 3K. If you do some basic stuff yourself you can save some cash. Most marinas here will have a check list of items you want the marina to do for that very reason. They don't know if your doing it yourself or not on the basic stuff. The marina you are at might not know you or your personal level of knowledge when it comes to servicing your boat so they only did what you authorized them to do. Sucks? Yes indeed. However, it's not the Marinas fault. What's done is done. Hopefully you will be fine in a couple of weeks when you splash. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you. Keep us updated. Brian

 

[JVM225]

JV, I agree but the incremental cost to include the freshwater system, head and A/C wouldn't have been much more. I have a feeling that it probably was done. If they shrinkwrap it and didn't leave doors, how was he supposed to get in and do it anyway?

Of that $3,900 how much was the bottom paint? Just curious. Mine is painted, but on a trailer. I know at some point I'll either have it taken off or re-apply it myself! Thanks!!

I can't find an old itemized bill right now, but I think the bottom paint was about $9 a foot.
If you're in a boatyard or marina around here you have to let them do it. If you are on your own property you can do it yourself. I think there are guys out there that advertise that they will paint your bottom for about $6 a foot on your property if you supply the paint.
I'd rather just do it myself.
I hate to paint in general, but painting the bottom is pretty easy and I don't mind doing it myself. Especially if someone is around to keep me company. I do the bottom on my Uncle's 22' boat in about an hour and a half taking my time. I can probably do mine in about 2 hours without killing myself. The most time consuming part is masking off and trimming out the top lines. Once that's done the roller goes quick. I usually use a real cheap or old brush for the trim, a disposable roller cover, a cheap plastic tray liner, and just throw it all away when I'm done. It cuts out a lot of the clean up time.
The trick is to do a good job with the power washer when the boat comes out of the water, so when it comes time to paint it goes quick and easy.