please dont kill me...

S

scootdogg

New Member
Nov 10, 2010
186
Lake Norman, NC
Boat Info
2002 Sundancer 280
Engines
Twin 4.3 MPI w/ Alpha I Drives
This year i am thinking about not winterizing the plumbing, generator.. etc. i would love to be able to just leave the heat on in the cabin and the bilge heater of course and use the boat year round. other than the power going out is there anything i should be concerned with.
 
Assuming that the boat will be in the water, I would be concerned about freezing water in the drives and around the intake for the AC. The cabin heater might not be effective in keeping the cabin warm enough if it is a reverse cycle air conditioner.
 
i leave the boat in the water year round. i think if i knew it was going to be -29 i would make some serious arrangements quick. i am curious what people that live aboard do? obviously they have the luxury of being there everyday... but still they have to make it through somehow. i am not really concerned with the water freezing at the boat. last year i used the boat during the winter and would love to be able to do it this year.. but with the ability to run the heat and take a shower!!!!
 
Cabin heat on 55 when not using and bildge heater. Here in Ga. thats enough. Now if the power ever went out for an extended time you might have to run the genny some, but that has never been an issue.
 
I'm leaving mine in this year (both if one doesn't sell). Bilge heater and ceramic heater for the cabin. I will winterize the water, waste and hvac. Probably after the Xmas boat parade.
 
I left my boat in the water in newport RI for a number of years - I winterized the mains and a/c - I capped off the cockpit sink and transom shower - I left the HW heater on at all times - we did not have dockside water - we used the tank and ran hoses underwater to fill from an onshore location. I used a bilge heater and a caframo heater for the cabin - I left it on the antifreeze setting when I was not there. I chose to winterize the a/c/heat because it is not effective with water temps below 40 and approching those temps it really puts an extra load on the compressor - even with brief power outages, I never had a problem with the water or waste system freezing - If you do use a bilge heater, make sure to seal the vents. My boat (with outdrives) was converted to seacoks/strainers so I never had the danger of seawater freezing an rupturing a hose in extreme conditions.

We loved visiting the boat in the winter - we were there nearly every weekend
 
The low temp record in Charlotte is -5 degrees F which occurred three times in the past 130 years. Lake Norman doesn't freeze in the winter. I leave my boat in the water year round with a bilge heater, reverse cycle heater running and a ceramic heater in the cabin. I also have a ceramic heater in the cockpit with the camper top up. The boat stays toasty even when the temps get down into single digits.
 
You'll be fine, don't listen to all them Yankees up north! :smt043I would put up the camper shell and all that heat that gets in there during the day will help too. I never winterize mine and I keep it on the trailer most of the time. I just plug up the shore power which runs the bilge heater. I do drain the block after each use. In this area the only time you need to check on things is if the temperature does not get over freezing for a couple of days. I am about 60 miles south of you and rarely (if ever) does the temperature never get above freezing during the day. I boat all winter, come by my house at Christmas you'll probably see my boat at the dock and we always take a trip to the coast in January.
 
Dumb question? Do you have a swim-platform area sprayer/shower??? Will the bilge heater keep it warm enough from freezing?
 
I have yet to winterize my boat during the winter. With the camper top on, I leave bilge heater on, turn down main heat and leave ceramic heaters in cockpit and cabin.

To protect the transom sprayer and cockpit sink, I turn on the galley faucet with the pump off and open both above deck faucets to let the water level inthe lines drain down below the deck line. I do this each time I leave the boat during the winter.
 
If I were you.... I would blow out my fresh water and AC with a compressor... That costs nothing... and the fresh water lines are first to freeze... Plus, you won't need use a cabin heater, and you can still use your boat year round... I would winter the genny too since you won't need it...
 
I would just empty the fresh water system. Like knecht, use a compressor to blow air through the lines. Drain the hot water heater and then let air blow through it too. Then leave all the faucets wide open. Put some anti-freeze in the head. Then, monitor the weather conditions. With today's weather reporting, you have a few days to know if a severe storm is coming. If it looks like a condition that could cause a power outage, then winterize your engines. Else, enjoy the ability to grab a quick boat ride in when the warm spurts come through.
 
jason78 said:
I have yet to winterize my boat during the winter. With the camper top on, I leave bilge heater on, turn down main heat and leave ceramic heaters in cockpit and cabin.

To protect the transom sprayer and cockpit sink, I turn on the galley faucet with the pump off and open both above deck faucets to let the water level inthe lines drain down below the
deck line. I do this each time I leave the boat during the winter.
Click to expand...

Exactly. Leave the door to the head open and the doors under the sinks in the cabin and cockpit for air circulation.
 
With mid 20's this past weekend The bilge never got below 55* with the bilge heater, 49* in the cockpit with a small ceramic heater on low. And of course 68* the cabin where I was sleeping. Water temp is 55*.I use a Radio Shack thermometer with remote sending units that record highest and lowest temps.
 
sdarc said:
With mid 20's this past weekend The bilge never got below 55* with the bilge heater, 49* in the cockpit with a small ceramic heater on low. And of course 68* the cabin where I was sleeping. Water temp is 55*.I use a Radio Shack thermometer with remote sending units that record highest and lowest temps.
Click to expand...

Nice Steve, I'm sure that helps. I always wondered what the temps did.
 
These big swings in temps can play havoc with boats. Dockmate's windshield exploded Sat. morning from the cold temps. Guessing there must have been a small crack and when the sun warmed up the cockpit through the enclosre and the still sub-freezing outside temps. Boom!!! It was not that way Fri. night when I checked the boats nor at 8:15 when I checked before going to the head.
 
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