Staying in the water during winter

[Havana Shamrock]

Dean my first time staying in ,so I'm installing wolverine block heaters, and a bilge heater. Other than that everything else is the same. My neighbor did give me a bit of advice, he told me to block off the exhaust ports to keep moisture out The way he has done it was to inflate a ball inside the exhaust ports. (Beach balls work great ) he says. Since the boat will be shrinkwrapped and I won't see the outside weather on the cameras I'm installing one temporarily on the dock to monitor the boat during storms. And one engineroom camera will point to a thermometer so I can see the ER temps.(case I get bored ) over the hibernation.

 

[tdgard]

Fyi, my buddy keeps his boat in the water also "ready to use", however someone unplugged his boat at the marina and at this point froze his oil cooler and has water in his trani.

Be careful and vigilant.

I know this is an old thread but it popped up and I have to reply to this. Where on earth do some of you keep your boats? Someone unplugged it? Boggles my mind.

 

[Irie308]

Dean my first time staying in ,so I'm installing wolverine block heaters, and a bilge heater. Other than that everything else is the same. My neighbor did give me a bit of advice, he told me to block off the exhaust ports to keep moisture out The way he has done it was to inflate a ball inside the exhaust ports. (Beach balls work great ) he says. Since the boat will be shrinkwrapped and I won't see the outside weather on the cameras I'm installing one temporarily on the dock to monitor the boat during storms. And one engineroom camera will point to a thermometer so I can see the ER temps.(case I get bored ) over the hibernation.

Are the 2 different heaters for added security should 1 fail?

 

[Havana Shamrock]

Dean, I was thinking of running the block heaters for the motors and run the bilge heater to dry the air. I was thinking of using timers any thoughts?

 

[mjmason1]

We live on our boat year round, so it stays in the water. We do a short haul to do the bottom and zincs. We keep the bilges heated, and shrink wrap. There are about 15 boats with us for the winter here in Newport, RI. We don't seem to be bothered by corrosion.

 

[Irie308]

Dean, I was thinking of running the block heaters for the motors and run the bilge heater to dry the air. I was thinking of using timers any thoughts?

I'm just going with a bilge heater with a minimum temperature setting.

 

[Dancin Dave]

Dean my first time staying in ,so I'm installing wolverine block heaters, and a bilge heater. Other than that everything else is the same. My neighbor did give me a bit of advice, he told me to block off the exhaust ports to keep moisture out The way he has done it was to inflate a ball inside the exhaust ports. (Beach balls work great ) he says. Since the boat will be shrinkwrapped and I won't see the outside weather on the cameras I'm installing one temporarily on the dock to monitor the boat during storms. And one engineroom camera will point to a thermometer so I can see the ER temps.(case I get bored ) over the hibernation.

Joe, do you have block heaters or oil pan heating pads?

There is a difference, my block heaters (2 per engine) are installed into the block and immersed in the coolant. It takes up to 12 hours to bring the engine up to temp and to maintain in cold weather I imagine they are on most of the time. That being said I don't know the performance of the stick on pads but I can't imagine a timer being effective considering this. So, you may need them on 24/7.

 

[Quint4]

Mine stays in. I winterize engines, genny, and all other systems and also run a Boatsafe bilge heater. We have ice eaters on the docks so there is no ice around boats.

 

[Havana Shamrock]

Dave, i meant to say oil pan heaters.
Your prob right in saying they may need to be on most of the time. Ill have to try them and see.



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[Gary B]

I think we kept our boat in the same Marina in Huntington as you a few years ago. We are in Greenport now.
At that time, the Huntington Marina metered the electric at a pretty high rate above what the power company charged. Friends who left their boats in over the winter received bills for the electric used in the boat for heaters inside the bilge as well as for running the ice eaters on the dock. I recall a friend complaining of how expensive it was for the electric and it ate up a good chunk of the cost savings associated with staying in. We always hauled out when there for the winter so I can't provide exact numbers. Hope this helps

 

[Havana Shamrock]

Gary, they told us they don't haul anything over 45' whether that's true or not I'm not sure they also said e ice eaters are theirs so it shouldn't be plugged into my meter. I had the opertunity to move to the town dock with free elec but the marina included a free haul in the spring for me to do my bottom and anodes. That alone is a good savings. As I said this is our first go around in the water.

 

[Jack380AC]

We live on our boat year round, so it stays in the water. We do a short haul to do the bottom and zincs. We keep the bilges heated, and shrink wrap. There are about 15 boats with us for the winter here in Newport, RI. We don't seem to be bothered by corrosion.

I can really use your advice. I'm planning to live aboard this winter in Baltimore. Never done that before. I suspect I should winterize the engines but what about the AC and fresh water systems? What's the best strategy for cabin heat? Should I get a bilge heater and which one? Etc.

 

[northern]

Jack
Your boat is similar to mine. I used to keep it in the water in the winter on Vancouver island. Temperature would go to -10c for a few days. I did nothing to it other than open the taps. I did have the ice maker filter freeze and break once. I used to go to the boat in the winter for a week and work on it. I used two 1500 watt electric heaters to keep warm I had canvas overs for the windows and keeping them on helped keep the boat warm. The marina used to turn off the water to the docks in the winter. That will probably happen where you are.
If you are living on your boat and it gets too cold for the engines and you feel they will freeze you can run them. They stay warm for hours.
To stay warm at night get an electric mattress pad heater. We use ours and it keeps you warm. There were probably 5 live a boards and non winterized any components in their boats. We used to get 1/4" of ice freeze over the marina some times. Boat was in salt water.

 

[JimT]

I would winterize the engines and the HVAC. The heat pump won't throw any heat when the water temp goes below 40 degrees. I assume in Baltimore the water temps in winter will get below 40 degrees. If you winterize both systems you won't need a bilge heater. Also winterize the fresh water lines. Your marina will turn off the water when the temps get cold. Electric space heaters are your best option for heat. Make sure they automatically turn off if tipped over.

 

[Jack380AC]

I would winterize the engines and the HVAC. The heat pump won't throw any heat when the water temp goes below 40 degrees. I assume in Baltimore the water temps in winter will get below 40 degrees. If you winterize both systems you won't need a bilge heater. Also winterize the fresh water lines. Your marina will turn off the water when the temps get cold. Electric space heaters are your best option for heat. Make sure they automatically turn off if tipped over.

Thanks. It would be nice to be able to leave the fresh water working but I guess that is risky. Was wondering if I had space heaters in bilge and cabin it could work. Might run a lot of electricity ($) though as these things are not built to held in the heat.

 

[Jack380AC]

So far, here is the plan...

HVAC has been winterized
Engines will be winterized.
Will install a bilge heater and a cabin heater. Thanks for all the advice on these.

Will try to keep the fresh water system going for convenience as the marina maintains a fresh water line near the slip to refill the tank. I am hoping the inside hull temperature stays above freezing with the help of the 2 heaters. Also hoping it does not cost a fortune in electricity.

Will shrink wrap if not too expensive. Perhaps just the bridge enclosure to protect the canvas. Seeking advice here especially if OK to shrink wrap over the enclosure rather than take it down. :smt100

Also seeking advice on a remote inside the hull temperature monitoring device. I'd love to be able to know if the inside temp is getting low while away from the boat. :smt100

 

[Havana Shamrock]

Although this being my first time staying in all winter I asked anyone and everyone questions at the dock. I winterized all systems(I'm not staying on the boat) I shrinkwrapped down to the rubrail ( everyone said DONT just do the bridge to save $$) water collects in places then freezes, and expands the caulking and you will eventually end up with leaks so I did the entire boat I agree it wasn't cheap as they have to wrap it while in the water but my boat tested as the driest Sea ray the surveyor could remember and I want to keep it that way. To monitor the ER temp I turned one of the cameras to a thermometer I stuck in there that I can view over wifi anywhere . Maybe you could invest in an inexpensive wifi camera without the whole package . I do have a heater in the ER on stand by. I hope this helps.

 

[jthatcher]

Look at the AcuRite system. It is cheap and works like a champ for monitoring temperature.


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[mjmason1]

So far, here is the plan...

HVAC has been winterized
Engines will be winterized.
Will install a bilge heater and a cabin heater. Thanks for all the advice on these.

Will try to keep the fresh water system going for convenience as the marina maintains a fresh water line near the slip to refill the tank. I am hoping the inside hull temperature stays above freezing with the help of the 2 heaters. Also hoping it does not cost a fortune in electricity.

Will shrink wrap if not too expensive. Perhaps just the bridge enclosure to protect the canvas. Seeking advice here especially if OK to shrink wrap over the enclosure rather than take it down. :smt100

Also seeking advice on a remote inside the hull temperature monitoring device. I'd love to be able to know if the inside temp is getting low while away from the boat. :smt100

If you plan on living on board, I would keep the water system live. We have a fresh water head, plus we cook and eat on board. The marina keeps a water line underwater at my stern. We also get regular pump outs.

Our electricity isn't metered so we run as many electric heaters as we want.

As for the canvas, I take mine down and shrink wrap over the frame. I would be very nervous shrink wrapping over the canvas. Putting the torch near my canvas worries me. I also have shrink wrap windows for the nice days. I wrap to the rub rail. I use clear wrap. On nice days we can sit in the bridge in short sleeves.

 

[h_gerry]

If you plan on living on board, I would keep the water system live. We have a fresh water head, plus we cook and eat on board. The marina keeps a water line underwater at my stern. We also get regular pump outs.

Our electricity isn't metered so we run as many electric heaters as we want.

As for the canvas, I take mine down and shrink wrap over the frame. I would be very nervous shrink wrapping over the canvas. Putting the torch near my canvas worries me. I also have shrink wrap windows for the nice days. I wrap to the rub rail. I use clear wrap. On nice days we can sit in the bridge in short sleeves.

l love the door!!