winterizing in NC....

CliffA

CliffA

Well-Known Member
Dec 29, 2009
4,712
Lake Norman, NC
Boat Info
2001 Sea Ray 340DA
Name: 'Happy Place'
4.5kW West. Generator
Purchased Nov. 2014
Fresh Water Use
Engines
Twin Merc. 6.2L (MPI)
640 hp (Total)
Raw Water Cooled
V-Drive Transmissions
i hope to soon take ownership of a 2001 SR Sundancer with twin 6.2 MPI engines (raw water cooled) and Westerbeke genny. This is my first larger cruiser so I have no clue what needs to be done to winterize a boat like this. It will be in the water (fresh water inland lake) near Charlotte, NC. The boat has an' Extreme' bilge heater installed. Will activating the bilge heater be enough to get me through this upcoming cold snap form the 'artic vortex'? The prediction is for 2 or 3 nights to get down into the 20's and highs will be in the 40's to 50's. i plan to read up on how to properly winterize the various systems and engines but i am afraid i do not have time before this cold snap hits. Technically we don't own the boat yet but the way the timing CAN work out we would be taking ownership about the same time the cold temps hit. I don't want to rely on the current owner to winterize the boat.

will the bilge heater be enough for now or do i need to do something else for the immediate future?

just a little paranoid. i don't want to ruin two engines or other systems on our soon to be 'new' boat.

thanks.
cliff
 
Cliff,
You will be fine with the Xtreme bilge heater. The lake water temp is 64 today. Even when temps got into the single digits for a few nights last year the water temp never got lower than the mid 40s.

I just checked the NWS 7 day weather forecast. I don't see any temps lower than 30 which is Friday night than a warmup over the weekend.
 
Leave the heater on in the cabin. Open the doors under the cabinet, put something in the door to the head to keep it open.

If you have a transom shower, turn it on after cutting the water off, let the water drain back in the lines.
 
Nice looking boat. Congratulations in advance!
 
Cliff, You'll be fine with the bilge heater. If you're going to winterize all I did was the hvac, potable water and waste systems. Used a bilge heater and a ceramic heater on low in the cabin. I had snap on covers made for the vents to engine room to keep out the cold air.
 
thanks for the replies.....i feel better about things now.....

i have a LOT to learn about operating and maintaining larger boats.....but i am looking forward to it..:smt100...

cliff
 
Pretty much what has already been said, you will be fine with the Extreme Bilge heater as long as it is working properly. If it gets down in to the teens it is good practice to also block off the bilge vents on the outside. I normally use a hand towel. This is obviously the largest source of cold air in to your bilge and will work against your heater. Along with the transom shower that was already mentioned also make sure your cockpit sink lines are drained down. Normally after using the boat, I turn off the water pump then open the Galley sink. While leaving that open, I turn on the cockpit sink and transom shower. This lets the water drain down to at least below deck. This is all assuming you have a camper canvas on the boat.

I have never "winterized" my boat in 5 years. I use it all winter long.
 
CliffA said:
i have a LOT to learn about operating and maintaining larger boats
Click to expand...

Big boat, yes, but the systems are all the same (relatively speaking) from one boat to another. Just take it one system at at time and it'll make perfect sense. Spend some time in the bilge and familiarize yourself with the layout and where things are. If you can remove and install your own gas tank with no worries, you can handle simple fresh water supply line.
 
thanks for the suggestions. I have winterized my 215EC each year since 2009 so i am familiar with the process as far as engines/exhaust and fresh water systems are concerned. what i need to learn is protecting the other systems such as HVAC, hot water heater, toilet system, and generator. For my 215EC i just drain the water from the engines and exhaust and fresh water system and blow the water lines out with low pressure/high volume air from a wet/dry vac. i have never left a boat in the water over a winter so i am not familiar with how the warmer water temp affects the temp in the engine room. it sounds like the warmer water will transfer some of its heat through the hull and prop shafts into the engine bay and engines. We do intend to use the boat all year when feasible so it would be nice to do the minimum amount of winterizing while insuring adequate protection.

how do I test the 'Extreme' bilge heater to be sure it is working?

cliff
 
Lazy Daze said:
Never thought about that before. Put it in your freezer at home?
Click to expand...

did a little google searching....here is what i came up with for testing the bilge heater....now to figure out where to buy 'freeze spray'....

FREEZE SPRAY TEST:
• To adequately test the unit when ambient air temperature is above 45° F, you must simulate an ambient air temperature below 45° F.
• With the heater unit properly hard wired into a 120 Volt power source, locate the 1/2” diameter hole marked “Test Here, Use Freeze Spray ONLY” on the end of the unit.
• Using a can of Freeze spray, insert the straw into the nozzle of the can and spray a 2-3 second burst of mist into the “Test” hole. This will trick the thermostat into turning the heater “ON”.
• The Boatsafe® heater is not designed to deliver a blast of heat like you would get from turning on a hair dryer. The heat output is gentle, steady and warming to slowly raise the ambient temperature in the engine compartment. Therefore, the heating element must be on for at least 10 minutes to reach normal operating temperature. Otherwise, you may not feel warm air blowing from the heater vents.
• To keep the heater in the “ON” mode for the required period of time, you need to continually trick the thermostat. Within 30 seconds to 3 minutes after you have activated the heater using Freeze spray, you should hear a faint “click” indicating that the thermostat has turned the heater “OFF”.
• Spray another 2-3 second burst of Freeze spray into the “TEST” hole to trick the thermostat into turning the element back “ON”.
• Repeat this procedure until the element has been operating for about 10 minutes at which time you should feel warm air blowing from the heater vents.
• Once testing is completed, the ambient temperature of your test environment will resume control of the thermostat and turn your heater “OFF”. The fan will continue to run for an additional 10 minutes.
 
jason78 said:
Let me know if you find somewhere that sells "freeze spray"
Click to expand...

My bilge heater came with some. There used to be freeze spray used by athletic trainers to help stop swelling. This was many years ago though.

Cliff, Drain water heater and bypass the potable water inlet and outlet. This can be done by attaching them together or there is a kit. Drain potable water and add pink run I through all faucets until it comes out pink. AC I just blew and sucked the lines clear from strainer to exit. Waste system I pumped out and cleaned added pink to the tank and toilets. This worked for me on the lake with 2 boats. And at the same time.

Luckily it stays warm on Norman and if it does get cold it has yet to be for a prolonged time.
 
You can buy freeze spray from Xtreme or just get a can of compressed air and hold it upside when spraying. I have never done the multistep test outlined above. A shot of compressed air on the test sensor and the heater comes and blows warm within 30 seconds.
 
Ummm... you're probably referring to testing it when it's on the boat, aren't you? I was thinking that you meant when you first received it in the mail. I guess I'm a little slow.
 
I am facing the same weather, I winterized the water system, a/c and generator. I have a bilge heater turned on. You should be fine.
 
Compressed air from Office Max held upside down and blown at the back sensor.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Forum statistics

Threads
113,247
Messages
1,429,256
Members
61,127
Latest member
Ants84245srv
Back
Top