Do You Have to Winterize ?

[ahnutts!]

Not really, winter on Vancouver Island usually consists of a lot of rain and a little snow. We'll be tarping the whole boat some time in the next few weeks to keep the moisture out. Our cruising season will start again in March or April.

[callmecrazy]

I'm hoping it'll be a warm winter
From what I understand, the water doesn't freeze here, and the air temp generally stays above freezing except for a few days, or maybe a week, at a time during cold fronts.

I'll probably winterize the motor, head, and pour some anti-freeze in the bilge, just in case. The water at the dock will be cut off, but the locals run a hose from the bathhouse to fill their tanks.

If I decide to go sailing, re-winterizing the motor is all it takes, and thats easy enough.

[limejucer]

SteveT No i was afloat and froze up.

[Astrid]

West coast of British Columbia is not too bad most of the time. It rarely gets below freezing and the precipitation is mainly rain with occasional dusting of snow. I use oil lamps quite a bit, and together with a coal heater and the ITR system, the boat stays reasonably warm inside. Water temps are about 3C in the winter, so freezing the fresh water lines is not a major concern. Keeping the deadlights to the port holes closed helps prevent heat loss.

[sailorboy1]

The real sucky thing about the winterization thing is: 4 days ago the boat was hauled out and yesterday I did the winterization, today it's sunny and 65 degrees out!

[Astrid]

Isn't that always the way of things.

[Vasco]

Originally Posted by Don Lucas

The real sucky thing about the winterization thing is: 4 days ago the boat was hauled out and yesterday I did the winterization, today it's sunny and 65 degrees out!

If you hadn't done it, it would be twenty below!

[Astrid]

Quite so. Everyone in your area should be thanking your for your winterization efforts and the spell of warm weather it brought them.

[delmarrey]

Originally Posted by Astrid

West coast of British Columbia is not too bad most of the time. It rarely gets below freezing and the precipitation is mainly rain with occasional dusting of snow. I use oil lamps quite a bit, and together with a coal heater and the ITR system, the boat stays reasonably warm inside. Water temps are about 3C in the winter, so freezing the fresh water lines is not a major concern. Keeping the deadlights to the port holes closed helps prevent heat loss.

How about last night? It was 6º C (22º F) here, just north of Seattle.

[ShaunJ]

Originally Posted by Tingum

Come on gang! Everyone knows the easiest way to winterize is to sail SOUTH!

I was waiting for that one..... wish I could

[mbianka]

Originally Posted by Tingum

Come on gang! Everyone knows the easiest way to winterize is to sail SOUTH!

Easy? There's been a few boats from some of the other posts that did not have an "easy" time of heading south i.e. Sanctuary etc... On the other hand my girlfriend always needs her mid winter vacation and is very partial to chartering a crewed Catamaran in winter. I go along to get along. Now that's easy.

[Astrid]

How about last night? It was 6º C (22º F) here, just north of Seattle.

are you quite sure you have that right? 6C is about 43F. 22F would be about -5,5C. Current temp here is 4C or about 39F.

[sailorboy1]

C just feels colder than F, just look at the numbers

[delmarrey]

Originally Posted by Astrid

are you quite sure you have that right? 6C is about 43F. 22F would be about -5,5C. Current temp here is 4C or about 39F.

Yeah! I missed putting the "-" symbol before the 6.


.

[ahnutts!]

Originally Posted by delmarrey

Yeah! I missed putting the "-" symbol before the 6.


.

Now that we're talking about how cold it is someone has to mention wind chill. Because with that light breeze outside, -6 could easily feel like -7.

I always wonder why no one mentions wind chill in the summer. It can't just go away? How come the TV weather man never says "Its a balmy 103 today but with wind chill it feels like 99."?