New Sailboat - First Time Winterizing

[hamburking]

Don't forget to top up the batteries and be sure they are fully charged. A fully charged battery supposedly won't freeze. I leave an automatic charger setup with a cord hanging over the stern. That way I can charge the batteries a couple times over the winter without having to go aboard. I found that my FLA batteries would run down slowly, even if disconnected.

Do most people completely disconnect the batteries...or just turn the switch off?

[TrentePieds]

Quote: "Am I the only one who does this?"

No you're not. When TrentePieds came to us she was set up far, far too tight for a cruising boat, so I slacked 'er off. Because we're in the water all year, and our weather rarely goes below freezing, pulling the stick is a rare occurrence.

In days of yore we usually kept the rigging just taut, and no more, except when racing, and I see no reason do to anything else in a modest little cruising boat with the stick stepped on deck.

TP

[MarkusK]

Originally Posted by hamburking

Don't forget to top up the batteries and be sure they are fully charged. A fully charged battery supposedly won't freeze. I leave an automatic charger setup with a cord hanging over the stern. That way I can charge the batteries a couple times over the winter without having to go aboard. I found that my FLA batteries would run down slowly, even if disconnected.

Do most people completely disconnect the batteries...or just turn the switch off?

I just turn the switch off but I do disconnect the stereo. Top up batteries with distilled water...check.

I also periodically check on the boat during the winter but found that my visits were too short to charge batteries so I installed two 40 watt solar panels (one/battery).