Winter in Port Townsend

[dmksails]

I have a 31-ft full keel boat (Tashiba-31) with a Yanmar 3GM30F engine. I will be living aboard over the winter, this being the first time I've done that. I already run the engine weekly - either by taking her out or at the dock. Is there anything else I should do to make sure nothing gets damaged by freezing weather?

BTW - I have a propane heater on board so that will keep me warm if power goes out.

[IdoraKeeper]

Yep, watch your step coming up the dock when the morning is frosty. Likewise when ambling back from the brewery.:-)

[rbk]

Get a small electric space heater and dri z airs to keep the condensation down and air moving.. Keep anything and everything possible off the hull especially below the water line. If the temperature dips really low close your seacocks and drain them if possible but shouldn’t be a problem in the water with heat going. Don’t think you’re saving yourself anything by turning the heat off during the day while you’re gone, good to turn it down max 5 degrees (C) but outside that you’ll spend more getting the mass back up to temp. Don’t block all your dorades, if you have 4 keep 2 open, the heat you’ll lose will be worth the reduction in moisture. No backed carpets on the cabin sole. They will ruin your floor by trapping moisture in the panels and cause them to swell.. Open closed compartments as much as possible and even leave both ends open to allow for air circulation. When gone for a while turn cushions up and pull bedding away from sides to eliminate cold spots or they will get moist then mold. Seal books, paper, crackers cereal and anything that absorbs moisture. If you’re running shore power run incandescent bulbs where possible and burn the oil lamps for dry heat.
Air circulation, air circulation, air circulation.

[rbk]

And go buy some Canvak or similar and when your canvas is dry give it a good coating. It’ll help repel water and reduce algae and moss from taking over.

[newhaul]

Originally Posted by dmksails

I have a 31-ft full keel boat (Tashiba-31) with a Yanmar 3GM30F engine. I will be living aboard over the winter, this being the first time I've done that. I already run the engine weekly - either by taking her out or at the dock. Is there anything else I should do to make sure nothing gets damaged by freezing weather?

BTW - I have a propane heater on board so that will keep me warm if power goes out.

Your in Port Townsend go sailing occasionally it don't get that cold here if you are living aboard to cause any freezing issues .

[Lepke]

You need to vent your boat. All the moisture from breathing, cooking and showering stays in the boat and can make everything wet. The best heat is a heater that burns a fuel that is vented outside. While running it draws in dryer air (even if raining, the air is dryer) and combustion is using moist inside air. A byproduct of propane burning is moisture so an unvented propane heater adds to the wet problem.
Your clothes will be damp, cheap zippers and snaps will rust. You'll smell different to non boaters.
The engine is the least of your problems.
I have wintered in that area and colder. I've never had a freeze problem when living aboard. The coldest the bilge areas got (where most of my plumbing is) was 34°F in zero weather.

[Cheechako]

Yes to having air circulate thru the boat. Also, try to make your mattress so it can breath a bit underneath. Ours, living aboard in Seattle, would get soaked, lift it up and the plywood under had standing water. Some Dri Dek squares cut to fit or similar plasti/vinyl grating ideas help a lot under there for air space.
An electric space heater works decent if you dont have forced air diesel heat. Be aware that you will "burn up" a 30 amp cord about once a year with one though. I dont mean a physical fire, It will just fail on the end fitting. But that's just the cost of winter aboard. Any heat will rise to the cabin top, your feet will be cold and your ears hot!

[TrentePieds]

Venting is everything. As long as your cabin temperature is at or below the ambient temperature outside the hull - i.e. as long as your venting is adequate - you will get no condensation. Condensation is the real problem, not low temperatures. Put more clothes on if you are cold! Use a mountaineers sleeping bag in your rack.

An ad hoc propane heater in the cabin is an invitation to the skeletal man with the scythe. Carbon monoxide poisoning is insidious, deadly and swift! If, contrary to common sense, you want the cabin temperature to be higher than ambient temperature, and thereby generate plenty of destructive condensation, then use an electric heater. A thirty-buck, 1,500W heater from HomeDepot will be more than adequate.

At Port Townsend the water temperature a few inches below the surface will remain at something like 42ºF all through the winter, and, in consequence, that will be the temperature in your bilge, including that of any tanks installed there. Your potable water tank will therefore not freeze, but if you have doubts, give it a dose of non-toxic antifreeze sold for "mobile homes" - again, get it from HomeDepot. I don't drink the stuff, although it is said to be non-toxic, so if you have used it to save your tank, then do as I do - flush the tank before you use it to supply potable water.

Many marinas in the Salish Sea will turn off the water to the spigots on the pontoons if the air temperature drops below freezing. So make sure you always have enuff in your tank to see you through a week or so. Rarely will freezing air temperatures last more than a week. Worst case scenario is 5 gallon jugs of water from the super market.

Your engine cooling system will have - or should have - antifreeze in the FW side. That takes care of that. If by any chance temperatures drop to arctic winter levels, then close your sea-cocks, disconnect and drain any hoses that may contain seawater, and go to a motel for the few days the condition will last. If it gets that cold, you won't want to be in the boat anyway :-)!

It's not the cold that will get to you. It's the rain. Learn to live contentedly in permanently wet clothing. In a small boat there are ZERO ways to dry wet clothes! If it gets to be too much, and the marina has laundry facilities, then chuck your clouts in the dryer. That will get them dry long enuff for you to walk back to the boat. Then they will be wet again :-)!

All the best

TP

[UNCIVILIZED]

There's some great informaton on wintering aboard in cool, damp climates in wrwakefield's excellent blog. Especially on moisture management. Plus there's some really funny s**t in there too
Denali Rose: Dehumidifier
Denali Rose: Search results for froli

Having good insulation in the boat, with few heat leaks is a huge help too. One way to check your boat for deficencies in these areas is to borrow a FLIR unit, as are used for evaluating the insulation in homes, & for finding heat hemoraghes. Which, the best time to do this would be to pick a cold, wet, & windy day. That way the chinks in your boat's thermal armor will be that much more visible.

A couple of things which I did to help boost winter comfort was to add a cedar lining to my closet, in it's back side (against the hull). Along with putting in a pair of Nico solar mushroom vents. The type with built in batteries so that they run 24/7 even in the winter.
As soon as I put in the 1st one, the boat felt 10 deg. warmer, due primarily to how much dampness it pulled out of her. Which prompted me to add the 2nd one, along with a pair of inexpensive cowl vents.

Note that when I added all of these ventillators, I purposefully skipped using Dorade Boxes, as I wanted to maximize the airflow through them. And given that I was living onboard in a marina, I didn't much miss having the Dorade Boxes. I just put in the plastic sealing blanks for the vents whenever I went out sailing.

[patrick brooks]

what a great place to stay PT . pacific NW is a wet one . I put on board fall thru spring a ac dehumidifier it has a collection bottle or a hose tooverflow. I am able to position hose to sink and water goes out the sink thru=hole. I am happy that all of my moisture issues are gone. Fair winds

[Rough Magic]

A good portable dehumidifier, the type used for homes in the south and for basements is just the ticket. It will suck the moisture out of the air, and it's by product is heat. Rig it so it emptys down a drain, and you can leave it running while away from the boat. Port Townsend is a great town.

[Cheechako]

Re-emphasizing that you must be very careful with propane heat, it seems most boat explosions in the PNW in marinas are propane devices left unattended. Never leave the propane heater on when gone or sleeping. Properly managed should be fine.

[Dougtiff]

Having lived aboard in P.T. for 18 year's after graduating from the Wooden boat building school on a wooden sail boat, i found Propane was the worst heat source, as it generates moisture, if your plugged in, electric is best, if not, diesel is the way to go, it's dry, i did a test, comparing the cost of diesel to electric and it was pretty much a push, this was back in the 80'S.

[Captain Puget]

If you are in a slip with power, get peltier dehumidifier (low power & no compressor noise). Just a get a small household unit with tank bypass and run the hose does a drain. Will keep everything nice and dry and some units circulate air too. Mine was ~ $80 on Amazon with a 2 yr warranty.

[GordMay]

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