The end on the saeson

[irwinsailor]

Today will be the end of the boating season for us. I will be shutting down the systems and winterizing the engine and genset. What a sad day it will be. But at 15 degrees for the past week there is no other choice.

Sounds like bikini weather is over
So what are the steps you will take to put the boat away, and will it be in or out of the water?

[irwinsailor]

This will be our second year in a row that we left the boat in the water. I will drain the water tanks and blow out the lines. I will turn on the AC units and fill them with RV antifreeze. Change the oil in the genset and engine then run RV antifreeze into both. Walk away, but check the boat 3 or more times a week.

What about the fuel system? In your area, I believe it drops below 17 degrees. Diesel gels at that temp.

[irwinsailor]

I have never done anything to the fuel, however when the boat is in the water over the winter the water stays above 17 degree.t when I hualed the boat a couple of years ago I did nothing to the fuel and everything worked fine in the spring.

HMMMMM.
So what steps do you take to recommision in the spring?

[jemsea]

Here is the checklist from our boat... It is a little long but it may be helpful to remind you what to check

17. Winterize Lists
Winterize List
Ø Antifreeze required – 9 gal
3 Anti corrosion:
2 gal – Engine Raw water
1 gal – Engine Fresh water
8 Propylene Glycol:
1 gal – Watermaker
2 gal – Head
1 gal head/shower drain
1 gal – Galley drain
2 gal – Main bilge
½ gal – Anchor bilge
½ gal – Engine bilge
Ø General
o Close windows, open vents
Ø Engine
Change lube oil & filter (warm)
Change transmission oil
Change fuel filter & Racor filter
Change fresh cooling antifreeze
Close input thru-hull cock
Run engine while pouring 2 gal antifreeze into filter in e/room
Turn over for 10 seconds with stop button pressed to coat inside engine with new oil
Ø Outboard
Grease spindles
Add gas stabalizer to tank
Ø Watermaker
See KL-Syst.doc Watermaker Pickling sequence
Ø Dock Lines: double all
Ø Cover
Chafe points: boom, windscreen
Tarp = 15 x 25 ft
Tie to lower life line P&S
Ø Water
Drain all tanks (65 gal, bladder, hot water)
Fit air compressor pump (under 40lbs) to input of water pressure pump (to blow water out of pump)
Close all faucets, open drain thru-hulls
With air on open each faucet (drain hot water tank & immediately close), galley x 2, head x 2, shower,) and have all water blown thru.
Fore and aft deck washes
Open all faucets, close thru-hulls
Remove Aquafilter filters
Remove all water filters (inlc. pressure water, watermaker raw water, watermaker mixer, foot pump)
Remove all water strainers (incl. pressure water, head intake & shower drain)
Ø Head
Empty holding tank
Run macerator/pump till dry (2-3 short bursts)
Fill bowl with Propylene Glycol antifreeze and flush through (1 second/foot)
To out of hull
Divert to holding tank, 1 gallon to holding tank
Hand pump antifreeze from holding tank
Close thru-hulls
Fill shower and head drain with antifreeze
Remove all 3 liquid soap dispensers pumps and plave in basins
Ø Shower/head drain
o Remove strainer cover
o Bleed antifreeze through from both head and shower.
o Replace strainer cover
o Pump antifreese through pump to sink drain
Ø Galley drain
Pour in ½ gallon anti-freeze
Ø Bilges
Pour in antifreeze, cycle pump to move through to sea:
Main bilge
Engine bilge
Anchor bige
Ø Thru-hulls
Close all
Ø Diesel
Top off all tanks (use WaterZorb)
De-Commission/Store
Ø Plumbing
Thru-hulls
Propane bottles
Ø Electrical
Power drains
Solar panels?
Re-commission List
Ø Plumbing
Thru-hulls
Ø Mechanical
Pull back on shaft log seal bellows to lubricate
Set of insect bombs
Ø Engine
Open input thru-hull cock
Turn over for 5 seconds with stop button pressed to coat parts with oil
Ø Water
Re-connect hot water tank drain
Re-connect main water tank line at pump
Re-install Aquafilters
Re-install all water filters
Re-install water strainer fror pressure water
Ø Holding Tank
Fill and empty twice (to remove all anti-freeze, which kills active bacteria in KO) then treat with 4oz of KO.


John

[BC Mike]

When parking the boat for the winter I drain the water out of the engine. And I put on a winter cover. The cover keeps the snow off the deck. The snow on the deck helps cause condensation below. With the cover on I open a forward hatch. If I remember I pump the water tank dry but most years it just freezes along with the dunny. I drain the engine because it is raw water cooled and we sail on fresh water.
The batteries seem to last better if you ignore them. One day they may be a bit low so I charge them.
In the colder climates the diesel mix changes at the pumps. So I buy a can of fuel late in the year. Do the same sometime in the late spring to get the summer mix.
Local truckers do not fill up at the coast because they do not switch the fuel down there. The coast is Vancouver Seattle Portland area. If the puddle freezes I remove the rudder because it is mounted on the transom.
I check on the boat weekly, brush the snow off when needed.
It was minus 10 C here this morning
Michael

[Jeff H]

Mike,

You would probably do better running anti-freeze through your engine rather than draining it. Modern anti-freeze has rust inhibiters and lubricants which protect the system better than leaving moist air in the exhaust system.

Jeff

[irwinsailor]

I started using RV antifreeze for winterizing 3 years ago instead of draining the system. When I see pink coming out of the exhaust port I know that everything is covered. In the spring I just start everything up and away I go. RV antifreeze is non polluting (so they say) so I don't feel bad about the discharge into the water.

Jemsea, great list.
Michael, good point about the fuel. There are 3 grades, #1, #2, and blend. If you are not going to be runing the engine until spring, you can just leave the #2 diesel in there and it will not hurt anything. If you intend to run the engine at some point in the cold, or if you just want to be safe throw some blend in there. #1 diesel is basicly kerosene. Overkill unless you are sailing in the Arctic. If you happen to have half a tank of #2 or more, top off with #1 and you will get the same effect as blended. I agree on the antifreeze advice. And yes, several of the newer products are biodegradable. Not sure I believe non toxic, but I am not going to drink it to find out. There are some other tricks, but the newer diesels might not react well to them. I will say, run some "Power Service "through the tank in the spring just in case the injectors gummed up, but that is just my opinion.

[irwinsailor]

Well I did not shut the boat down Sunday as planed, but I did start yesterday and will finish today. It is a bigger job than I remember. It must be that new genset I bought from Never-Monday. It is a sad time of year, I hope this will be the last time I need to do it.

[GordMay]

Spring Re-Launch Checklist ~ from DIY magazine
http://www.diy-boat.com/diyweb/edit/launchchecklist.pdf