Winterizing hauled fiberglass monohull in Maryland

[vpbarkley]

This is my first winter on the hard without electrical power. Here is a list of tasks I plan to do. Are any of these steps unnecessary? What steps am I forgetting? Thank you for your input.

top up fuel tank, purge water separators, replace oil in engine and generator

flush engine and generator raw water circuits with fresh water from a bucket

drain water tanks and water heater, remove water from lines with a shop vac

vacuum bilge dry with a shop vac

flush and pump out holding tank

rely on solar panels to maintain AGM battery banks

hang mildew bags in cabin, remove cushions and bedding, open cabinets

remove sails and canvas

where possible cover running rigging for UV protection

tarp dinghy for UV protection

[GreenWave]

good list and I would do them all except maybe the oil. I'd rather change it at start of season.


Also, make sure no water is left in your toilet bowl.

[Gary Mc]

We generally get RV/Marine plumbing antifreeze and put it in any water pumps, the toilet and I the raw water side of the engine cooling system.

I do this by removing the hose from the cooling water thru hull, and inserting it in the gallon jug of anti freeze, then start the engine. When the pink comes out you should be good.

[steffan]

. Remove all food.

. Run RV antifreeze through bilge pump and add to the bilge, enough so that any ingress of water will not dilute too much. Same with shower sump if applicable.

. I remove anything with a lithium battery (e.g. EPIRB) since I have had these fail at extended very low temps. Not sure this is necessary.

. I also remove the life raft since it contains water packs. No idea if this is necessary; probably not.

[glenn.225]

Does it freeze there in winter, if so you need to drain and/or add antifreeze to anything that contains water, i.e. water tanks, plumbing, head, engine raw water side, etc.
Visit https://marinehowto.com/ , Rod has great info on winterizing boats.

Personally I always change oil right away on haul out, the engine is warm so oil flows quicker and it gets the old nasties out instead of sitting in the engine all winter.

[Shrew]

We run marine/RV antifreeze (Propylene Glycol) through the raw water cooling side of the engine, Air Conditioning, head and holding tank, and pressure water systems.

However, we get hard freezes. I'd still do it anyway if there is a chance of a hard freeze even for a short period.

[Quebramar]

Engine: release belt, remove impeller, stuff air inlet with oiled rag, spray WD40 all over on the engine
Grease seacocks and deck equipment
Spray electric/electronic contacts
Remove sheets and anything that could lie on deck
Protect halyards from chafing
Humidity absorbant pads in each cabin

[altinr]

You need to flush the engine and gen raw water circuit with pink rv antifreeze.

[Ken Pole]

Fuel stabilizer in the gas tank?

[pitlaw]

You really don’t need to keep your solar panels charging your batteries. If they are flexible and easily removed I would take them off to increase their lifespan. I disconnect my negative cables from my Lifeline AGMs and find they are still good in the spring. No charging during the winter is necessary if they are at full charge. See Maine Sail at www.marine how to.com

Also, don’t run antifreeze into your hot water heater. Drain it and vac it but use a bypass hose which will allow you to put antifreeze through your fresh water system without putting it in the heater. I connect my bypass hose on the mixing valve cold out and hot in sides. Easy to do. The website above also discusses this .

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by vpbarkley

drain water tanks and water heater, remove water from lines with a shop vac

rely on solar panels to maintain AGM battery banks

I've found it easier to use an air compressor.

Drain water tank, drain water heater, flush all the lines with compressed air. Including supply lines to freshwater toilets, icemakers, and laundry machines if you have those.

Then disconnect the freshwater pump at both ends, bump a quarter cup of potable antifreeze through the strainer, pump, and accumulator if there is one.

Flush AF through toilets to holding tank.

Remember shower sumps, too, as well as P-traps in any of the sinks; AF works well for those.

We've never had to worry about fully charged AGMs assuming... you find and disable all the various hidden loads you might have. CO detectors, stereo memory, etc...

Remember aircons, too; clean the strainers and flush with AC. Sometimes that can be easy with a simple transfer pump, although sometimes we've had to augment that with the actual onboard AC water pump (that just had to do with an imbalance in line length between multiple units). There's usually a way to add a flushing fitting to an AC seawater line near the strainer, and its also useful for occasional freshwater (or Barnacle Buster, etc.) flushes if you get too much marine growth during a summer.

-Chris

[thunderhoof]

Only one person mentioned removing halyards and other lines above deck. I suggest this plan. Use cheap line you can buy at any home supply store as messengers. I have found that if the lines are dry that you can just store them below. I hang them from the overhead grab rails. This will give you a chance to inspect and lubricate shackles and to look for any serious wear points on the lines.

[wingssail]

Originally Posted by vpbarkley

This is my first winter on the hard without electrical power. Here is a list of tasks I plan to do. Are any of these steps unnecessary? What steps am I forgetting? Thank you for your input.

top up fuel tank, purge water separators, replace oil in engine and generator

flush engine and generator raw water circuits with fresh water from a bucket

drain water tanks and water heater, remove water from lines with a shop vac

vacuum bilge dry with a shop vac

flush and pump out holding tank

rely on solar panels to maintain AGM battery banks

hang mildew bags in cabin, remove cushions and bedding, open cabinets

remove sails and canvas

where possible cover running rigging for UV protection

tarp dinghy for UV protection

I've got a different proposal:

If you're a boater/sailor, get rid of the house and all your stuff and live on your boat full time. That means going somewhere where you are not part of a glacier for six months, but have a temperate climate.

You don't need two or more weeks to put the boat away and two or more weeks to get it ready next season if you just keep using it all year 'round.

Get serious about the boat.

[LittleWing77]

Originally Posted by GreenWave

good list and I would do them all except maybe the oil. I'd rather change it at start of season.

Originally Posted by glenn.225

Personally I always change oil right away on haul out, the engine is warm so oil flows quicker and it gets the old nasties out instead of sitting in the engine all winter.

+1

Glenn's got it right.

Change the oil to remove all the accumulated crap and acidity from the lubrication system before the engine sits for 6 months (or more) on the hard.

LittleWing77