Ice in the bilge? Sad story. Or not?

[George DuBose]

When on the hard for the winter, it is always good to take the mast down and cover the whole boat. Water seeping into cracks and crevices on the deck and then freezing will cause more damage than ice in your bilge.

It is easy to make a frame from long pieces of 1 inch plastic pipe fixed athwartship from stanchion to stanchion with cable ties and then buy one or two plastic tarps to put over the frame. There are special clamps to fix a line to the tarp so one doesn't stress the grommets in the tarp. I use bungee cord to tie the tarp from side to side under the hull.

Skylark had a slow leak for several years after I got her. One winter, I saw that the whole bilge was full of ice, not just a thin layer. Luckily, my Rule bilge pump had a shutoff to keep it from burning out, it just shut down.

I took a 12 inch piece of 4 inch aluminum ventilating pipe, wrapped it with a heating element that people put in the gutters of their house. Then I led the heating element along the hose leading from the pump to the above water thruhull.

I have since fixed the leak in the keel and either cover my boat or keep her in a hall for the winter.

[LeighWebber]

If your cockpit drains get plugged up (with leaves, crud, etc.), then your cockpit acts as a giant rain catcher. From there, the water can get below via the emergency tiller opening, or around the steering pedestal mounts. On my Columbia 43, the emergency tiller opening is a large circular bronze fitting set into the cockpit sole, with a smooth-fitting round cap that drops into the fitting and sits flush with the sole. The fit is snug, but not necessarily watertight. Easy to test the cockpit possibility: just put plugs in your cockpit drains, fill the cockpit with a couple of inches of water, then have a look below. You'll see the drips.

[HappyRock616]

Obviously there is rain ingress through deck issues...

But also, sounds like this boat is new to you. Perhaps a water line inside of the boat wasn't fully winterized and cracked. You could easily get 5 gallons or more from your water tank leaking through a crack.

Also for winterizing I always take some RV antifreeze and pour some in the bilge. This keeps in stray water from building to ice or destroying my bilge pump. I typically don't get rain leaks but better safe than sorry. Similarly because I keep a little antifreeze in I put an old 12V battery in to keep the bilge pump alive while the main batteries stay in my garage on charge.

[Penna]

Temporary fixes: RV antifreeze (nontoxic) in the bilge with bilge pump on. You'd need to check it regularly and add antifreeze. If it freezes solid, you might damage the bilge pump.

[upstateny]

Originally Posted by LeighWebber

If your cockpit drains get plugged up (with leaves, crud, etc.), then your cockpit acts as a giant rain catcher. From there, the water can get below via the emergency tiller opening, or around the steering pedestal mounts.......

What LeighWebber said . This is what happened to me. Plus that year when the winter cover cracked in the spring, my stern was very low and my bow was very high. Yes leaves plugged up my cockpit drains but tht was not the problem.

What may be different this year from last year is the angle slope of your boat siting on the hard. The higher the bow the more water will sit in the low stern without reaching the cockpit drains. If the steering pedestal or emergency tiller is not supper water tight with a low stern even without leaves in the cockpit drains you will get gallons of water leaking through the cockpit into your bilge. Well at least that is what happened to me a few years ago when the winter cover cracked in the spring.

[GregD]

My standard winterizing procedure has worked well for me for many years. Mast down, remove cushions and store at home, shrink wrap the entire boat and install a door so I can get inside, completely drain and wipe down any water in the bilge, pour 1-2 gallons of 100F RV antifreeze (instead of the 50F) into the bilge as a safety measure, then open the hatches and portlights to let the boat breathe under the wrap. I can temporarily heat up the boat to allow me to do some work during the winter and a sunny day can have me in shirtsleeves in any temperature above around 30F. Do not leave a portable space heater plugged in when you are gone. In the spring the boat has no mold or odor and is clean and ready for launch. If you shrink wrap the boat I would strongly suggest cross bracing the lifeline stanchions so that the pressure of the wrap does not bend them inward or create leaks at the bases. I built mine with $100 of materials and it will last many years.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by roland stockham

Tarp sound good but shrink wrap may mean you cant get onboard the check things. I would not be happy with that.

Shrink wrap doors are available. Actually easier to get on board compared to untying frozen knots on a tarp in the middle of winter and the re-securing them when you are done.

PS: While I agree a drain plug is a good idea, when you remove it, attach it to the key ring for the boat keys (or some similar item that you would always check before launch). It's not uncommon for boats to get launched with the drain plug out...usually it's caught while still in the slings but not always.

[Ringmaster]

My big question is why were you bailing? Don't you have a manual bilge pump?

[Fundy Sailor]

A few years back, boat on the hard with the bow low, the water ran in through the chain locker and then into the bilge. Tarp wasn't on yet so got the problem sorted in time!

[Traumerei]

Is your boat bow down or bow low in the hard?
Had a similar experience years ago. The deck proved to be a wonderful collector or rain water that flowed forward because of the bow down deck angle causing the rain to flow into the chain locker and ultimately into the bilge.

[TTranscendence]

I always remove the transducer when the boat is on the hard.

[robertmfranklin]

I haven't read the whole thread. I apologize if someone had already made a similar comment like this:

With all the through hulls most of us have below the water line, I can't understand any boat on the hard lacking a drain plug for the bilge?

I think mine is 3/8, maybe 4/8. Be careful to get it in bronze not brass, although if it comes out each year which is most likely, you will have a chance to examine it before any risk occurs.

I ground the screw in tab down and using teflon tape position the plug so the remaining tab runs fore and aft. I have calculated the drag effect and the screwed in plug cuts my speed down by approximately .00000036 knots.

Just kidding, of course. Actually, I probably loose 1/1000th of a knot.

Someone ... tell me the down side of this installation?

Bob Franklin

[nonav]

Barring any faults in construction, or poor design, bedding gone bad can sure let in a lot of water.

Hope you find the culprit/s easily, and have a dry new season.

Happy New Year

[Briggers]

It seems to be a point which has been overlooked in previous replies.
When you laid her up for the winter, did you drain the fresh water tank and winterise the engine? If not, you could have a burst water pipe or tank. It’s not likely to be the engine as there is too much water.
Just something else for you to check 🥴

[Mainstreet]

Contact your yard manager immediately and have his shipwrights drill a hole in the lowest part of the bilge and install a garboard plug. Every boat that’s on the hard for any period of time should have one installed. No vessel is completely waterproof above the waterline. At the very least condensation will occur ending up in the bilge. No shrink wrap or tapping will completely resolve the issue., additionally, pour about a gallon of food grade antifreeze into the bilge. An 1/8” of ice won’t cause a problem for now.