Well in all seasons pay attention to your
storage, on a boat that's very limited and you'll find like I did that it gets used up very quickly.
In the winter you are going to want some form of dry heat, with the boat all closed up to keep the warm in,
condensation will develop on the
hull, overhead anywhere that is cooler than the rest of the boat. I've tried 3 different
heating methods,
electric space heaters (worked ok most of the time unless it was really cold or breezy)
propane, via a
Dickinson Newport heater (way better than
electric but I found I was using very large amounts of propane) and my
current heat source, also a
Dickinson Newport, but in
diesel (throws the most heat of the bunch, uses much less fuel than the
propane, and seems to keep the boat much drier, however it can take a long time to stabilize, especially if I haven't been on board for a while and everything has gotten cold, it seems to turn itself up very slowly for about an hour and a half, but I think that's from the fuel in the day tank
heating up and getting thinner)
Water in the winter can be a problem as most if not all marina in your area will probably have shut the
dock water off for the season. I have yet to come up with a 100% solution to this. I have been getting mine from a fill your own bottle place for 25¢gal. But it is a pain to lug back to the boat every few days and the containers spend most of their time as clutter. I've thought about a water maker but have reservations about using harbour water.
I'm assuming that, being a Chris she is
power boat, if you are not already I would recommend getting acquainted with some basic mechanics and become familiar with your engines (again an assumption that she's twin screw)
If you haven't I also strongly recommend a basic
boating course, the United States Power Squadrons, BoatUS, and the USCGA all have offerings, besides the ones mentioned above.
When you get the opportunity take her out, it's more fun than sitting at the pier and your engines will thank you.
And remember the biggest difference between living in a house and living on a boat is, in a house if your roof
leaks your floor gets wet, on a boat if your floor
leaks your roof gets wet!
Ok so I droned on enough for now. If anyone wants me I'll be over in the corner with my
beer...
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