How much do you shut down when you leave the boat?

[masou]

i usualy keep the sea cocks closed when not in use , also keep my batteries tuned off , obviously lock the hatch , there are other small things , like making sure the cockpit drains are clean , and the lid to the head closed . i always leave things with the intent of there being 40knot winds or worse when im gone ( but im on a mooring )

[masou]

the one time i left the seacocks open in the head and left the boat for a week i came back to a 100 or so liters of water in the bilge because the o ring for the pump on the head had slowly leaked the whole time i was gone

[Olddan1943]

I guess I am not a very good person. The only things I shut off are the water pump and the head pump.
I leave food in the fridge because it is a 12 vt fridge and I have 2 solar panels.
All hull valves are open.
Battery charger on.
AND shame on me, I leave a 120vt lamp on in the saloon so the neighbors knows shore power is still at the boat.
I leave the A/C on too. Keeps the humidity at a reasonable level on the boat. No, I dont open all the cabinets. For now, the only time the boat is unoccupied is March and April. If I didn't have to pay taxes, I would be on the boat 12 months of the year. I return to my legal address and check on my friends, "who died".
I would gladly sell my condo in Atlanta but then, what would I do with all the stuff in the condo.
The last time I had a CG inspection, they were not upset that I leave the sanitary over board open. The pump is shut off at the panel and it also takes a key to energize the pump. IF they said I should also shut the hull valve, I would but, they didn't. They were impressed with the necessity of a key to operate the sanitary overboard pump.

[DumnMad]

Away for a few days;
Shutting valves off a good idea if they are brass. We don't have any.
Toilets outlets should be shut off if you haven't checked the anti-siphon lately.
I leave saltwater throughhull valves open but have valves at the heads that can shut off.
Long term;
Shut 'em all except main bilge pump.
Turn all power off except the main bilge pump.

[Pelagic]

I am pretty anal about this as I have seen so many disasters on unattended boats from minor failures

Thru hulls.
I close all the sea intakes (below the waterline) but not the discharges if significantly above waterline.
For me it is peace of mind and I figure a good exercise of the valves to keep them easily turning.

Main dockside breaker (240) always turned off as is the on board Master.

24v Start Off
24v Emerg Parallel Off
12v Radio/instruments Off
24v/12v. DC to DC Off
24v House Master On but ALL individual breakers off except for fridges if food is in them.
If no Food then House Master Breaker is Off as bilge pumps and alarms are direct to house.

Solar is then also Off
Fuel Vents Closed, key hidden

Even when we all go off the boat at anchor, it is pretty much the same.
Houses don't get shaken around in a salt water environment, so you shouldn't compare to a boat.

[CatNewBee]

I would let all seacocks closed when not in use. Only open what you need on board. For the electricity - it depends.

If you have solar, I would turn on all breakers between the modules / Charger and batteries, so the batteries can be charged. Anything else unwanted will be turned off. But also maybe consider the automatic bilge pumps...

If you sleep on board, you probably will let 12V board supply on for the fridges/freezers and then also the AC shore power to keep the batteries happy.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Pelagic

I am pretty anal about this as I have seen so many disasters on unattended boats from minor failures

Thru hulls.
I close all the sea intakes (below the waterline) but not the discharges if significantly above waterline.
For me it is peace of mind and I figure a good exercise of the valves to keep them easily turning.

Main dockside breaker (240) always turned off as is the on board Master.

24v Start Off
24v Emerg Parallel Off
12v Radio/instruments Off
24v/12v. DC to DC Off
24v House Master On but ALL individual breakers off except for fridges if food is in them.
If no Food then House Master Breaker is Off as bilge pumps and alarms are direct to house.

Solar is then also Off
Fuel Vents Closed, key hidden

Even when we all go off the boat at anchor, it is pretty much the same.
Houses don't get shaken around in a salt water environment, so you shouldn't compare to a boat.

Shutting off through hull valves is really good practice, even if the risk of a problem is very low -- it keeps them exercised and free. I always shut off through hulls when off the boat overnight.

I wish I could shut off AC power, but I don't have solar. I leave it on with the battery charger in long term float ("storage mode"), and in the winter time I have tube heaters going to cut the humidity and reduce any risk of freezing. Yet another great argument in favor of solar power is being able to cut off the shore power.

I do however isolate my batteries, so that there is NO DC power supplied to any device other than the maintenance bilge pump. I do that so that the batteries don't get killed in case someone kicks out the shore power plug while I'm gone -- which has happened to me.

[Suijin]

Closing seacocks gives them some exercise which is a good thing.

I close mine if I’m leaving the boat overnight for longer than 24 hours. That said, mine are all fairly new and I have confidence in them.

Main DC breaker off, auto bilge pump on.

Propane off at the solenoid except when I’m actually using the stove. Off at the tank if leaving for a week or more, as I pressure test the line once a week anyway.

Espar heater on only when I’m in the boat. Occasionally on low if leaving the boat on the hook in significant freezing temps overnight, but makes me nervous.

Just a few days ago a friend of mine woke to the engine trying to start itself in the morning. Smoke and heat as he traced it to a trailer plug in the engine wiring harness which was on his to-do list to yank. Lesson is the more you can do to reduce risks while away, within reason, is a good thing. But it all comes down to balancing risk against convenience for yourself.

[Malabarista]

Originally Posted by Locquatious

A friend lost a boat when the boat's pressure reducer valve broke. The boat sunk when it filled with fresh water. Disconnect the hose or turn off the dock valve when you are gone. It might save and boat and avoid a high water bill.

Hi
I’m a bit confused and worried by your friends loss. If the boat was floating with the fresh water in the tanks why would it sink when the same quantity of water was on the cabin sole? Or am i missing something?

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by Malabarista

Hi
I’m a bit confused and worried by your friends loss. If the boat was floating with the fresh water in the tanks why would it sink when the same quantity of water was on the cabin sole? Or am i missing something?

A pressure reducer valve is used to connect a hose to the boat's pressure water system...essentially connecting it to an unlimited supply of freshwater in the event of a failure. Never leave a boat unattended with the valve to the hose open. Ive seen several boats lost this way.

To OP: I agree with others that closing sea cocks when away is a good practive. Failure of a thru hull related hose/fitting is another very common cause of flooding. And its good for the sea cocks to work them regularly.

[Malabarista]

Originally Posted by belizesailor

A pressure reducer valve is used to connect a hose to the boat's pressure water system...essentially connecting it to an unlimited supply of freshwater in the event of a failure. Never leave a boat unattended with the valve to the hose open. Ive seen several boats lost this way.

To OP: I agree with others that closing sea cocks when away is a good practive. Failure of a thru hull related hose/fitting is another very common cause of flooding. And its good for the sea cocks to work them regularly.

Ah. Thanks for putting my addled brain straight

[Tellie]

I agree with shutting all the thru hulls. Most people don't. But more boats are sunk at the dock than offshore.

[Locquatious]

Originally Posted by Malabarista

Hi
I’m a bit confused and worried by your friends loss. If the boat was floating with the fresh water in the tanks why would it sink when the same quantity of water was on the cabin sole? Or am i missing something?

If the pressure reducer valve breaks it is the equivalent of running a hose directly into the cabin. The boat fills and lowers into the water till seawater comes up the scuppers or comes over the sides. The water tanks may still be empty.

[Tellie]

Originally Posted by Locquatious

If the pressure reducer valve breaks it is the equivalent of running a hose directly into the cabin. The boat fills and lowers into the water till seawater comes up the scuppers or comes over the sides. The water tanks may still be empty.

Empty water tanks then may be the only thing keeping the boat afloat.

[Lake-Effect]

Originally Posted by S/V Illusion

It seems more than a bit ironic that people who are paranoid about shutting off the propane tank on the boat go home to a place where they never shut off the gas when away.

Home gas piping is pretty substantial (mostly threaded iron pipe) and there's no vibration or other stresses, so I don't myself worry about the gas. More people (including myself) should worry more about the water, and things like the washer or dishwasher hoses bursting.

Question: how many of you have some sort of audible alarm or a remote monitoring system that will kick up a fuss in an unusual condition - bilge flooding, battery over/undercharge, unauthorized entry, etc?