Weathering the COLD

[CLF]

Tranquility (R25SC) will go into covered storage next week on the Eastern Shore of Maryland....I wanted her in the water for as long as possible...

But, last night the temperatures dropped to the mid-20s all night.

I was up early to check out everything and thought I'd share the numbers:

Outdoor air: 24F

Inside: 27F (but, nothing froze)

Engine coolant temp: 37F

Engine oil temp: 42F

Everything started just fine including generator. All water systems worked fine.

One advantage of having the boat in the water is that the hull stays warmer...

I warmed up the cabin and was treated to a very beautiful sunrise on Trippe Creek!

Wondering why I'd leave it in the water this late in the year....here's a little video slideshow from a couple days ago around sunrise: http://bit.ly/video-TrippeCreekCruise

How about others....I know there are many in much colder climates than what we have on the Chesapeake Bay.

 

[Jim and Jackie]

Craig,

Thanks. Our boat is just up the road in Kent Narrows. Like the slide show, Trippe is one of our many favorite creeks on the Bay.

Jim Demerest
2010 R29 Chessie

 

[Salty7]

I'm in Washington State and leave the boat in all year. The water is often warmer than the air and that makes for a happier engine compartment in the winter. I have found several good reasons to stay in the water - I get to use the boat and go places when nobody else is around. One of the most moving days of my life was one February when I was the first to crunch through the snow on the docks in Roche Harbor, as I walked up the dock the sun was rising and reflecting through many icicles that looked like diamonds. There were deer wandering around finding whatever was peeking out of the snow to eat, you don't forget days like that. Also, I find as the temperature drops the algae growth in the water stops, the bottom stays clean. What's not to like?

 

[rpmerrill]

Craig,

You are correct about the boat floating in "warm" protective water. In my opinion, seacocks should be closed. Ice here and there in flexible hoses doesn't do harm, only when it is confined in the hard metal/plastic parts. A busted hard metal part could sink the boat if the seacocks are open. Our brackish water needs to get a couple degrees below 32 to freeze. AND (depending upon salt concentration) doesn't freeze hard. It remains slushy and slippery during the nasty expansion period of the freeze. DuPont did a bunch or research and promotional stuff on systems that I used to get involved with. They were claiming that just a little bit of A/F would prevent system bursting. My customers never fully tested it as far as I know.)

You're probably familiar with the agricultural practice of spraying the crops with water to prevent freezing?
The way this works is that the water will not allow the temperature to go below 32 until all the water is frozen. So if there is enough liquid water in the close vicinity of the fruit, it will protect the fruit from pushing below 32. Because the fruit has some sugar an other stuff in solution, it freezes at a temp below 32. Thus it is protected.

Taking this idea to the boat, a theory I have also not fully tested, is to leave a couple gallon jugs of water in/under the sink(s) and near the fresh water pump so that they will slow down the onslaught of the cold. And in, or next, to the head. Worth a try.

If my boat was at my house, I'd put a 50 to 100 W light bulb or two in strategic locations. (that hopefully won't start a fire and I could keep a watch on it for a few hours)

I've also discovered that a hot engine from today will still deliver hot water in the AM tomorrow without restarting.

Last winter I left a washdown hose on the boat. Disconnected. When I tried it this spring the spray nozzle sprayed in about 6 directions all over me. The hose was fine but the plastic spray nozzle had gone to pieces. Funny... sort of.

Keeping the fresh water tank fairly full would provide some thermal inertia. Running the engine, you could even circulate the hot faucet water round and round (into the tank) to warm it up. It should hold a lot of heat for a long time.

Lots of thoughts on this, but no guaranteed solutions. The next couple nights should be warmer. I think.
Ain't science grand !
r

 

[dclagett]

I also like the late season on the Chesapeake and in the past have not winterized until late December leaving my boat in the water all year. However with my Ranger Tug I am not sure I would leave it in during the winter since it dose not have traditional seacocks. I don’t know how other Rangers are made but mine has a thru hull with a ball valve on top. This allows 2 to 3 inches of water coming up the thru hull to the ball valve inside the boat. Traditional seacocks have the ball valve almost flush with the hull with minimal penetration of water into the boat when the valve is closed. In addition a good seacocks is structurally more sound than a ball valve. One can purchase a good Groco ball valve for $20 to $30, while a Groco seacock will be in the $150 to $250 range. With my boats current configuration I am not sure it would be safe to leave in for the Maryland winters where we get a good hard freeze with multiple inches of ice.

This is just my opinion, I have not done any research on this configuration. I wonder what the RT factory may say about this subject. I also am not familiar with the waters of the NW wher these boats are designed and built. Maybe the East Coast versions in addition to A/C also need some additional modifications.

 

[AZtoVA]

I'm about 100 miles south of you in Hampton VA. I have a C30s. I plan to leave her in the water this winter. I will winterize all systems but if we get a nice day, I will attempt to start the engine and go! Just no head or fresh water. Upon return more pink stuff in the engine.
I have a cabin heater with the freeze mode on and am considering a heater for the engine compartment. Any suggestions for that?
Last year I had her on the hard in VA. I was not in VA for the winter but I understand right after Christmas there was a very cold snap with lows in the single digits for days at a time. I had the yard in Fla do the weatherization prior to trucking it here. Unfortunately we had a cracked muffler which I replaced and once we put the boat in the water and deployed the trim tabs, the cylinders broke. I surmise that being on the hard contributed to these and other issues.

Bottom line is I will let ya'll know how it goes this season.

Ed

 

[rpmerrill]

The scary thing about relying on a heater is that when the nastiest storms and coldest snaps happen that's when the electric power could go out. If you're not nearby to react, it's a problem.

 

[Eric R]

I'm about 100 miles south of you in Hampton VA. I have a C30s. I plan to leave her in the water this winter. I will winterize all systems but if we get a nice day, I will attempt to start the engine and go! Just no head or fresh water. Upon return more pink stuff in the engine.
I have a cabin heater with the freeze mode on and am considering a heater for the engine compartment. Any suggestions for that?
Last year I had her on the hard in VA. I was not in VA for the winter but I understand right after Christmas there was a very cold snap with lows in the single digits for days at a time. I had the yard in Fla do the weatherization prior to trucking it here. Unfortunately we had a cracked muffler which I replaced and once we put the boat in the water and deployed the trim tabs, the cylinders broke. I surmise that being on the hard contributed to these and other issues.

Bottom line is I will let ya'll know how it goes this season.

Ed

I hauled my C28 out this year (wanted to be able to touch up bottom paint, do my own zincs, maybe add drop fins, etc), but left it in the water last year. I did a full winterization but added a small cabin heater with anti-freeze mode, and also a small bilge heater. Everything worked great. I highly recommend the TwinHornet 45 bilge heater. I also had a Kasco bubbler to prevent getting frozen in. We did get some nasty ice for about a week but thanks to the Kasco it was a non-issue for me.

 

[AZtoVA]

hey Eric, where, how do you plug it in?

 

[Eric R]

hey Eric, where, how do you plug it in?

I set it on the port side rear step in the bilge, ran the cable up alongside the engine, then into the cabin via the hatch right inside the door. Plugged it into the outlet above the stove.

Installing an outlet in the bilge (or making a small custom access hole for the cable) has been on my projects list for the past year. Just haven’t gotten around to it yet! Feel that would be better than having the hatch part way open and having to remember not to step on it.


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