Winterizing Your Boat Check List

Winterize Your Sailboat Check List

1996 Photo

All of us who live in the inland Pacific Northwest must be aware of potential dangers that freezing weather may bring to our sailboats and prevent potential damage by winterizing our boats.  Whether your boat spends the winter on a trailer or in the water, you must winterize.  There are too many horror stories about boats sinking while in the slip …… or sinking when first launched in the spring.  Sinking is nearly the worst thing that can happen on your boat.

Water (freezing water) will do considerable damage. Freezing water can break thru hull valves, raw water strainers, engine blocks, fresh water systems, marine heads and porta-potties, and anything else that has water in it during the winter.

So, here is a typical check list of things to do aboard your boat to make sure that she’s ready for winter.

The first thing to do is to check the owner’s manuals for equipment aboard your boat.  Are there specific recommendations for winter conditions?

Next prepare a written checklist so that you will cover all the “bases”……  Here are some of the “bases”…

Clean out the boat.

Remove all electronic equipment and store it in a warm dry place.  Check your owner’s manual for info on how to store this gear.

Remove all sails, lines, anchors, fenders, pfd’s, bunk cushions, flares, fire extinguishers, carpets, etc.  Check and repair these over the winter.

Empty all lockers, especially food lockers.  Take all loose gear off the boat.

Securely prop open all locker doors, access hatches, bilge access and anything else that will improve air circulation.

Open and clean the ice box and/or refrigerator.

Drain all the water from the fresh water system.

For a fairly simple system, drain all the hoses and drain and clean the tanks.  Leave everything empty.

For more complicated systems with heaters and electric pumps you’ll need to empty all water, header and heater tanks, making sure that no water remains in the tanks below the outlet level.  Clean the tanks and wipe internally with a chlorine solution.

Make sure you disconnect the electrical supply to the heater tank before you drain it.

Drain all the water from the hoses and pumps – you may need to disconnect hoses at both ends to do this.

Reconnect the hoses ad bypass the water tank.  Pump pink, eco-friendly anti-freeze into the hoses and pumps to protect them from any residual water.

Check shower sump for water.  Sponge dry if necessary.

Drain and winterize the head.

Pump out the holding tank.  Flush the head with fresh water several times while emptying the holding tank.

Close the head intake seacock and romove the hose.  Sit the hose in a bucket of 50-50 eco-friendly (pink) anti-freeze and water.

Pump the head until all water in the bowl and hoses has been replaced by anti-freeze.  Replace the hose on the seacock.

Don’t open the seacock until next spring.

Winterize the batteries.

Remove the batteries to a warm dry place.  Keep them off the ground.

Fully charge the batteries before storage and recharge every month in storage.

Don’t leave the batteries connected to the charger.

Winterize your diesel inboard engine.

Fuel system

Add stabilizer/biocide to your fuel tank and fill the tank.  Read the instructions on the stabilizer container.

Change all fuel filters and drain the water separator.

Run the engine for 15 minutes to get stabilized fuel into all lines and injectors.

If already on the hard, run a water hose to the raw water intake to get anti-freeze into the engine.

The oil system

Drain the oil while the engine is still hot from the fuel circulation above.

Change the oil filters

Fill engine with clean oil

Drain the oil in the transmission if separate from the engine.  Refill with clean oil

The fresh water cooling system

Drain the fresh water cooling and heat exchanger system and replace the coolant with 50-50 pink anti-freeze

Winterize the raw water side as detailed below

Flush the raw water cooling system

Close the raw water seacock

Disconnect the hose on the outlet side of the raw water pump

Place the end of this hose into a large bucket.  Have a second bucket handy.

On the exhaust riser or muffler, disconnect the cooling water hose

Connect this hose to a water supply and back flush the raw water system

Collect the flushing water in the buckets and dispose of properly

Reconnect both hoses.

Replace the raw water with anti-freeze

Close the raw water seacock

Disconnect the hose from the seacock

Place the hose in a bucket of 50-50 mixture of pink anti-freeze and water

Start the engine and run it until pink anti-freeze is discharged from the exhaust

Turn off the engine and reconnect the hose to the seacock

Do not open the raw water seacock until next spring

Drain the anti-freeze from the muffler if you have a drain plug.  Reinstall this plug immediately

Remove the raw water impeller and store.  Tag the engine so you remember the impeller is not installed next spring

If you are already on the hard you can leave the seacock open and run a hose from the raw water intake to a bucket of anti-freeze mixture and proceed as above

Close the seacock afterwards

Sundry work

Spray fogging oil into the intake manifold and turn the engine over by hand.  Don’t use the starter motor.

Spray the inside of the ignition switch with WD-40 or CRC

Cover the engine with a waterproof cover to protect from any leaks above the engine (deck, cockpit, etc.)

Seal all air intakes, breather pipes, tank vents ad exhaust outlet with duct tape or plastic seals.

Winterize your gasoline inboard engine.

Follow the steps above regarding; The oil system, The fresh water cooling system, Flush the raw water cooling system, and Replace the raw water with anti-freeze

The fuel system

Start the engine and shut off the fuel supply

Spray fogging oil into the air intake while the engine is running

Run engine until it stops

Drain the gasoline tank and all gasoline lines.  Ethanol in modern fuel absorbs moisture, separates, and damages gaskets and rubber fittings.

Put the fuel into your car’s fuel tank

Sundry work

Spray the inside of the ignition switch with WD-40 or CRC

Cover the engine with a waterproof cover to protect for any leaks from above

Seal all air intakes, breather pipes, tank vents, and exhaust outlet with duct tape or plastic seals

Inspect fuel tanks, lines, pump and filters for leaks

Winterize your gasoline outboard engine.

Start the engine

Disconnect the fuel line at the engine and spray fogging oil into the carburetor air intake

Run the engine until it stops

Change the lower unit gear grease

Drain the gasoline tank and all gasoline lines.  Ethanol in modern fuel absorbs moisture, separates, and damages gaskets and rubber fittings.

Put the gasoline into your car’s fuel tank

Clean and inspect your boat

Internal clean

Remove all loose gear from the boat

Wash down all surfaces to remove any dirt or grease that will allow mold to grow

Scrub the ice box and/or refrigerator with a mild bleach solution

Clean out the interior lockers

Clean the bilge.  Scrub with soap and hot water.  Add pink anti-freeze to the bilge to stop any remaining water from freezing

External clean

Scrub or pressure wash the hull and deck

Clean hardware, mast and rigging to remove salt, dirt, and grime

Touch up any damaged varnish or paintwork

Lightly wax all fiberglass surfaces to protect over the winter

Inspect the hull

Inspect the hull for cracks, blisters or any stress cracks.  Repair as necessary

Inspect the deck for cracks.  Check for delamination at cracks and repair if required.

Install backing plates to hardware or stanchions showing signs of stress cracking before repairing

Inspect lifelines for signs of corrosion.  Replace if necessary

Inspect sundry systems

Inspect propane lines for damage.  Make sure they are well supported.

Close propane bottle and light the stove.  Allow the stove to go out.  Close off the supply at the stove.

Remove propane bottles from the boat  Seal the end of the propane line

Inspect all fuel supply lines for softness, brittleness or cracking

Inspect fuel fill line and fuel vents.  Check all joints for leaks.

Ensure all lines are well supported with clips or straps

Inspect and service all winches, mainsheet system, turning blocks and rope clutches

Lubricate the roller furling system if fitted

Inspect and service all seacocks

Inspect all hoses and hose clamps.  All hoses should be double clamped.  Replace hoses and/or clamps as necessary

Inspect all electrical connections.  Clean and reconnect if required.

Since I have shore power

Connect the 110 VAC dehumidifier

Connect the 40 Watt heat strip

Fill the two Dry-Z-Air dehumidifiers and place one in the galley and one in the head

No doubt that this is an incomplete list……  add to or delete from this list for your own boat.  Remember that freezing water is the most dangerous winter hazard to your boat!!!

Chartwork

Some Basic Chart Knowledge

If you are sailing in an area that you are not familiar with, it is good advice to have a NOAA chart for the area.  And, to have some basic knowledge regarding what you see on the chart.

Just for starters: tan is land; light green is a tide flat (land at low tide, water at high tide); light blue is for shallow water; and white is for deeper water.  How deep the water is will be shown by numbers printed on the water.  Soundings (water depths) will be in Feet for fresh water areas; Fathoms (6 feet) for salt water areas; and Meters (metric) on nearly all charts of foreign waters.  The Soundings are identified on the chart at the lower right corner and the middle of the left top.

There will be a “distance scale” that shows distances that you can use a divider to figure out how far it is from one place to another.

The Latitude Scale along the left and right margin of the chart show the degree latitude north or south of the equator.  The earth is divided into 90 equal parallels which equal one degree north or south of the equator.  When you look at the latitude scale, you will see the degrees and minutes (as well as tenths of a minute).  One minute of latitude is exactly the same distance as one nautical mile (a nautical mile equals a minute of arc).  So, you can use the latitude scale instead of the distance scale if the latitude scale is closer to the part of the chart you are working on.

You’ll find Anacortes, WA lies right on 48 degrees 30 minutes north latitude.  And that Bellingham straddles 48 degrees 45 minutes of north latitude.

Don’t confuse the latitude scale with the longitude scale found at the top and bottom margins of the chart.  Longitude is the east or west distance from the Prime Meridian (0 degrees – which crosses through the observatory at Greenwich, England.  These meridians connect the geographic north and south poles.  Longitude is measured in degrees and minutes… but because all of the meridians taper to the poles, the distance is much greater at the equator, and smaller as you get closer to the poles.  If you take NOAA Chart 18421 and measure the length of a longitude minute at the bottom of the chart, you will find that it is only seven tenths of a minute of latitude (or about 600 yards shorter).

In the United States the compass rose shows compass points.  There are three rings on the compass rose.  The outer ring shows a compass that points to True North (the geographic north pole).  The next inner ring shows a compass that points to the magnetic north pole.  The magnetic north pole wobbles around the Arctic Ocean – and is presently near the northern coast of Canada.  Because of this, if you are in the middle of the United States, these two rings are about the same… but as you travel to the east or west coast, the variance between True North and magnetic north increases.  In the San Juan Islands, the variance is about 18 degrees.

The third ring (most inner ring) shows what sailors refer to as points on the compass.  There are eight points for each 90 degrees.

Nearly all charts show the aids to navigation (or buoys, lighthouses, and day shapes).  If the aid to navigation has a light, the aid is highlighted by a purple exclamation mark on its side or upside down.  There is lots of information for each aid.  Is the light white (or another color)?  Is there numbers or letters painted on the aid?  Is there a sound device (bell, horn, etc.)?  And so on…

If you are not familiar with charts and the information found on the chart, take a look at John Rousmaniere’s book “The Annapolis Book of Seamanship” and NOAA Chart #1 (a book all about chart symbols).

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