Checklist
to winterize your sailboat
How
to prepare your boat for winter
without paying a fortune to your marina
PART
1
Part
2 will be available next week and I hope to have
both parts available as a downloadable pdf file
If you have
to lay up your boat during the winter due to the freezing weather,
there is just one objective to the whole process – you must remove
all fluids from the boat, or protect them from freezing by the addition
of anti-freeze.
Everything else is secondary.
Frozen water, whether it’s in your water lines, engine, batteries,
heater tank, bilge, toilet or anywhere else on the boat will cause
serious damage.
And remember, your insurance policy may not cover any damage
caused by lack of maintenance.
The first step
to winterizing your boat is: Check your Owners manual (if
you have one) for any specific requirements.
Then proceed to step 2:
Prepare
a checklist
You need to
prepare a comprehensive checklist of the work to be done, and the
sequence in which it needs to be done, otherwise you’re sure to
forget something. So take a pencil and paper and start an initial
list as you read on.
You can follow
the steps noted below, or make your own sequence. Just make sure
you cover all the bases.
1.
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 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.
2.
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
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
hoses and bypass the heater 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.
3.
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 remove the hose. Sit the hose in a bucket
of 50-50 eco-friendly (pink) ant-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.
4.
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
1.
The 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 cooling
water to the engine.
2.
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
3.
The fresh water cooling system
- Drain the
fresh water cooling and heat exchanger system and replace the
coolant with 50-50 pink antifreeze and water.
- Winterize
the raw water side as detailed below
4.
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.
5.
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
- 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.
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.
6.
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
- Seal all
air intakes, breather pipes, tank vents and exhaust outlet with
duct tape or plastic seals.
- Inspect
fuel tank, lines, pump and filters for leaks
Winterize
your gasoline inboard engine
Follow steps
2-5 above
6.
The fuel system
- Start engine
and shut off the fuel supply.
- Spray fogging
oil into the air intake while engine is running.
- Run engine
until it stops.
- Drain the
gasoline tank and all gasoline lines. Ethanol in modern fuel absorbs
moisture.
7.
Sundry work
- 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
- Seal all
air intakes, breather pipes, tank vents and exhaust outlet with
duct tape or plastic seals.
- Inspect
fuel tank, lines, pump and filters for leaks
Clean
and inspect your boat
1.
Internal clean
- Remove all
loose gear from the boat.
- Wash down
all surfaces to remove any dirt or grease that will allow mould
to grow.
- Scrub the
ice box and/or refrigerator with a mild bleach solution
- Clean out
the interior of all lockers.
- Clean the
bilge. Scrub with soap and hot water. Add pink anti-freeze to
bilge to stop any remaining water from freezing.
2.
External clean
- Scrub or
pressure wash the hull and deck.
- Clean hardware,
mast and rigging to remove salt and grime.
- Touch up
any damaged varnish or paintwork
- Lightly
wax all fiberglass surfaces to protect over winter.
3.
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 staunchions showing signs of stress
cracking before repairing
- Inspect
lifelines for signs of corrosion. Replace if necessary.
4.
Inspect sundry systems
- Inspect
propane lines for damage. Make sure they are well supported.
- Close propane
bottle and light stove. Allow 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 as necessary.
- Inspect
all electrical connections. Clean and reconnect if required
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