When do you lay your boat up for winter?

Ian45

Ian45

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I know we are only just out of August and hopefully will still have some good cruising days ahead of us on the non tidal Thames, but due to the colder weather and nights noticeably closing in I wondered if people have a particular month or even date that they tuck their boats up for winter?

We left our boat available all last winter in the hope of some winter days out then didn't get to use it due to being 'locked' between Temple and Hurley repairs until the Feb of this year!
 
As a newbie this year, I'm interested to see the responses.

I'm very tempted to leave the boat in the water this first winter, so that I can perhaps experience the different seasons (time will tell how brave I am when its f f f f freezing cold!).

If I do, is servicing whilst still on the water feasible?

Excuse my ignorance.....I don;t do engine stuff :D
 
watson1959 said:
As a newbie this year, I'm interested to see the responses.

I'm very tempted to leave the boat in the water this first winter, so that I can perhaps experience the different seasons (time will tell how brave I am when its f f f f freezing cold!).

If I do, is servicing whilst still on the water feasible?

Excuse my ignorance.....I don;t do engine stuff :D
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Engines can be serviced whilst she's in the water. Outdrives can't. We tend to take her out every two years for a couple of weeks to have her bottom scrubbed and her legs serviced. Other than that she stays in and gets used pretty much all year round - except when ice bound.
 
If it hadn't been for the lock closures and the days when we were frozen in in the marina basin I'm sure we would have had some days out.

I have a heater in the engine bay and another in the cabin to stop things freezing but I still emptied the water tank just in case.

I've been told it's a good idea to take the boat out every other year to let the hull dry out but I'm not sure if this is true or a good ploy from the Marina :-)

I will be taking the boat out at some point before next season as I aim to replace scuffed and missing decals and striping, it's a 1989 boat so it's seen few years service plus it will give me a chance to give the hull a good clean and polish.

Given the opportunity I'd be out on it whenever I could winter or not. Addicted, who me?
 
Some of my most memorable days have been trips in cold, clear weather. Been the only boat in sight on many occasions. At least try it. There's always next year :)
 
Lazy Days said:
Engines can be serviced whilst she's in the water. Outdrives can't. We tend to take her out every two years for a couple of weeks to have her bottom scrubbed and her legs serviced. Other than that she stays in and gets used pretty much all year round - except when ice bound.
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Cheers.....that's what I was assuming...hopefully I will survive another year: boat seems to have been well serviced (based on the records) and cleaned so hopefully this winter will offer some adventure.....
 
AllanJ said:
Some of my most memorable days have been trips in cold, clear weather. Been the only boat in sight on many occasions. At least try it. There's always next year :)
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That's what I'm hoping.....warm clothes....kettle on...big slab of cake......radio on....what's not to enjoy?
 
watson1959 said:
That's what I'm hoping.....warm clothes....kettle on...big slab of cake......radio on....what's not to enjoy?
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I'm doing that from a flybridge (except the kettle... and the cake... and the radio). Never yet helmed from downstairs - and I'm in Scotland too :)
Don't tell everyone though, or we'll lose the solitude.
 
winter lay up

Hello,I agree with alan j wev,e had some realy good runs in winter,river nice and quiet,[no hire boats around !]. I always service my engines,g/boxes,in November, and try to give her a run on a regular basis, [river conditions allowing] as I believe it is better for the boat to be run.We usually do the lift out for the below water bit every 2 years in July when its usually cheaper
 
We dont "lay" our boat up at all. We use her all winter. The only thing we do extra during the winter is add some heaters to the engine bay, cabin and shower room. We dont bother draining the water, the boat stays warm enough to stop it freezing.

We added a 7 day timer to our Webasto heating last winter which meant we arrived to a cosy and warm boat on a friday evening it also meant if we knew cold snaps were forecast we could programme the heater to come on for a few hours for some extra heat. We are adding a frost stat to the timer unit this winter for some added protection, other than that we wont be doing anything special or different to last year.
 
I leave the coochie in . Winter cruising is great with the canopy up and the heaters on . All snug and warm while every one outside is wrapped up and cold .
 
This is definitely selling me on the idea of keeping the boat in the water this winter and take her out for a few weeks early next year to do the work I want.

Only problem with the above is SWMBO wants me to get to the jobs I have neglected all year due to being out on the boat. Our garden looks like Steptoes yard!
 
Ian45 said:
This is definitely selling me on the idea of keeping the boat in the water this winter and take her out for a few weeks early next year to do the work I want.

Only problem with the above is SWMBO wants me to get to the jobs I have neglected all year due to being out on the boat. Our garden looks like Steptoes yard!
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And that is why you need time away to think about how you are going to tackle all that work. Simples :)
 
NR will be in again this Winter, there seems little point in taking her out at the moment.

No sterndrive to worry about :D
 
Ian45 said:
This is definitely selling me on the idea of keeping the boat in the water this winter and take her out for a few weeks early next year to do the work I want.

Only problem with the above is SWMBO wants me to get to the jobs I have neglected all year due to being out on the boat. Our garden looks like Steptoes yard!
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least you dont have to mow it
 
I move the boat from the tidal restrictions of Christchurch to the 24/7 tidal access of Lymington so I can make the most of any nice days that come along. The engines are serviced before the winter so they are sitting with clean oil in them and then the boat is lifted for a week in the spring to service the outdrives and clean the underside.

The usual plan as with other posters of a heater in the engine bay set at 5C and a heater and dehumidifier in the cabin again on stats/timers. I do drain the domestic water to take no chances (though probably unnecessary). I have a max/min thermometer in the bottom of the engine bay and it never dropped below 4C last winter. I think the electricity bill for the 4 months at the marina came to £17 (including using the kettle!).

Had some lovely days out last winter with much less traffic on the water.



Harpsden
 
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