Winterisation Advice please

Rascal Joe

Rascal Joe

Well-Known Member
Joined
16 Jun 2013
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265
Location
Ascot
www.jeffmaynard.com
Our first boat (29' motor yacht) new this year is due to be lifted out at the end of October and stored undercover on shore power.
I am OK to deal with the hull and superstructure but have been offered a long list of optional services. With 80 hours on the 65HP Vertus I will welcome some advice on which services are Needed, Nice-to-have, Unnecessary:

  • lay up engine
  • replace engine oil and filter
  • replace gearbox oil/filter
  • flush engine bilges
  • drain domestic water system

Thanks
 
If it's under cover with Shore Power you don't need to lay the engine up. Mine stays afloat year on year with a greenhouse heater in the engine room which only comes on if the temperature drops below zero. The other stuff amounts to Servicing and only needs doing if it is the time for it. Draining the water system down is simple just switch the power off and open the taps. Flushing the Bilges? this is a new one on me perhaps someone else will comment.
 
If laying up for some time I would recommend oil + oil filter change just proir to liftout. That way any contaminants in your old oil will not be present to attack vunerable components of your engine. At the same time I would change the fuel filter as well.
 
lay up engine
Winterise if you wish... its only a case of adding some anti freeze into the raw water.

replace engine oil and filter
We do that every winter, just before layup. Even if the hours don't dictate. You will have to do it sometime, leaving the engine with clean oil in it seams sensible.

replace gearbox oil/filter
Only when the hours dictate.

flush engine bilges
Depends how dirty they are. If they are ankle deep in water and oil, do something now. Before winter. If they are just dusty, Hoover them out.

drain domestic water system
You would pay someone to do that????? Just run the taps until the water is finished. Leave them open and for total security, I just pull the pipe off the pump.
 
On the domestic water side, if you have a calorifier, this will not empty without a bit of pressure, so I used a dinghy pump to blow through the system, which usually finds several gallons.
 
At the boatyard in Florida, people from the north who had recently retired to the sun, would often ask if they still needed to winterise their boats.

Obviously lifelong habits are hard to shake.

We explained that it was so hot in Florida that in reality, it was only necessary to summerise boats in the south.

"Oh really? Is that something you could do for me?"

"Absolutely. What sort of boat have you got?"

"It's a Bavaria"

"Ah, no problem; it's ****."
 
B1 of the Thames forum keeps his Hardy 26 in a marina on the Thames.The boat was located in a section of the marina where the water did freeze and a layer of ice could be seen on the surface of the water.
He was interested to find out the actual facts regards winter temperature inside boats and the need for heaters and dehumidifiers.
Installed a cheap little USB device which recorded the temperature both in the wheelbox and in the bilge every 30 mins or so over a certain period,think it was 4 weeks.
This could be download into your laptop and a graph displayed.
Despite record prelonged cold periods and the fact that the water froze in the marina several times , the lowest section of the bilges did not go below 0C at any point.
If the boat remains in the water and is not on the hard,conditions do not appear to be quite as severe as feared during " normal" winters.
 
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Domestic water:

A few points..running taps dry does NOT empty the system, try using an inflatable footpump to pump the rest of the water out of the pipes etc!!

If you have a gas heater, cover the exhaust with a large piece of polystyrene or whatever, or the cold air will go down the flue and murder your gas heater!!

Running a couple of 200W tube heaters all winter will cost around £70. Thats cheaper than paying to have your engines totally winterised, and also works better.
 
Like your domestic hot water cylinder, the calorifier fills from the bottom and water is drawn off from the top. Running the pump dry, with or without using a footpump, will just pass bubbles through the calorifier. You need to find a drain tap at the bottom to let the remaining water out. Often the pressure relief valve can be used.
 
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