winterising boat in lockdown I’m getting worried ????

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Restoration man

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Getting worried about possible next lockdown ,I need to winterise 2 boats ,one owned by me in Essex the other owned by my mother in Southampton , I’m from the midlands , so a 200 Mile trip to either boat ,
is this an essential travel ??? Well it is to me if we get a frost it could right off the engines, causing tens of thousands of pounds worth of damage, ok I know that when boats are in sea water these less chance of frost damage as hull kept warmer etc but that’s not the point , what do you lot think ?
 
The winters have been mild for quite a few years in the south coast, so I wouldn't be overly worried especially if sitting in salt water. If it were me, I would get to the boat asap as it looks like a lock down is imminent going by the news today. I don't winterise my boat as I use it during the winter (usually), so all I do is ensure heaters are setup which I did earlier this month, so do that as a minimum if you have limited time.
 
The big problem is whether the marinas will let you in to work on the boats. It could be called essential travel to - a. avoid expensive damage to property and b. avoid damage to the environment that may happen if the property gets damaged.

If you go down with everything you need including food at least you don't have to meet other people close up to do the work.

Scubadoo mentions that we have had mild winters for a while but it doesn't take much to change that and possibly it's about time we had a cold winter.
 
Scubadoo said:
The winters have been mild for quite a few years in the south coast, so I wouldn't be overly worried especially if sitting in salt water. If it were me, I would get to the boat asap as it looks like a lock down is imminent going by the news today. I don't winterise my boat as I use it during the winter (usually), so all I do is ensure heaters are setup which I did earlier this month, so do that as a minimum if you have limited time.
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we will have to see what boris has got to say about it at 5:00 , I can’t see why it could harm me or anyone else going to there boats to do “essential “work as long as we’re not interacting with anyone else ??
 
Essential travel is not exactly a defined term. It is quite subjective. I think you will find that many people will start to realise this time around that you get to decide what is essential to you. We do not yet live in a totalitarian state - well we are close - so personally I would use common sense and respect social distancing and concerns of others. This should be able to be easily achieved by what you need to do so I would go and do what you need to. If the government decides to prosecute you for this then perhaps charge them for the damage not doing it may cause. They are printing so much money that a few thousand more quid wont hit the side on the way down.
 
nicho said:
I want to go down on Wednesday to remove sails, erect cockpit tent, and put heater tubes on. Monday/Tuesday winds are pretty strong for removing sails, but as far as I am concerned it is an essential journey.
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Best go down before Thursday, as lock down starts on Thursday according to the news, and ends December 2nd
 
Never Grumble said:
fine if you have a well paid job/pension but some of use dont have that.
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The boat yards will be doing lots of boats and will have a few people going around with all the kit, adaptors etc to quickly plug into all the different boat engines and antifreeze etc, one boat after another. It doesn't take very long and the materials cost is a few tens of £s.
Alternatively you could drive 600 miles to visit both boats, probably need to stay overnight. Probably cheaper to pay and have the engines flushed with anti freeze, drinking water system emptied with taps and showers all left open and no further cost or risk.
 
kashurst said:
The boat yards will be doing lots of boats and will have a few people going around with all the kit, adaptors etc to quickly plug into all the different boat engines and antifreeze etc, one boat after another. It doesn't take very long and the materials cost is a few tens of £s.
Alternatively you could drive 600 miles to visit both boats, probably need to stay overnight. Probably cheaper to pay and have the engines flushed with anti freeze, drinking water system emptied with taps and showers all left open and no further cost or risk.
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I'm a qualified shipwright so why would I want to pay someone else to work on my boat, especially if I don't have a paid job at the moment. Anyway you've mixed me up with the OP I only have one boat and its 25 miles from my door.
 
Thanks for the reply’s , as some of you have said “essential travel” can be interpreted in many ways , so might be ok ,I’m not paying anyone to winterise the boats I’ve already bought the antifreeze etc ,
If my work drops off this week before Thursday I may go down and sort one of the boats out , but worst case I’m going to have to go at the weekend due to work commitments and take the chance , if get stopped they will clearly see 50 litres of anti freeze in my van so should help my story or jusr fib a little and say I’m a marine engineer ???
 
The restriction will be at the Marina end.
If the Marina interprets the rules to mean that that a leisure boater visiting their vessel is non-essential, then you are stuffed.
 
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