Winterizing Boat

[ChrisKaye]

Hi All
I have recently purchased a 1990 sunseeker tomahawk with 2 x volvo AQAD41 diesels with duoprops. As I still have some work to do on the boat and its taking longer than I thought to complete, due to missus, kids, holidays, weather etc.. is there anything I should do to winterize it.
The boat is currently on the hard at Shamrock Quay. Do I need to empty fresh water tanks, pipes etc to stop them freezing, if so what other related things do I need to do

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[HeadMistress]

Re: Winterizing Boat Plumbing

Fresh water system

1. Drain the water tanks completely (just turn on all the faucets).

2. Drain water heater. Most have a drain petcock; follow manufacturer’s instructions to find it and use it. Remove both the inlet and outlet hoses, and if necessary use a shop vac to be sure of gettting all the water out of it.

3.Connect water heater inlet and outlet hoses together. Bypass kits for this purpose are available from boat stores and RV supply stores.

4. Add ONLY non-toxic potable antifreeze and pump that through the system until all outlets--hot and cold in the galley, head, shower, and any deck wash--run only antifreeze. Leave all the faucets open to make sure there is no pressure in the system.

(In the spring, I'll post recommissioning instructions that will remove every trace of the taste/smell of antifreeze from your fresh water system. )

Sanitation system

1. Pump holding tank out, then rinse thoroughly by completely filling with fresh water and 1 gallon of white vinegar twice.

2. Close toilet intake through-hull, disconnect inlet hose and stick it in a gallon of non-toxic antifreeze. Pump the whole gallon through the system into the holding tank. Do not reconnect head intake hose to the through-hull.

3. Pump the head 50 times to get as much fluid out of the system as possible.

4. After the boat comes out of the water, open all the sea cocks to drain any trapped water.



<hr width=100% size=1>Peggie Hall
Specializing in marine sanitation since 1987

 

[ChrisKaye]

Re: Winterizing Boat Plumbing

Hi Peggie
Thank you for your help and advice

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[rlw]

Chris,

The most important thing is to drain you coolers on the engine. With outdrives you cannot put the intake in a bucket with antifreeze without seriously dismanteling the pipework. On the AQAD41 you have drainplugs starting from the sea water pump on: bottom of the pipe to the oil cooler, the oil cooler itself, the pipe to the aftercooler, the aftercooler itself, the heat exchanger.


An alternative I have found is to use a drill pump to pump antifree through the system via the oil cooler drain (unscrew plug, screw in suitable hose atachement)
You need to unscrew the zinc in the HE lid or else the antifreeze we be pumped into the exhaust elbow. This gives a risk that it would run back into the engine as there is no exhaust pressure to push it out. (might not but not worth the risk)

If its a new boat and you have all winter you might want to clean all these coolers too. This will eliminate potential overheating problems and give you much more peace of mind. clogged coolers could ruin your engine. Also check the exhaust elbows.

Just upgrade from a Portofino 31 to a Martinique 38 this year. Looking at the budget to have the cooler clean done or do it myself. Woth it for the peace of mind when boating.

PM me if you have questions

Rob



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[ChrisKaye]

Hi Rob
Thanks for that
I have just bought a tube type heater, one of the "frostwatcher" types that will keep the temp in the engine bay above freezing. I plan to fit this in the engine bay sometime soon and stay plugged in to shorepower over winter. If I fitted this heater, do you think I would need to go through the aggravation of having to drain coolant etc.. I took the expansion tank fill cover off to check if it had antifreeze inside and yes it did. The engines have only done around 50 hours since reconditioning so I dont really want to start taking too much apart as I find it difficult to find the time to do any work on the boat as it is.


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[miket]

It is probably still worth doing the whole winterising thing even with heat on. You may find someone disconnects you during the winter and forgets to reconnect.

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