Winterising

[Nick CB]

Hi Gang,

 another [probably silly question] from a member who’s not made a meeting yet.

  I’m at Ridge Wharf and am thinking of leaving the boat in the water over this winter. When I had a Dutch Barge I never inhibited or de-inhibited the engine for winter even though it was in fresh water on the UK canal system. My question is, will it be okay if i leave it in the water and do nothing but just use it, or will it just freeze up and blow the engine apart through freezing?

best wishes, Nick

[Brian]

I used to have a boat on a Jetty above the bridge at Wareham, it had a raw water cooled on-board, I kept that afloat every winter and never had problems.

[Nick CB]

Thanks for that Brian. That’s reassuring.

[Jim]

Hi Nick I'm guessing yours is an inboard but for anyone with an outboard you may find this interesting:

 

 

[Jim]

And for fuel injected motors:

 

[Steve S]

I don't winterise while my boat is in the water. Except to make sure the outside fresh water shower head is drained down (it cracked once).

While on the hard I use a low power heater if it's going to get well below freezing.

[fisherman1055]

Same for me , antifreeze in the heat exchanger , drain fresh water and remove shower head, small electric heater in the cabin over the cold part of the winter. A dehumidifier is useful to catch condensation.

[Coddy]

Take all your lifejackets off the boat and keep them at home in a dry environment.

 

They tend to go off on their own during these damp evenings and mornings