I really limit my questions on here and just read, read and read since we are newbies but we are facing our first winter with a Hunter 26 water ballast and have no idea what we should do. My hubby likes to guess and speculate and I like to get facts from others. What is it about men not wanting to ask for help?? Anyway, we are in NC on Lake Norman at a sailing club so we need to know what to do with the water ballast...i.e. antifreeze, etc. We have a water system that I am going to drain tomorrow and put antifreeze (nontoxic) in b/c the before mentioned hubby had the idea of leaving a heater on in the boat for the night - I said h*ll NO! For now, I think the ballast is fine but should we put something in it if the water gets too cold? I like to prevent problems instead of fix them. Any information you have is welcome.
??First Winter with our Water Ballast
- Thread starter csd0606
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Here's the link to the H260 owner's manual. http://sbo.sailboatowners.com/downloads/Hunter_260_90036430.pdf I would imagine that the winterizing method would be the same. The winterizing section starts on page 32.
We just bought our '99 260 from a nice couple in Cornelius on Lake Norman. Thanks for bringing up the question. I need to study the manual, too! (We actually have the printed manual. It's full of good info.)
We just bought our '99 260 from a nice couple in Cornelius on Lake Norman. Thanks for bringing up the question. I need to study the manual, too! (We actually have the printed manual. It's full of good info.)
Love the 260 and have seen your posting. Hope you are enjoying it. We bought ours recently in Ohio. Wish we could have gotten one closer. I will let you know any info I find useful.
What is it about women that makes y'all want to do things that make sense in the long run?
Oh, the manual specifically says NOT to heat the interior during the winter. But PLEASE don't tell you husband that a fellow man agrees with you on that one.
Oh, I had to read that one to my hubby and laugh out loud!! He is not laughing with me for some reason??
Read the manual. It was written for a reason.
Ask him one question: If you loose power in the dead of winter, what's going to happen to the water?
Changing a bursted tank cost a lot of dollars and hours of clean up. Draining the tank takes a few minutes.
Ask him one question: If you loose power in the dead of winter, what's going to happen to the water?
Changing a bursted tank cost a lot of dollars and hours of clean up. Draining the tank takes a few minutes.
Are you leaving the boat in the water or taking it out? If taking it out, just drain the ballast and leave the vent open as the manual says.
If your lake freezes enough to do damage, then all boats would come out over winter. If your lake stays free of damaging ice, then your water ballast tank will be free of damaging ice as well.
A freeze busted water ballast tank is a very serious repair and may exceed the value of the boat. If there is any question in your mind, protect your investment. Pull the boat out of the water and drain the tank.
On a side note. I used RV style fresh water system anti-freeze in my drinking water tank. Unlike an RV, we can't just hook up a hose and flush the tank multiple times to get rid of the anti-freeze. No matter how safe it is, the stuff has a horrible taste. Filling the tank with fresh water and pumping in out at the sinks is not practical. I tried three tanks full and could still taste it.
Now I just drain the fresh water system for the winter with an electric pump. We get -10 F temperatures here in Minnesota. I've done this for 10 years and had no damage.
A freeze busted water ballast tank is a very serious repair and may exceed the value of the boat. If there is any question in your mind, protect your investment. Pull the boat out of the water and drain the tank.
On a side note. I used RV style fresh water system anti-freeze in my drinking water tank. Unlike an RV, we can't just hook up a hose and flush the tank multiple times to get rid of the anti-freeze. No matter how safe it is, the stuff has a horrible taste. Filling the tank with fresh water and pumping in out at the sinks is not practical. I tried three tanks full and could still taste it.
Now I just drain the fresh water system for the winter with an electric pump. We get -10 F temperatures here in Minnesota. I've done this for 10 years and had no damage.
Does the lake ever even freeze? According to one website, the water temperature has only dipped below 40 degrees in the dead of January a handful of times over the past decade (with the low recording only at 37). Maybe the fringes freeze over, I suppose. But damaging ice appears to be a rarity in this location. Regardless of the water temp of the lake, the manual says that the insulation value of the topsides and deck is not sufficient to prevent freezing of the water in the tank, even if the lake water is unfrozen during a cold snap. I would simply drain the tank and not bother with anti-freeze.
If you can leave the boat in the water with drained tanks, I suppose that works. Otherwise, I would probably pull the boat out with drained tank, at least in January. It seems that is the closest you get to winter there.
If you can leave the boat in the water with drained tanks, I suppose that works. Otherwise, I would probably pull the boat out with drained tank, at least in January. It seems that is the closest you get to winter there.
CSD0606;
Let me chime as I know the lake, was heavily involved with this design and outsold all other dealers on the 26 or to be more precise 25% of the entire production line.
You can leave the boat in the water all winter without the tank freezing. I use to put plenty of boats in the water on Smith Mt. Lake near Roanoke which is colder than Charlotte without any issue. Temp. of the water is generally warmer when a cold front comes in. In addition, during the day the cabin warms up and thus is warmer and you can see where I am going with this. Therefore, no need to treat the tank. If you need any assistance, feel free to email me at davecondon@mindspring.com . In addition, Tim McRorie who is the yard manager at All Seasons knows these boats as well. By the way, they have what I call a do it yourself area but of course there is a charge for storage while working on the boats.
Crazy Dave Condon
Let me chime as I know the lake, was heavily involved with this design and outsold all other dealers on the 26 or to be more precise 25% of the entire production line.
You can leave the boat in the water all winter without the tank freezing. I use to put plenty of boats in the water on Smith Mt. Lake near Roanoke which is colder than Charlotte without any issue. Temp. of the water is generally warmer when a cold front comes in. In addition, during the day the cabin warms up and thus is warmer and you can see where I am going with this. Therefore, no need to treat the tank. If you need any assistance, feel free to email me at davecondon@mindspring.com . In addition, Tim McRorie who is the yard manager at All Seasons knows these boats as well. By the way, they have what I call a do it yourself area but of course there is a charge for storage while working on the boats.
Crazy Dave Condon
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