A Water Ballast Hunter H260 in the Winter

[robischd]

I have a water ballast Hunter H260. It is in a slip on a lake in North Idaho that almost never freezes over with any ice. Formed ice once in the last 50-60 years. (Lake Pend Oreille, 42 miles long, 1100 ft deep) Would you have to take it out for the winter if your H260 is on a lake which does not freeze in the winter time?

Your thoughts and suggestions are appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[soling42]

Pull that gal out of the water and drain everything. Why wouldn't you. Are you planning on a winter sail between December and late feb? I can't imagine, but then I'm 50ish and haven't seen snow so anything below 40 is out of bounds for me

My 2 cents.

Mike

 

[Bob 04 H260]

My understanding from other waterballast sailors is that the ballast tank will freeze before the lake does. So if a pail of water might freeze in the boat then the ballast tank may as well. As Mike suggested better to haul her out and drain all water in the tank as well as fresh water supply & head.
Bob

 

[Deleted member 78819]

Perhaps you can winterize a water ballast boat with environmentally safe antifreeze?

 

[Claudia]

I'm considering a boat lift and just hoist her out of the water in the slip for the one or two weeks that get questionable around here.

It'll take 100 gallons of antifreeze for it to be useful in the tank. 100 gallons of antifreeze at $10-$12 per gallon is pricey.

I'm not chancing the tank freezing. Too much at stake there. It's not like a line will bust. It'll total your boat.

 

[Charlie13958]

You could bubble it. Google ice bubbler, here is one,http://www.dockbubbler.com/

 

[Claudia]

Thats gonna be a man sized hoist to hold it without damage for mths at a time. 100 gals of anti-freeze can't be doing the lake any good either On its trailer, on a specially designed hoist or properly placed jack stands is the only way to support these rather tender hulls.

It seems a little early to be planning for winter, but thats coming from a guy who stores his boat all summer and doesn't put it IN until Oct 1st. Mine was on a lift when I bought it. here's a pic of what I found when I went to see it. Providential, untouched image


Mike

Just a regular pontoon style boat lift is all. An H260 doesn't even require a big one. Some brands just start at a 4,000 lb load. They go up to 30,000 lbs and more.

 

[Arnie1953]

There are other threads on this in the archives that I looked at when I was concerned about keeping my h240 on the Great Salt Lake over the winter. We sail all year because the salt content keeps the lake and the water ballast that is filled with lake water from freezing. If there were any possilibity at all of freezing I would pull and drain the boat.

 

[Drew13440]

Pull it

It may be counterintuitive, but the hull of your boat will "insulate" the ballast tank from the water temperature, leaving the ambient (air) temp the indicator. If you get a hard freeze, three days or more, the tank will freeze and destroy the boat. No fixes, gone and not likely an insurer will make you whole.

"Environmentally friendly" antifreeze is expensive, maybe ten bucks a gallon. The tank on the 260 is upwards of 200 gallons, so do the math. Pure antifreeze will cost a small fortune, whatever water/anti freeze combo you're comfortable with will be very expensive (see above on frozen tank).

Will take a day or two of hard work to put antifreeze in and at the end of the day it is not really "friendly" to the environment when time to dump, just less toxic than traditional stuff.

Soooo......

Listen to Michael's first post and "Pull that gal out of the water and drain everything." You can put the boat back in and sail, weather permitting, in wintertime. Then take it out and drain it, again. Good luck!

 

[cephius (Dave)]

Since this is fresh water, has anybody considered RV drinking water antifreeze? It takes very little to treat the tank on an RV. Since the water is still potable, it should be safe for the environment.

 

[Drew13440]

Dave, "RV drinking water antifreeze" is propylene glycol. It is used in relatively small amounts to protect already drained drinking water systems. You can't "drink" the stuff, but with a few flushes it can be safely dischared in spring. It's ten bucks a gallon and we are talking here about a 230 gallon (more or less) ballast tank. Not a good idea and cost/benefit is dubious, financiallly and environmentally. My two cents.

 

[MikeH]

I'll put my 2 cents in from a molecular standpoint. It's not only the freezing that you're risking. Water expands when it gets near 32 degrees F. I'd have to get my old books out, but at 34 or 35 degrees it expands to its maximum volume - so it could get cold enough to NOT freeze, but your ballast would still be expanding beyond the space in the tank.

Anti-freeze will stop it from freezing, but I don't know about it's effect on expansion.

Frankly, you've spent how much on this boat? (purchase and upgrades) I'd get it out of the water and drain the ballast. The effort in doing that, versus the possible cost of cracking the hull and insurance not covering it, seems unacceptable to me.

 

[Drew13440]

There you have it, Michael from Sarasota (almost always the first guy in here with the right answer) an Mike H from Ohio batting clean up. Get the boat out, use it as weather allows and enjoy!