Boat in the cradle for the winter- Bilge full of water?

[Scott T-Bird]

He drills from the bilge, at an angle.

Ok, but that is something that I think I would not do. But maybe that's how it has to be done? I'd be worried about being able to seat the plug properly. There must be a technique to get it done right. I think I would conclude that the bilge would never be completely dry, so if I can't keep water from seeping around the keel bolts, what would be the point in draining it?

 

[dlochner]

I don't have any fear about drilling a hole for a garboard plug. I had one in my ski boat and never had a problem remembering to insert the plug whenever necessary. I just don't know where I can install it where it will do any good. The bottom of my bilge is directly over a lead keel. Maybe there is a place where I can install it behind the keel, but that isn't a low area and the bilge would still have a few inches of water unless I tipped the boat backwards at an extreme angle. Where do they place these drains on the Maine boats? I can't envision where it could be installed. Do they drill a hole through the side of the keel? Or maybe the side of the bilge? My bilge from side-to-side is only the width of the keel. That would be my problem.

You only forget the garboard drain plug once on a sailboat.

Usually there is a sump in the bilge and the drain plug goes out the side of the sump. Doing it this way may leave a little water in the bilge, however it will be measured in fractions of inches not inches and feet.

 

[DaveJ]

Scott said.....'so if I can't keep water from seeping around the keel bolts, what would be the point in draining it? '

Maybe I'm missing something, but the garboard plug is used only when the boat is on the hard! Water seeping around the keel bolts is an 'in the water' thing. Yesterday was -13*C, I rely on my garboard to ensure there is no water to freeze in the bilge during the long winter.
Cheers
dj

 

[kappykaplan]

I don't know for sure, but I'm guessing that a bilge pump will only be damaged if there is electricity present to switch the pump on when the water is frozen.

My bilge pump blew a fuze when it tried to pump frozen water on the hard!

 

[ToddS]

While I do NOT have a garboard plug, I do something else admittedly that's not-as-good-but-better-than-nothing. When my boat is on the hard for the winter (unattended for many months), I pull the knotmeter sensor/impeller out of the bilge, and leave it open for the winter "just in case"... if there were some unlikely catastrophic flooding of the cabin/bilge, the water WOULD still be able to accumulate in some places (other sections of the bilge for example), but couldn't ever flood up to the level of my engine/floorboards/etc without draining out through that hole. A couple inches of water in my fairly shallow bilge all winter might cause some dampness humidity problems throughout the boat, but wouldn't destroy things like a couple of feet could. I crumple up a wad of paper and put it in the hole to reduce the odds of bats/bees/critters from deciding it would make a nice winter home and water in the cabin would push that out... I then leave that cabin sole/bilge compartment open, and write a giant sharpie note on a piece of paper affixed there saying (REPLACE KNOTMETER ASAP!!!!) to remind myself in the spring to replace it. I also have similar instructions in my annual checklist for opening the boat each spring (in case I get hit by a bus in winter, and someone else has to open the boat). It's not as good as a true garboard plug, but close, and it is very very very easy.

 

[Scott T-Bird]

Scott said.....'so if I can't keep water from seeping around the keel bolts, what would be the point in draining it? '

Maybe I'm missing something, but the garboard plug is used only when the boat is on the hard! Water seeping around the keel bolts is an 'in the water' thing. Yesterday was -13*C, I rely on my garboard to ensure there is no water to freeze in the bilge during the long winter.
Cheers
dj

Yes, just a little misunderstanding. My thought is that I would not be able to place a plug low enough in the bilge to keep it absolutely dry throughout the winter. If the bilge can't be kept absolutely dry, then water will still sit around the keel bolts. That is my greatest concern … that water seeps at the threads from the top. So far, I have never had any water seeping into the bilge when the boat is in the water … but I'd like to be assured that winter-time freezing doesn't eventually cause that to happen.

But what I am also questioning is: why should there be concern about a little water in the bilge when it freezes? What is it really going to damage? I'm already convinced that it won't damage the bilge pump and even if it does, that is a very minor inconvenience and expense at least for me with a smaller boat. Others may have more complicated features to be concerned about.

I like that idea about opening a thru hull. I think I will do that! However, depth transducer is forward in a compartment that is relatively sealed from the bilge. It just might drain slowly though, if enough water enters the bilge. Otherwise, the raw water intake would drain water before it reaches the floorboards.

 

[Davidasailor26]

But what I am also questioning is: why should there be concern about a little water in the bilge when it freezes? What is it really going to damage? I'm already convinced that it won't damage the bilge pump and even if it does, that is a very minor inconvenience and expense at least for me with a smaller boat. Others may have more complicated features to be concerned about.

That might depend on the design of the hull as well. A deeper bilge in a V shaped keel stub may be more like your ice cube tray analogy, but a modern flat bottom with a grid/liner structure might be able to trap water behind stringers and in worse places for expansion.

 

[Morgan donor]

Garboard drain or a real winter cover (forget anything with the word "tarp" in the description).
Pay your money and take your choice.

 

[Goyo]

I had a similar situation with a Catalina 30 , I would honestly have a dry bilge with the boat in the water over the summer and on the hard after a week of rain I would have several inches of water in the bilge . I eventually figured out the problem , on the hard the boat does not always sit at the same angle as floating . In my case the bow was up to facilitate draining in the cockpit but this also would not allow the rain water to properly drain from around the aft locker and a pool of water would form and drain into the locker and down into the bilge .

The weather is still fickle in Michigan, look for a day or days above freezing with rain and go to your boat with a flashlight and find the source of the water intrusion . I would also take a shop vac and remove the water and ice from the bilge . If there is solid ice I found a heated bottle(s) of the pink stuff poured into the bilge will melt the ice and you can safely shop vac out the mixture .

best of luck

 

[twstone]

I think this is a recurring problem with O’days with a keel stepped mast. We had a 1979 28’ in West Michigan and always got some water in the bilge. I came to the conclusion that the water was running down the inside of the mast an into the bilge, since there was no evidence of water running down the outside. One year we had the mast pulled and we had no water in the bilge. I put a full gallon on pink antifreeze in each year and that was enough to prevent hard freezing.

 

[Dalliance]

I have my boat shrink wrapped every year and, except for a few dribbles across the deck from rigging and mast penetrations, the deck and cockpit pretty much stay bone dry. The shrink wrap is well vented, I keep the sink seacocks open and the port lite in the head open for air circulation in the cabin, leave all cabin lockers empty and open, and distribute six Damp-Rid buckets plus seven H2Out desiccant cartridges throughout. With all that, I still sometimes get an inch or so of water in the bilge, occasionally some in the engine compartment too. It’s condensation from rapid temperature and humidity changes. There is just no way to avoid it, but the Damp-Rid and desiccant cartridges definitely mitigate it’s impact. I’ve never had any mold, mildew or even stale odor during winter storage.

While I agree that ice is not likely to to do harm in a open bilge, I still like to leave a little antifreeze in the bilge to protect the pump. I might be wasting some antifreeze, but it’s cheap insurance, and it makes me feel good that I’ve done everything possible to prevent any freezing damage.