H-356 winter storage [in water]

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sailmaster39

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May 29, 2011
116
Hunter H 240 rehoboth beach , De
I decided on leaving my H356 in the slip for the winter in Crisfield,Md. This is my first winter with my H356 where I leave it in the slip for the winter. I know the procedure for winterizing however my only concern is the seacocks/thru hulls on the Hunter356.Is it ok ,just to close off all the seacocks or is antifreeze blown thru at the same time as the handle is closed in order to get antifreeze inside the seacock.
Thanks for the feedback.
Richard
S/V Mast Confusion
 
Don S/V ILLusion

Don S/V ILLusion

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Sep 25, 2008
7,513
Alden 50 Sarasota, Florida
I used to leave ours in every winter in New England and didn't worry about the seacocks as the water around the boat never had a hard freeze. It's more a peace of mind issue if you are overly concerned.
 
Ivan

Ivan

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May 17, 2004
234
Hunter 356 Solomons MD
No problem

I have kept my 356 in the water in Solomons, MD all the 11 winters since I bought it in 2002, winterizing through the hoses and ignoring the left over trapped water in the thruhulls. No problems at all. I think Don is right--the water in the Chesapeake usually does not freeze hard enough to matter. Or could be that the trapped water has an escape path through the open hose port, and does not crack the metal. In either case I have never had the slightest damage to my thruhulls.
 
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sailmaster39

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May 29, 2011
116
Hunter H 240 rehoboth beach , De
Thanks for the feedback.l only brought this issue up since my previous boat had seacocks with freeze plugs that would screw off to release trapped water.
Richard
 
B

Big Spuds

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Jan 22, 2008
1
Hunter 44DS Baltimore
Winterizing Sea Cocks

Is that Steve H's... Old boat ? Loved the two masts if it is.

Thermal conductivity of the valve and thru-hull fitting should keep it from freezing... But if it gets cold enough it could freeze the stagnant water around the ball and cause the valve body to crack. Some balls are drilled with a weep hole so no pressure can build up in them, or vacuum if used in a steam application... Often these boat builders throw on whatever they got a deal on. So the only way to know if they are drilled on yours is by looking at both sides when the valve is closed.

Back flushing the valve only takes a few minutes for the peace of mind.... Although you will never get the water all out from around the ball you will get some plus all of the main passage in the ball reducing the risk... And this can be reduced more by using higher strength antifreeze for this procedure.

Cheers
Spuds
 
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