Hello fellow Hunter owners! Well, Im going to do it. Im going to take on the responsibility of keeping my 380 in the water all winter. I've also made the decision to "keep on sailing" through the winter as well. This means no engine or plumbing lay up. All this in beautiful New York Harbor. The question is.....what do I need to do to accomplish this? Im already putting in timed heaters so I can keep the cabin temperature high. I also have purchased my own bubblers that I can remove when I go out. Anyone have any web resources, or books that I can use? If this sailing obsession keeps up, Im going to have to move to Florida!! Best, as always.... Gerry
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Bob Zolczer
Get a small plastic snow shovel
Snow and ice build up can make things real interesting when going aboard and moving around. The plastic snow shovels won't chip gelcoat like metal ones.
Snow and ice build up can make things real interesting when going aboard and moving around. The plastic snow shovels won't chip gelcoat like metal ones.
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Bob Knott
Winter in water layup
Gerry, I've done the same thing with my 380 on Cape Cod, but I still winterized the fresh water system since you'll only be out for short nice day sails. This protects a system you don't need. Remember your heater won't keep under the cabin sole and behind the walls warm. I used two heaters on on nav station and one on floor in aft berth. Also leave all drawers and cabinets open for air circulation and to reduce mold. I even put glasses under the aft mattress to raise it several inches so air could circulate. Also I thing you should winterize the motor after everytime you sail. When you come in you take off the engine through hull intake hose, stick it in a bottle of pink stuff and let engine run with a friend watching the exhaust under the transom. First sign of pink stuff kill the motor quickly and your set till you next sail. Gotta watch the pink stuff though as you don't want to pollute. This is the only good way to protect the engine as the water in small hoses and the plastic sea water strainer will freeze quickly. Good Luck I had lots of fun winter sailing two seasons ago. Bob Knott H380
Gerry, I've done the same thing with my 380 on Cape Cod, but I still winterized the fresh water system since you'll only be out for short nice day sails. This protects a system you don't need. Remember your heater won't keep under the cabin sole and behind the walls warm. I used two heaters on on nav station and one on floor in aft berth. Also leave all drawers and cabinets open for air circulation and to reduce mold. I even put glasses under the aft mattress to raise it several inches so air could circulate. Also I thing you should winterize the motor after everytime you sail. When you come in you take off the engine through hull intake hose, stick it in a bottle of pink stuff and let engine run with a friend watching the exhaust under the transom. First sign of pink stuff kill the motor quickly and your set till you next sail. Gotta watch the pink stuff though as you don't want to pollute. This is the only good way to protect the engine as the water in small hoses and the plastic sea water strainer will freeze quickly. Good Luck I had lots of fun winter sailing two seasons ago. Bob Knott H380
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Eric Lorgus
Beware unattended electric heaters
Gerry: I had my boat in wet storage last winter. Latest I had it out was the week of Christmas. I winterized fresh water (tank & hot water heater) & holding tank, plus engine. I originally thought I'd use an electric heater to keep the cabin in the 40's. After talking to others & reading, the word I got was that unattended electric heaters are a big fire hazard. Not to mention most marinas specifically prohibit unattended electric heaters. Insurance policies might exclude them too (never checked my policy). So I abandoned that idea. What I found, however, was that the water insulates the boat very well. It will stay above freezing inside the boat if it is low 30's or high 20's outside. I had an inside/outside thermometer with min/max memory. Coldest it ever got inside last winter was 19F vs 1F outside. I think Bob's advice about winterizing the water systems & then re-winterizing engine after each outing is best route to go. Enjoy your wintry sailing. Eric Lorgus s/v Explorer
Gerry: I had my boat in wet storage last winter. Latest I had it out was the week of Christmas. I winterized fresh water (tank & hot water heater) & holding tank, plus engine. I originally thought I'd use an electric heater to keep the cabin in the 40's. After talking to others & reading, the word I got was that unattended electric heaters are a big fire hazard. Not to mention most marinas specifically prohibit unattended electric heaters. Insurance policies might exclude them too (never checked my policy). So I abandoned that idea. What I found, however, was that the water insulates the boat very well. It will stay above freezing inside the boat if it is low 30's or high 20's outside. I had an inside/outside thermometer with min/max memory. Coldest it ever got inside last winter was 19F vs 1F outside. I think Bob's advice about winterizing the water systems & then re-winterizing engine after each outing is best route to go. Enjoy your wintry sailing. Eric Lorgus s/v Explorer
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Greg Ketley
Do it!
I have kept my H-34 in the water for the last several winters with very little trouble. I have two 30 amp outlets at my slip, one I use to power the boats 110 system. The other one I use just for heaters.This eliminates high current passing through the boat wiring for days without being monitored. I use two electric heaters, one directly in front of the other. If the rear one fails the front heater gets cold and kicks in. I went for several seasons without missing an outing at least once a month. The only caution that I have is that you need to be able to check on your boat every day in weather that is cold enough to be damaging to your boat if the heat fails for any reason. ggk
I have kept my H-34 in the water for the last several winters with very little trouble. I have two 30 amp outlets at my slip, one I use to power the boats 110 system. The other one I use just for heaters.This eliminates high current passing through the boat wiring for days without being monitored. I use two electric heaters, one directly in front of the other. If the rear one fails the front heater gets cold and kicks in. I went for several seasons without missing an outing at least once a month. The only caution that I have is that you need to be able to check on your boat every day in weather that is cold enough to be damaging to your boat if the heat fails for any reason. ggk
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Clyde Lichtenwalner
Winter storage
Many marinas do not allow boats stored for the winter to remain connected to 110. Even if they did, I would never trust relying on winter power to keep the boat from freezing. The price is too high if a general power failure occurs in the middle of an ice storm. Do store your boat in the water, but winterize everything as if there were no power. Add a fanless heater to keep moisture under control and I think you will be pleased with the results, especially if you get some mild weekends that allow you to go sailing. Rewinterize after every use.
Many marinas do not allow boats stored for the winter to remain connected to 110. Even if they did, I would never trust relying on winter power to keep the boat from freezing. The price is too high if a general power failure occurs in the middle of an ice storm. Do store your boat in the water, but winterize everything as if there were no power. Add a fanless heater to keep moisture under control and I think you will be pleased with the results, especially if you get some mild weekends that allow you to go sailing. Rewinterize after every use.
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Jim Haynie
Third Year for Me
I leave my 37 Legend in water year round in Northern VA. Rigged some valves with hoses that enable easy handling of engine antifreeze and just drain out and treat the plumbing water system--noone is likely to take many showers in dead of winter, so jerry canning the water for personal use during those months is easy enough. The engine, however, needs to be drained and refilled with antifreeze every trip. I have added a valve and hose on the engine side of the raw water intake seacock for engine and another on the outlet hose just before the engine cooling water is dumped into the exhaust elbow. To prepare for cold weather, I open the exhaust valve and aim the hose into the bilge with a bucket beside it. I close the raw water seacock and open the added valve and stick its intake hose into a jug of antifreeze. It helps to have a friend, but I can do this myself. Next I go up and start the engine set for about 2K RPM and quickly go below to watch the jugs. First old raw water will come out of the hose into the bilge, but as soon as I see any yellow at all, I quickly aim the hose into the bucket which gives me time to pull the stop knob without loosing any antifreeze. Then I close the valve at the intake and leave it set up like this until my next trip. When I return to sail, I open the raw water engine seacock and start the engine to suck in raw water and force out the antifreeze. I go below and watch the discharge, when the yellow stops flowing, I aim the hose into the bilge and go turn off the engine. Then I close the added discharge valve, pour the recovered antifreeze back into the original container, and cleanup a few drips here and there. Only takes about 3 minutes on either side of the trip (coming or going) whereas the old procedure took half hour or more. Additionally, no antifreeze makes its way into my beloved Chesapeake Bay! The antifreeze does slowly get diluted by the little bit of water you capture each time, but I'm still using the same jug of stuff I started with three years ago and the hydrometer still tests it good to 30 below. I sail every month of the year this way.
I leave my 37 Legend in water year round in Northern VA. Rigged some valves with hoses that enable easy handling of engine antifreeze and just drain out and treat the plumbing water system--noone is likely to take many showers in dead of winter, so jerry canning the water for personal use during those months is easy enough. The engine, however, needs to be drained and refilled with antifreeze every trip. I have added a valve and hose on the engine side of the raw water intake seacock for engine and another on the outlet hose just before the engine cooling water is dumped into the exhaust elbow. To prepare for cold weather, I open the exhaust valve and aim the hose into the bilge with a bucket beside it. I close the raw water seacock and open the added valve and stick its intake hose into a jug of antifreeze. It helps to have a friend, but I can do this myself. Next I go up and start the engine set for about 2K RPM and quickly go below to watch the jugs. First old raw water will come out of the hose into the bilge, but as soon as I see any yellow at all, I quickly aim the hose into the bucket which gives me time to pull the stop knob without loosing any antifreeze. Then I close the valve at the intake and leave it set up like this until my next trip. When I return to sail, I open the raw water engine seacock and start the engine to suck in raw water and force out the antifreeze. I go below and watch the discharge, when the yellow stops flowing, I aim the hose into the bilge and go turn off the engine. Then I close the added discharge valve, pour the recovered antifreeze back into the original container, and cleanup a few drips here and there. Only takes about 3 minutes on either side of the trip (coming or going) whereas the old procedure took half hour or more. Additionally, no antifreeze makes its way into my beloved Chesapeake Bay! The antifreeze does slowly get diluted by the little bit of water you capture each time, but I'm still using the same jug of stuff I started with three years ago and the hydrometer still tests it good to 30 below. I sail every month of the year this way.
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