The frigid north

[capta]

After 40 years of living aboard, I have decided to spend the winter in New Bedford. Please don't ask me why, 'cause I probably couldn't give you an answer that makes any sense.
Anyway, I have some concern about some systems on the boat freezing.
Since guests will be few & far between, I shall winterize the forward head, but do not know what to do about the aft one which I must use daily. I have thought to purchase several small heaters which I'll place in the engine room, under the salon, galley & aft cabin floors, possibly with fans to circulate the warm air. Could I wrap the aft head mechanism with a heating pad to keep it functional?
Some folks here are suggesting that I winterize the engine & generator, but that means I can't go for a sail if there is a mild spell which I would like to do.
Should I leave up the bimini & put an awning (tarp) over the boom to prevent the snow from piling up on the bimini, or remove the bimini?
The marina is supplying “bubblers” so that isn’t a concern, is it?
Also, I don't know what to do about the sails. Again, if the weather is mild I'd like to go for a sail, so do I leave them on or not? They are all roller furling.
Any thoughts from those of you who have spent a winter aboard in the frigid north would be much appreciated.

 

[bffatcat]

The frigid north reply

When You said New Bedford I take it you meant New Bedford MA. Ive lived in and sailed
New England Coastal Waters for over 50 years. You didnt comment on where your from in your post. So I dont know what your experience is Namely about living aboard for a MA winter. Its COLD !!! No one I know does much sailing in the winter around here Dec thru the end of March As far as the sails go I`d remove em. Your gonna get snow, freezing rain and Ice on deck and in the rigging

 

[Stu Jackson]

If it's warm enough for YOU in the boat, why should anything else freeze? Unless you turn the heat off when you leave, which would give you one heckuva cold and wet boat to home to.

Winterizing your engine and de-w'ing it should become second nature and easy with a bucket of anti-freeze for the raw water side. The fresh water side already has anti-freeze in it.

If you're using the aft head, where ya gonna pump out?

 

[Joseph Shirley]

As said, it will get cold, but if you keep heat in the boat nothing should freeze, so You really don't have to winterize the heads or the engine. You can leave the sails on and even the bimini if you wanted to, as long as you keep the snow from piling up on it. It is a good idea to put a tarp over the boom though. One thing no one's mentioned. Your hull is going to sweat, so you want to keep your lockers open so the heat will keep them warm, and adding a dehumidifier to keep it dryer is a good idea. You don't want to get a lot of mold.. I think if it were me I wouldn't think so much about sailing in the winter but there are going to be nice days.

The bubblers are to bring up warmer water from the bottom to prevent ice from forming around the hull and they work. Salt water doesn't freeze until about 27 degrees so you should be fine about that. You should however be concerned about flow ice especially if the current moves fresh water ice or salt water ice from elsewhere, as it can flow into the hull and create fine cuts. I think that you will be all right in New Bedford. Since it's on the south side of the cape, the water is warmer, the tide is smaller, and the weather is generally a little warmer than north of the cape or further inland. So stay warm and dry

Joe S

 

[BobM]

Thoughts

Freezing is a much bigger hazard on the hard than for a boat in the water. The ocean water will still be above freezing in New Bedford all winter so I woudn't worry about the toilet or engine freezing unless you had no heat on board for a week and it was below zero for a few days in a row. If you had a case like that you might want to throw some antifreeze in the bowl, but that's about all I'd do. I'd imagine that the holding tank would actually be a source of heat, so little fear of that freezing.

 

[capta]

Thanks all
Sounds like it'll be an experience like none I've had in all my years in the tropics.
The condensation on the metal hatches & portholes has already been a nuisance, though I guess there's no cure for that.
Had not concidered the moisture thing & the lockers, thanks. I guess a dehumidifier is a must.
All ideas are much appreciated, thanks again.

 

[RAD]

I use to keep Free Spirit in the water over winter and if it was nice out all I would just do is open the raw water sea cock,start the engine and go...afterwards I would take one gallon of pink anti freeze and pull the hose off the raw water inlet and insert it into the gallon and start the engine till empty, reattach the hose and I'm ready till the next nice day.
for heating the head I use a small quartz ceramic heater in the shop bathroom all winter and maybe once I got a skin ice in the toilet on a real cold day but I leave the heater on low so maybe you would have to play with the settings, what about the holding tank? you do have a holding tank?

 

[CarlN]

I've kept my boat unwinterized in Buzzards Bay (but not lived on it) without problems. I actually think the boat is safer than perched on jackstands sealed in shrink wrap. It's a rare winter in New Bedford where you have snow on the ground for more than a month.

If you are planning to live aboard you're going to need heat. You will freeze well before the head. I'd use a combination of electric space heaters and a briquette or diesel heater. You could install a truck heater like an Espar but I'd go for a simple fireplace heater either diesel or briquette - the briquette one is less than $500 if you do the installation yourself. Look at Hamilton Marine. People in Maine know about cold boats. You will need to cut a hole for a chimney but you can always turn it into a dorade in the summer - can't have too many dorades. Be very careful that you install it with the right fitting where it goes through the deck so that the deck doesn't get too hot. These things are really nice on a cold snowy night.

Put the electric heaters at the end of the boat - but don't run them on their maximum setting. They are known to overheat and catch fire. If one ever has a hot cord or plug, throw it away.

Do rig a tarp over the boom. You really want to keep the snow and freezing rain out of the cockpit. Otherwise the drains will freeze and the cockpit will fill up with ice until spring.

You will probably also need a dehumidifier.

Keep the sails and bimini on. There will be plenty of warm days. Or go sailing in a gentle snow storm just for the experience.

Carl

 

[Stu Jackson]

Electrical Warning

If you are going to run electrical heaters, please be sure to confirm the integrity of your boat's A.C. system, including breakers AND WIRING. All too often the rarely used A.C. wiring may not be up to snuff for the heavy load required by resistance heaters.

For instance, on my boat the A.C. wiring makes a "long loop" & runs from near midships port side all the way to the bow, then back down the starboard side to the aft cabin, with a smaller branch midships port side to the head aft. If I put two heaters on, one in the aft cabin and one connected to the starboard outlet, the boat wiring would be under heavy load. If I took the starboard connection and moved it to one of the branch port side outlets, the load on the long loop wiring would be only half. Same load total, but on different branch wires.

You just don't have these issues in houses, but be careful and knowledgeable about how your boat wiring is designed, run & sized.

 

[sailingdog]

I second checking the electrical system. My boat is out of Fairhaven, and if you need/want a second pair of eyes on looking it over, drop me a PM.

Having an awning or some other shelter to prevent snow from piling up on the boat and out of the cockpit is a really good idea.

Which marina are you at???

 

[Bob S]

My dad lived aboard for five years at Hewlet's Cove Hingham MA. He had an Esbar heater that kept the cabin very comfortable. I remember one of his biggest problems was getting water. The piping that ran down on the docks would freeze, they're above ground. He didn't have any problems with on board systems, no need to winterize. It was a pita getting diesel and pumpouts! The ocean did freeze but he has a bubbler that kept it from freezing up to the hull. He kept a couple of oil filled electric radiators as a back up. I aggree with Stu and Dog about checking the integrity of your electrical system. Good luck and stay warm!

 

[Raftco]

Winter in New England: Plan for the worst and hope for the best!

We tend to get a few pretty bad Nor'Easters in the winter that can mess you up on land, let alone in the water. Too often the weather can change around here from being mild to terrible, make sure you talk to some of the locals down in the area as I'm sure there are several boats that stay in the water year round for commercial fishing. Ask them how they keep warm and what systems they use to keep their boats from freezing up. My second recomendation would be to build a strong relationship with whatever boatyard is down there that you may be staying at. That way if you have to pull it short notice you'll be able to! Good luck and STAY WARM.