Quick question for those who leave their water-ballasted Hunters in the marina year around: I have my 26' boat in Kemah, TX for the 1st time this season. The water in Galveston Bay doesn't dip below 50 degrees or thereabouts. Occasionally, however, we have spells where the air temperature will dip below freezing at night to, e.g., 30, 25 or 28 degrees. Daytime air temperatures remain in the 50's. Does this scenario present a real threat of causing problems w/ water ballast, eventhough the (salt) water temperature is well above freezing? Am I being foolish to leave the boat in the water? Any sugestions?
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Ray Trombino
Winter Storage
I leave my boat in the water every other season, and have it hauled every two years to dry out the hull and have it re-painted. When I leave the boat in the water, I pump the ballast tank. I found a small pump at West marine that connects to an electric drill and pumps several gallons per minute. I can empty all 220 gallons in umder an hour. We get freezing weather, and sometimes, the creek freezes for days, so I consider this a necessity. The odds of your tank freezing solid are slim to none, but I would recommend pumping at least some water out in case the surface freezes.
I leave my boat in the water every other season, and have it hauled every two years to dry out the hull and have it re-painted. When I leave the boat in the water, I pump the ballast tank. I found a small pump at West marine that connects to an electric drill and pumps several gallons per minute. I can empty all 220 gallons in umder an hour. We get freezing weather, and sometimes, the creek freezes for days, so I consider this a necessity. The odds of your tank freezing solid are slim to none, but I would recommend pumping at least some water out in case the surface freezes.
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Dave Royce
Freezing
I live in Olympia, WA and keep my 23.5 in the water year round and I have never emptied the water balast in the winter. I have never had a problem. We get snow some times but the water never freezes. If your water stays above freezing you should have no worries. Just treat it with some bleach and forget it.
I live in Olympia, WA and keep my 23.5 in the water year round and I have never emptied the water balast in the winter. I have never had a problem. We get snow some times but the water never freezes. If your water stays above freezing you should have no worries. Just treat it with some bleach and forget it.
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Rick Webb
No Problem at All
I kept mine in the water year round in Biloxi and now in Fort Walton Beach never drained the water and never worried about it.
I kept mine in the water year round in Biloxi and now in Fort Walton Beach never drained the water and never worried about it.
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Joe Refkin
RV antifreeze
$5.00 worth of pink stuff would give you peace of mind (although the salt content of Gulf water would be a natural antifreeze. A highschool chemistry teacher should be able to compute the freezing point of 7% salt water (which used to be the average salt content of seawater circa 1965) How long your ambient temp stays at 28 would be a relevent factor.
$5.00 worth of pink stuff would give you peace of mind (although the salt content of Gulf water would be a natural antifreeze. A highschool chemistry teacher should be able to compute the freezing point of 7% salt water (which used to be the average salt content of seawater circa 1965) How long your ambient temp stays at 28 would be a relevent factor.
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Clayton
Slim
Slim, I would agree that the water in the ballast tank will not freeze. If for nothing else, the water surrounding your boat never drops below 50 degrees. On another note, we are going to be traveling to Kemah the third week in March to go to a sailing school. How is the weather down there in March? Things here in Colorado look pretty slim for sailing this year due to a drought so we thought we'd better go and find some water. I have a couple of questions about airports and stuff as I have never been to the Houston / Kemah area. Know of any decently priced hotels ? Regards, Clayton s/v Walkabout Hunter 26.5 svwalkabout@hotmail.com
Slim, I would agree that the water in the ballast tank will not freeze. If for nothing else, the water surrounding your boat never drops below 50 degrees. On another note, we are going to be traveling to Kemah the third week in March to go to a sailing school. How is the weather down there in March? Things here in Colorado look pretty slim for sailing this year due to a drought so we thought we'd better go and find some water. I have a couple of questions about airports and stuff as I have never been to the Houston / Kemah area. Know of any decently priced hotels ? Regards, Clayton s/v Walkabout Hunter 26.5 svwalkabout@hotmail.com
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Jim Covey
Winterize the sink faucets
If the air temp drops below freezing the only real worry you'll have is the connectors to the sinks freezing and breaking. The 1st year I owned my 26 I found these would break even though the lake in Tulsa never froze.
If the air temp drops below freezing the only real worry you'll have is the connectors to the sinks freezing and breaking. The 1st year I owned my 26 I found these would break even though the lake in Tulsa never froze.
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Slim
Clayton
March temps in Kemah are highs in low 70s and lows in low 50s. For accomodations, try South Shore Harbour Resort and Conf Ctr., 800/442-5005. Best, Slim
March temps in Kemah are highs in low 70s and lows in low 50s. For accomodations, try South Shore Harbour Resort and Conf Ctr., 800/442-5005. Best, Slim
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Crazy Dave Condon
freezing
I am glad to see the posts on this but I would like to add my two cents worth. As for adding RV non toxic antifreeze, one to five gallons will not cut the mustard. Look on the bottles and you will find that more than 5 would need to be added. I find that in moderate climates you do not need to worry. Some folks forget that during the day, the boat is heated up and then of course cools down. In Texas, I would not think you would need to worry. I have boats at Smith Mountian Lake that stay in all year round which is in the montains near Roanoke, Va. As for the fittings underneath the sink, water will not hurt them. The valves underneath are very delicate and if you look at them hard, they will break. Water has never affected those since the day I introduced the fist hunter water ballast 23.5 Crazy Dave Condon
I am glad to see the posts on this but I would like to add my two cents worth. As for adding RV non toxic antifreeze, one to five gallons will not cut the mustard. Look on the bottles and you will find that more than 5 would need to be added. I find that in moderate climates you do not need to worry. Some folks forget that during the day, the boat is heated up and then of course cools down. In Texas, I would not think you would need to worry. I have boats at Smith Mountian Lake that stay in all year round which is in the montains near Roanoke, Va. As for the fittings underneath the sink, water will not hurt them. The valves underneath are very delicate and if you look at them hard, they will break. Water has never affected those since the day I introduced the fist hunter water ballast 23.5 Crazy Dave Condon
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