I have an Hunter 18.5 and this year its been slipped at the municipal marina on the upper chesapeake bay. Some of the boats here say in the water year round and I'm considering keeping mine on the water over the winter and saving the aprox $700 to hall it out and keep it in a marina over the winter as I have no place to store it out of the water on the trailer at my home. I've been here since 1998 and we've never had the bay freeze up here that I can remember. Are there and problems with leaving a small sailboat in the water all winter ?
Wintering
- Thread starter hunterdoctor
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If the Bay doesn't freeze, the only concern I'd have would be if the cockpit drain of your 18.5 were to get plugged with leaves or slush with freezing water accumulating in the cockpit. (I assume you'll take your motor home) Also, I wouldn't leave any water jugs down below.
kind regards
Hugh
kind regards
Hugh
Hugh pretty much summed it up. You do have to keep the cockpit drain clear during the winter and leaves will find their resting place in the drain even if a tree is not near the boat. Somehow Mother Nature has a way of doing things.
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