This is my first boat. October is just about gone and I need to winterize. The bilge, head and holding tank were straight foward after some good direction from people in the yard. Not sure about my hot & cold water system. Can any one send me a good operating procedure to winterize this?
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Winterize
Hi Rosebud; You have picked a great first boat! I have a C30 and I help a friend with a C28, here is what I do. (Boat is in Northern Michigan, so Temps are about the same as yours or lower.) First, turn the circuit breaker for the hot water heater to off, and run as much water out of the tanks with the pump as you can. Both hot and cold. I pick the one furthest from the pump to run most of the water out of. On both the boats that is the swim platform shower. When the pump is just blowing air, turn off the pump. Open both tanks at inspection cover and use a clean rag to soak up residual water. I then wipe down the inside of the tanks, (I have a small arm that will go into the inspection covers)with a solution of bleach and clean water. We have a short handled mop that we use just for water tanks to reach the corners. Wipe any residual solution out of tank. Disconnect the water heater inlet and outlet lines and join them together with a union joint. (Mine are 1/2 inch, buy them at hardware store for about a buck) drain the water heater with the drain that looks like a house faucet. Note: some water with start to drain from the inlet/outlet connections when you remove the hoses. That water will go into the bilge which can be moped up later with towel or small hand pump. Now I put 2 gals of the "pink stuff" non-toxic antifreeze -50 protection into each water tank from the deck fills, that moves any water that may be in low spots in the fill hose. When I have 2 gals in each tank, I turn the water pump back on and start from swim platform shower and run fluid out until I see pink from both hot and cold sides. Repeat at each sink. Your fresh water system is now set for the winter. I leave the water heater drain faucet open for the winter. Don't forget to put the hoses back on the water heater in the spring, and make sure the water heater breaker is still in the off position. Follow Peggy's advice for recommishioning in the spring. For the head, make sure you get a good pump-out at the last of the season. With the boat out of the water, locate the thru-hull on the outside of the boat that supplies water to the head. Take a short length of 1/2 OD hose and push it up into the opening. You may use a little tape around the hose to make a tight fit. Put a bottle of -100 non-toxic antifreeze on a short ladder or some other stand to make it at the same height as the thru-hull opening, and put the end of the hose into the antifreeze. Get back onboard and pump the head in the "wet bowl" position until the bottle is empty and you are done. If you have electric refridgeration, pour a little anti-freeze into the bottom of the clean fridge and pump the footpump drain a few strokes to winterize the drain pump. That's it, takes longer to write about it than it does to do the job! Fair winds Dave
Hi Rosebud; You have picked a great first boat! I have a C30 and I help a friend with a C28, here is what I do. (Boat is in Northern Michigan, so Temps are about the same as yours or lower.) First, turn the circuit breaker for the hot water heater to off, and run as much water out of the tanks with the pump as you can. Both hot and cold. I pick the one furthest from the pump to run most of the water out of. On both the boats that is the swim platform shower. When the pump is just blowing air, turn off the pump. Open both tanks at inspection cover and use a clean rag to soak up residual water. I then wipe down the inside of the tanks, (I have a small arm that will go into the inspection covers)with a solution of bleach and clean water. We have a short handled mop that we use just for water tanks to reach the corners. Wipe any residual solution out of tank. Disconnect the water heater inlet and outlet lines and join them together with a union joint. (Mine are 1/2 inch, buy them at hardware store for about a buck) drain the water heater with the drain that looks like a house faucet. Note: some water with start to drain from the inlet/outlet connections when you remove the hoses. That water will go into the bilge which can be moped up later with towel or small hand pump. Now I put 2 gals of the "pink stuff" non-toxic antifreeze -50 protection into each water tank from the deck fills, that moves any water that may be in low spots in the fill hose. When I have 2 gals in each tank, I turn the water pump back on and start from swim platform shower and run fluid out until I see pink from both hot and cold sides. Repeat at each sink. Your fresh water system is now set for the winter. I leave the water heater drain faucet open for the winter. Don't forget to put the hoses back on the water heater in the spring, and make sure the water heater breaker is still in the off position. Follow Peggy's advice for recommishioning in the spring. For the head, make sure you get a good pump-out at the last of the season. With the boat out of the water, locate the thru-hull on the outside of the boat that supplies water to the head. Take a short length of 1/2 OD hose and push it up into the opening. You may use a little tape around the hose to make a tight fit. Put a bottle of -100 non-toxic antifreeze on a short ladder or some other stand to make it at the same height as the thru-hull opening, and put the end of the hose into the antifreeze. Get back onboard and pump the head in the "wet bowl" position until the bottle is empty and you are done. If you have electric refridgeration, pour a little anti-freeze into the bottom of the clean fridge and pump the footpump drain a few strokes to winterize the drain pump. That's it, takes longer to write about it than it does to do the job! Fair winds Dave
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