This year I have decided to winter in the water at my marina in CT. I have done all the standard winterizing things like I usually do for wintering on the hard - including installing my canvas winter cover. However, I am haunted by the thought of my seacocks freezing and failing since I couldn't figure out how to get antifreeze down into them while in the water. Any thoughts on this? Hopefully I am over thinking it. Also any other suggestions or precautions for wintering "wet" would be appreciated. I am thinking of running an electric ceramic heater as well.
Winterizing
- Thread starter seaduct
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You have to worry about seacocks freezing because they do and the boat can sink if ruptured. You should be able to remove a hose to each to get antifreeze down in them. Also, many marinas do not allow unattended heaters in boats (probably an insurance issue) and I have known of similar situations where unattended heaters caught on fire and hence the boat burned up taking several other boats with them. That is not a good thing. Wrecks a lot of people's day.
We stayed "in"every winter in RI and never worried about the seacocks. As Seanshine pointed out, they are below the waterline and therefore stay at the same temp as the water which in CT will never freeE to that depth except in the most extreme conditions.
Pouring a few ounces of antifreeze in them certainly won't hurt but it's a "feel good" exercise unless you get a foot of ice around the boat.
Pouring a few ounces of antifreeze in them certainly won't hurt but it's a "feel good" exercise unless you get a foot of ice around the boat.
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