Slipping my GW in these freezing temps

[SeaVee]

All,

My new to me Grady white 265 , will be spending the rest of the winter in the water, since my lift isn’t installed yet. Any tips?
Need to drain my fresh water tank, I guess, and what about the head?
Any benefit to putting a small electric heater in the cabin?
TIA,
SeaVee

 

[DennisG01]

Where are you located and what type of "freezing temps" do you expect and for how long? Gotta have more info for better help.

What have others, in your area, successfully done over the years?

But generally, yes, on outboard with minimal accessories it's pretty easy. Run the tank dry then either disconnect the output hose and stick it in a bucket of AF and run the pump/faucets till pink or add the pink stuff to your tank. Same generally idea for the head - but may depend on what type of head you have - you didn't mention that.

I wouldn't leave an electric heater on while you're not there.

Depending on the engine(s) you have, there may be some things to do there.

 

[seasick]

All,

My new to me Grady white 265 , will be spending the rest of the winter in the water, since my lift isn’t installed yet. Any tips?
Need to drain my fresh water tank, I guess, and what about the head?
Any benefit to putting a small electric heater in the cabin?
TIA,
SeaVee

It's hard to reply since there is a lot that perhaps should have been done already. Have you had a freeze yet where you dock?
Yes you have to drain and add/flush the fresh water system with antifreeze.
Yes you have to treat the sanitary deice and the holding tank. You need to drain the water lines or treat them both fresh and salt water.
Do you have hot water?
Batteries should be kept charged, run down batteries can freeze.
Your motors should be down (in the water) If tilted up they can collect sea/rain water in the lower end and if that freezes you can crack the LU.

It's a bit late but your LU oil should have been drained and refilled.
Fuel probably should have been drained from the motor VST and inline filters.
Gas should be treated with stabilizer and run through motor especially if you didn't drain the VST and filter.

There are probably a whole list of things I missed.

I don't like the heater in the cabin idea for a few reasons: It can be a fire hazard. It can be costly to run all winter. It will not heat the critical areas that can collect water. Some folks put a light bulb in the bilge. If that gets wet, especially with salt water, it can cause a fire.
If your waterway is subject to freezing, you have other things to worry about. Ice can damage your hull.. There can be problems with tides and your slip. Depending on the typical tidal swing, you may need to take special precautions. The one product that I see as being useful for icing of the water is something like the ice eater. If you go that route get the thermostatic control option l. Otherwise it will run 24/7 and you may see a very large electric bill.

You also should be able to check your boat and slip frequently to look for problems. Assuming your boat is not covered, you have to remove snow and ice buildup.Ice buildup can sink a boat, I have seen that happen and it was pretty quick.

Now if you boat is not located in an area that has freezing temps, you can ignore a lot of the above

 

[seasick]

Dennis, you made me think of something with your post which it seems you were composing the same time I was Even if the lift were ready and used, pretty much all of the same concerns and maintenance would have to be done. The need to monitor sea ice would be mostly eliminated.

 

[DennisG01]

I agree - all of the above stuff would still be valid, regardless of whether the boat is on the lift or not. In fact, these items become MORE valid when on a lift since the boat doesn't have the warming effect of the water migrating up through the hull. Obviously it's not a huge effect, but things will freeze faster when out of the water.

I'd probably want to leave the engines down in the water to avoid getting water behind the prop... although even if the water in that area freezes, it shouldn't cause any issues as it has room to expand out. But it would be important to fully let the engine block drain before tilting it up. Also, some of the bigger Yamaha's (V8's, I think) have a few very small coolant passages and it's actually a good idea to run AF through the block on those.

 

[seasick]

All true. I have read about the water passages but I have no hands-on experience with any of the V8 motors. I also think that on a lift, one would pull the drain plug and open all sea cocks to aid in draining and possibly flushing.

 

[Fishtales]

How about a bubbler or two to ensure the water doesn't freeze around the hull.

 

[seasick]

How about a bubbler or two to ensure the water doesn't freeze around the hull.

The ice eater is a big underwater fan in effect. Bubblers (air type) work when the water they bubble in warmer than the surface temps and not because they just move the water. In shallow water bubblers don't work very well
For large hulls and depending on the depth of the water and the Ice Eater, you may need more than one device to insure that both sides of the hull get the benefit.
The thermostatic control I mentioned turns off the power to the IceEater when the air temp exceeds a certain point for example 32 degrees. The temp can be set lower actually since salt water freezes at a lower temp.
The units that I see used at my club are often the 3/4 hp models. They consume about 600 watts. If left running all day, that works out to about 13 KWHs or 415 Kwh per month. Our electric dock rates vary but have been about 26 cents per Kwh so the ice eater left running all day will cost a bit over $100 per month. I have seen even higher bills for the larger models. The thermostatic control can reduce the electric bill by up to 80% in areas like the northeast.
My experience with IceEaters protecting dock piling ice is so so. If the water/air is cold and the wind is up, the pilings and hoops if you have them, will ice up. The only sure way to deal with that is to check and if ice is building up, chop it off.

 

[SeaVee]

Yep, sorry for going down the rabbit hole without putting out more information. I’m in Virginia Beach, the boat is generally on a trailer but it’s in the water right now. I try to use it a couple times a week, so I don’t winterize it. Supposedly, we have some temperatures in the teens coming, and I just want to know what I need to do to get thru that cold snap. Again, I come from a center console with a salt water washdown and a 5 gallon bucket for plumbing, so a lot to learn. Thanks for all the tips.
PS my creek is 45 degrees now, no access to trailer

 

[SkunkBoat]

Is the boat behind your house or at a marina? Does the creek ever freeze hard?
From my Navy days I don't remember Norfolk/Little Creek having any icing problems in the harbors. It never stayed below freezing for more than a few days all winter. But there were some icing storms and a few crazy heavy snows. If you get one of those you need to get to the boat and deal with it.
You seem to be trying to get out with it, are you catching bass?
Keep the motors down in the warm water. The warm water will also probably keep the bilge from freezing but everything above the water line will ice up like a skating rink.
I would get to a pumpout and empty the stink tank. Flush at least a half gallon of RV antifreeze.
Drain the fresh water and put in the other half gallon. Put some in the shower sump so that float doesn't freeze. I leave that access port open all winter for air flow

Do you have shore power/extension cord power. Try and keep batteries charged all winter. I would go with the 60 w light bulb low in the cabin near the open fwd bilge access.
My main concern would be if the bilge froze and then you got a lot of rain/snow. If it looks like that might happen you could put a bulb in the rear bilge space.

My 265 is on blocks & stands in a field with charger plugged in, keeping 4 batteries charged.