Ask Nigel

By Nigel Barron

Winterizing Your Boat

Fall boating can be amazing. If you’re up for the cooler weather, you look forward to boating every fall. If you’re a sailor, the wind is generally better in the fall, and the crowds from summer are gone. However, as warmer weather and daylight start to wane, people start putting their boats away. This time of year, I get many boaters asking, “What do I need to do to put my boat to bed?” As always, there are different answers based on whether you have a sailboat or powerboat. However, there are many common tasks required for both. The biggest wintertime concern is the humidity. Keeping things clean and dry is imperative. For a sailboat, you’ll want to store the sails and remember to remove as much of the line as possible to clean and store it. This is also a good time to inspect your sails. Does the UV patch on the jib look worn? Is there stitching that needs attention? Are there any small punctures or tears? If you answer, “yes” to any of these questions, now is a great time to visit your sailmaker, who is also entering the slow season. On a race boat, we run a dehumidifier year-round. And in the winter, we add an oil-filled radiator to the mix. Dehumidifiers serve double duty as they keep the humidity down and they also keep the air moving around. I’m not a big fan of the AC heaters with the built-in fans, as there are just too many moving parts. The dehumidifier with the radiator easily moves the air and heat around. In an ideal world, you could have a dehumidifier set up on a countertop with a drain hose set up to run continuously (so that way you don’t have to make frequent visits to the boat to empty the bucket). Remember to pay attention to the number of heaters that are running relative to your shore power. If you can, remove as much of the soft goods from your boat as possible. I always say that a clean boat is a happy boat. Make sure the bilges are dry and cupboards are bare. Wipe down all the boat’s surfaces and take the time to close some thru hulls. If you are closing some critical thru hulls, however, use a piece of tape to write yourself a reminder so it’s not a problem you’re dealing with come spring. This is also a great time to check your mooring lines for wear and tear and consider adding that extra inter spring line. I also like to give the boat a good “push test” when we leave her to make sure that, whichever direction the wind is coming from, the boat stays completely put. In the June edition of Northwest Yachting, I wrote about fuel in the tanks and filling up on fuel when it’s cheap. A lot of the advice from that particular column holds true as you plan for winter. If you don’t think you’ll run the boat at least once a month, think about adding a fuel stabilizer or fuel storage solutions, and leave the tanks as full as possible. An oil change is a good idea before winter, as you are running clean and fresh lubricant through the engine. If you have an outboard hanging on rail, don’t forget about fogging and winterizing that as well. Think about your water tanks and other things that could freeze. There is antifreeze made specifically for potable tanks. Empty the water tanks, pour in the antifreeze, and run each faucet until you get a little to come out. If you can, drain the water from the engine and flush it. Puget Sound area waters don’t get much colder in the winter, so it can act as a good insulator for our boats and prevent damage from a deep freeze. Around here, there is little risk to the systems, but this is 2020. Anything can happen!

Nigel Barron was born in England and developed his sea legs at an early age. He is currently the Project Manager at CSR Marine in Seattle where he has worked for 15 years as a rigger, then an installer, and now in his current role. He is also the captain of Crossfire, a Reichel-Pugh designed and McConaghy built custom race boat from Seattle.

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