As we get closer to Winter... Layup

[SomeSailor]

Here's a good checklist for your winter layup:

Fall Lay-up
by Don Casey

Nothing is harder on your boat than neglect, and neglect is exactly what recreational boats are subjected to when cold weather settles in. But proper lay-up techniques can minimize the ill effects winter disuse will have on your boat. A prime objective of lay-up is to prepare your boat for the inevitability of freezing conditions. Fluids must be removed or protected, and nothing should be aboard that might be damaged by low temperatures.
Prepare a checklist
The most important tool for properly winterizing your boat is a pencil. Unless you prepare a comprehensive checklist--and follow it--chances are good that you will miss a step or two. Spending a few minutes now tailoring the generic checklist below to your specific requirements will next spring save you hours of dealing with the consequences of an oversight.
* Empty lockers of perishables
Also take off any cans or bottles containing liquids that could freeze.
* Freezeproof the toilet
Every toilet I have ever removed has dumped water (I hope) on the cabin sole when turned sideways to pass through the head door, so pumping a toilet "dry" may prove inadequate. Disconnect the inlet hose from the closed seacock and submerge it in a 50-50 mix of water and propylene glycol antifreeze. Operate the head until you are sure the antifreeze has passed through the toilet and all lines.
If you have an onboard sewage treatment system, follow the manufacturer's instructions for winterizing.
NOTE: For all pump, tank, and hose winterizing, use only non-toxic propylene glycol antifreeze. Never use the ethylene glycol type--common automotive antifreeze--which is poisonous.
* Pump out the holding tank
If the holding tank was empty and clean when you treated the toilet, you can leave the antifreeze mix in the tank, but an empty tank is better.
* Empty all freshwater tanks
Antifreeze is not practical because a 50-50 solution is required, and you then have to empty the tanks in the spring anyway. Remember that the pump pickup is above the bottom, so you will have to pump or sponge the tank dry through the clean-out port. This is a good time to wipe down the interior of the tank with a chlorine solution.
* Drain the water heater
If your water heater has an electrical element, electrically disconnect the heater before you drain it. Because the element will burn out unless submerged, attach a tag to the electrical connection to remind you to refill the tank before restoring the connection.
* Drain or protect pumps and hoses
Even though you are going to drain pumps and hoses, it is advisable to pump a 50-50 antifreeze solution through them to protect pockets or low spots that could be harboring residual water. If your boat is fitted with a water heater--now empty--bypass it (by disconnecting inlet and outlet hoses and connecting them together) so the antifreeze reaches the hot-water side of your plumbing.
NOTE: For uncomplicated water delivery configurations, draining--without the antifreeze treatment--will be adequate as long as you make sure no water remains in pumps or low spots in hoses.
* Drain the accumulator
Water doesn't actually flow through your accumulator tank, so pumping antifreeze through the lines puts very little into the accumulator--like pouring more water into a full jug. If it doesn't drain when you remove the hoses, blow through the T connector, or dismount the tank and shake it empty.
* Protect refrigeration and air-conditioning condensers
Internal loops in the water passages typically prevent complete drainage, so disconnect the raw-water connection from the closed seacock and submerge it in a 50-50 antifreeze mix. Run the system to force the antifreeze through the pump and all lines. Drain.
* Drain baitwell and/or washdown pumps and hoses
Check valves can prevent the lines from draining completely, so you may need to disconnect hoses at both ends. Baitwell tanks must, of course, be empty.
* Empty shower sumps
Don't expect the pump to leave the shower sump dry. You will need to release the sump and pour it empty or sponge the sump dry.
* Empty propane lines
Light a burner on the galley stove--and any other gas appliances--then turn off the manual valve on the propane tank(s). When the burner(s) goes out, close it and flip the solenoid switch to off.
* Remove sails and canvas
Exposing awnings and sails to winter storms--even folded or furled--definitely shortens and too often terminates their lives.
* Lubricate furling systems
If your furling system requires lubrication, this is the time to do it.
* Service winches
If you do this in the fall, you will know that the internal components are well protected from corrosion for the winter, and the winches will be ready for service in the spring without further attention.
* Remove electronics
Spending winters in a warm, dry place prolongs the life of your electronics. Taking them off the boat also eliminates the risk of theft. Spray the open connectors with a moisture-displacing lubricant to protect the contacts from the formation of corrosion. Extract the log impeller and replace it with the plug.
* Protect batteries
If wet-cell batteries are allowed to discharge the electrolyte becomes pure water, which will freeze and ruin the battery. On small boats, bring batteries to a fully charged condition, then remove them from the boat and store in a dry, cool (not frigid) location. Wash and thoroughly dry the tops of stored batteries to reduce the potential for self-discharge. Do not leave stored batteries connected to a portable charger. Unless the charger turns off completely--few do--the batteries will suffer damage. However, stored batteries should be brought to full charge once a month, so post yourself a reminder.
If the batteries will be stored aboard because they are too heavy for convenient removal, they must be maintained in a full charge condition all winter. This requires a power connection and a charger with a "float" stage.
* Winterize the engine
A helpful checklist for this essential component of fall lay-up is available as a separate Don Casey Shows You How... sheet.
* Scrub the exterior
Flushing salt residue from hardware and rigging reduces the potential for corrosion, and grime left on fiberglass or painted surfaces until spring will be that much harder to remove.
* Touch up brightwork
Do not leave damaged spots bare all winter.
* Wax fiberglass surfaces
A light coat of soft wax will protect the fiberglass from dirt and moisture. There is no need to buff it until spring
* Empty the bilge
Bilge pumps typically fail to remove all water from the bilge. Any that remains will freeze. Pump and sponge the bilge completely dry.
* Open drain plug
Trailerable boats should be stored with the drain plug removed and the bow elevated so precipitation that finds its way inside the boat will drain out. Sailboats are sometimes fitted with a garboard drain plug to serve the same function when wintering ashore. Remove the plug and tag it conspicuously so you cannot forget to reinstall it in the spring.
* Close all seacocks except cockpit drains
If the boat is hauled, lubricate and exercise the seacocks--all of them--before closing them for the winter. Out of the water an open seacock still admits moisture, frigid air, and perhaps vermin, so close them.
* Vacuum, clean, and polish
Dirt and grease promote the growth of mold and mildew. Vacuum cushions, clean cabinet interiors, and damp-wipe all hard surfaces. Scrub the interior of refrigerators or ice chests with a mild chlorine solution. Place an open box of baking soda inside and leave the lid open or off.
* Prop up cushions
Air circulation to all sides of cushions is essential. Better still, remove all loose cushions from the boat entirely and store them somewhere warm and dry for the winter. This also applies to other fabric items aboard, like linens, blankets, and PFDs.
* Open lockers and drawers and hatches
Adequate air circulation is the best way of combating mildew. Latch-hooks can be employed to hold cabin and locker doors slightly ajar. Prop bilge access and other compartment hatches open. Hanging a mildew control bag in the cabin is a good precaution.
* Cover
A canvas or shrink-wrap winter cover doesn't just keep precipitation out of the boat's interior, it also protects the deck. In the winter, moisture between hardware and the deck or in minute cracks in the gelcoat repeatedly freezes, jacking the cracks wider with each cycle.
Covers should be padded to prevent chafe, well secured to resist buffeting, and well ventilated to allow the circulation of air beneath the tarp.


For more information about boat maintenance, consult This Old Boat by Don Casey.

[SomeSailor]

Winterizing Your Engine
by Don Casey

When the temperature falls below freezing, if there is water inside your engine or gearcase, the result can be a cracked block or housing and a repair bill that runs into the thousands. It is easy enough to prevent this unhappy circumstance by putting your boat's engine to bed properly at the end of the boating season.

Rust never sleeps

Allowing corrosion to flourish during the off-season is less dramatic but equally destructive. Corrosion can establish a foothold on idle components, so liberal use of corrosion inhibitors--both internal and external--is a second guiding principle for winterizing.


Prepare a checklist

As with laying-up your boat for the season, it is essential not to miss a step. If your owner's manual includes winterizing instructions, that is the procedure you should follow. In the absence of manufacturer's instructions, here are two generic checklists for engine winterizing, one for outboards and one for inboards. Some steps on these lists may not apply to your particular engine.
The only items you will need, other than your engine's normal lubricants are:
- an aerosol can of fogging oil,
- a fuel stabilizer (gasoline engines) or a fuel biocide (diesel engines),
- and, for inboards, a gallon or two of non-toxic propylene glycol antifreeze.


Outboards

Freshwater flush
Use a flushing attachment, or run the outboard in a tank filled with clean water.
Empty fuel lines and carburetors
While the engine is still running, disconnect the fuel line from the engine. When the engine dies, the fuel delivery components will be empty, preventing gums from forming in the stagnant gasoline and clogging lines and jets or injectors.
Fog the carburetor intake(s)
Before the engine runs out of fuel, spray fogging oil into the carburetor(s). Fogging oil is an anticorrosive that will protect the internal surfaces of the carburetor and the cylinders. Typically the engine will run rough just before it runs out of fuel. As that happens, give the carburetor(s) a heavier shot of fogging oil to make sure internal surfaces are fully coated.
Drain cooling passages
Disconnect the flush attachment or remove the motor from the flush tank. With the motor upright, let all water drain out of the pick-up. Open drain plugs (if any--see your owner's manual) to empty the powerhead and intermediate housing. Crank the motor a couple of times by hand or "bump" it with the starter to empty the water pump. If the motor will be exposed to freezing conditions, it is essential that no water remains inside.
Fog the cylinders
Remove the spark plugs and spray fogging oil into the holes to coat the interior surfaces of the cylinders. Rotate the flywheel a few turns to spread the oil on the cylinder walls. While the plugs are out is the time to check them and regap or replace as required. Reinstall the spark plugs.
Lubricate linkages and the electric starter drive mechanism
Clean all pivots and visible gears and protect them for the winter with oil or grease, as specified in your owner's manual.
Drain and refill gearcase
Use lubricant specified in your owner's manual. Fill oil tank
This will prevent condensation from forming inside the tank.
Touch up damaged paint
Mist-coat powerhead with an anticorrosion spray

Drain fuel tank and supply lines
Starting your engine in the spring with old gasoline is an invitation to problems. Manage the last few weeks of your boating season to leave your fuel tank(s) close to empty, then drain the fuel that remains. Use it in your snow blower or burn it in your car, but leave gasoline tanks and lines empty.
Stabilize the fuel
Some boaters prefer to store the tanks full to minimize the potential for condensation. I find a cupful of water in the tank in the spring a lot smaller problem than 50 gallons of bad gasoline, but if you want to leave the tank full, pour in an appropriate amount of gasoline stabilizer to combat the formation of passage-clogging gums.
Clean and liberally lubricate propeller shaft
The off season is the perfect time to have your prop(s) serviced. If the engine will be stored on the boat, take the prop(s) home to discourage theft.
Store upright
Laying the engine down risks water draining where it shouldn't. An engine stand is easy enough to cobble together.


Inboards

Change coolant--fresh-water cooled engines only
Coolant loses its anticorrosion properties over time. Replacing it every year with a fresh 50-50 mix protects the inside of your engine.
Change oil in engine and transmission
First take the boat out for a ride to get the oil hot and contaminants in suspension. (This also distributes the fresh coolant throughout the engine.) Replace the oil filter.
Top-off fuel tanks and add biocide--diesel engines only
Keeping the tank full inhibits condensation, a serious problem for diesel engines. Treat the fresh fuel with a biocide to retard bacteria growth. A stabilizer is unnecessary unless you expect to run the engine during the winter since the paraffin that precipitates out will be reabsorbed by the fuel when warm weather returns.
Run engine out of fuel--gasoline engines only
Shut off the fuel supply and let the engine run until it stops.
Fog the intake--gasoline engines only
While the engine is running, remove the flame arrestor and spray fogging oil into the air intake. Give it an extra heavy shot just as the engine starves and dies.
Drain fuel tank and supply lines--gasoline engines only
Adding stabilizer is an alternative but less effective way of avoiding engine problems in the spring resulting from stale gasoline.
Flush raw-water circuit
If you have a fresh-water flush connector, use it. Otherwise, close the intake seacock and disconnect the hose on the outlet side of the raw-water pump. Disconnect the cooling-water discharge hose from the exhaust manifold or riser. Run fresh water into the discharge hose to back-flush raw-water passages and rinse out salt deposits. You can extend the disconnected pump hose outside the boat or let the bilge pump handle the flush discharge.
Protect raw-water passages--raw-water cooled diesel engines only
The raw water circuit must be drained to prevent freezing, but air exposure promotes corrosion. Reconnect the water-pump outlet hose. Insert a funnel into the disconnected discharge hose and pour a 50-50 mix of propylene glycol antifreeze into the funnel until the hose will not accept more. Allow the mixture to remain inside the block for several minutes, then open all raw-water drain plugs and drain the engine. This treatment leaves behind a layer of corrosion protection on the water-jacket, and it freeze-protects any water that might be harbored in low spots inside the engine.
This treatment is also applicable to protecting the heat exchanger on a fresh-water cooled engine.
Remove raw-water impeller
Antifreeze swells some rubbers, so rinse the extracted impeller as a precaution. Some grease the impeller and reinstall it. My preference is to leave it out until spring so the vanes don't take a set.
Fog cylinders--gasoline engines only
Remove the spark plugs and spray fogging oil into the holes. "Bump" the starter to spread the oil on the cylinder walls. Regap or replace plugs, as required, and reinstall.
Fog intake--diesel engines only
Spray fogging oil into the intake manifold and turn the engine over slowly by hand to draw the oil into the cylinders and spread it. Do not use the starter, even with the stop control pulled out; the engine can start on the fogging oil.
Drain muffler canister
The less moisture the engine is exposed to, the less corrosion will occur.
Degrease, derust, touch-up
Maintain all painted surfaces to keep corrosion at bay.
Grease control cables
Extract control cables from their housings and coat them with grease. If you cannot remove them, tape an oil-filled bag tightly around the high end of the housing; the oil will work its way down the cable. Lubricate linkages and pivots.
Coat unpainted parts with an anticorrosion spray

Seal all engine and tank openings
Keep moist air from getting inside your engine and tanks. Seal air inlets, crankcase and transmission breathers, exhaust outlets, and tank vents. Fabricate caps from plastic containers and tape them in place with plastic tape to create an airtight seal.
Tighten stuffing box
If the boat will be stored in the water, tighten the stuffing box to eliminate all dripping. Tag it to remind you to loosen it in the spring.


Stern Drive

A stern drive is, in principle, an inboard engine married to an outboard drive system. If your boat has a stern drive you will need to follow the inboard list for protecting the engine, but add to that several items from the outboard list for protecting the lower end. An additional requirement is filling the drive shaft housing with the appropriate lubricant.
Remember that a stern drive needs to be in the full-down position for draining the water passages and for checking or adding gear lube. Store it in the down position.


For more information about boat maintenance, consult This Old Boat by Don Casey.

[SomeSailor]

The only items you will need, other than your engine’s normal lubricants are:

- an aerosol can of fogging oil
- a fuel stabilizer (gasoline engine) or a fuel biocide (diesel
engines),
- a gallon or two of non-toxic propylene glycol antifreeze
□ Change coolant – fresh-water cooled engines only
□ Change oil in engine and transmission
□ Top-off fuel tanks and add biocide – diesel engines only
□ Run engine out of fuel – gasoline engines only
□ Fog the intake - gasoline engines only
□ Drain fuel tank and supply lines – gasoline engines only
□ Flush raw-water circuit
□ Protect raw-water passages – raw-water cooled diesel engines
only
□ Remove raw-water impeller
□ Fog cylinders – gasoline engines only
□ Fog intake – diesel engines only
□ Drain muffler canister
□ Degrease, derust, touch-up
□ Grease control cables
□ Coat unpainted parts with an anti-corrosion spray
□ Tighten stuffing box
Stern Drives:
A stern drive is, in principle, an inboard engine married to an outboard
drive system. If your boat has a stern drive you will need to follow the
inboard list for protecting the engine, but add to that several items from
the outboard list for protecting the lower end. An additional requirement is
filling the drive shaft housing with the appropriate lubricant. Remember
that a stern drive needs to be in the full-down position for draining the
water passages and for checking or adding gear lube. Store it in the down
position.

[Go Aweigh2452]

Winterized my engine this AM, ran saltaway through the engine, got it up to temp and then pumped my engine vacuum system to flush the remaining water out of the engine... the last item was to pull the two blue plugs (6.2 has only two). As I pulled the two blue plugs and let the water out, I thought one of the blue plugs felt different... sure enough, the O ring was missing and most likely in the bilge. I vacuumed the bilge and the flushed standing water but after seeing how dirty and oily the bottom was, decided to degrease the bilge. It is now clean as a whistle and as I was about to open the vacuum to search for the O ring I bent over one more time to grab my saltaway sprayer and saw under the motor mount the O ring that started all the cleaning... At least the bilge is clean now and the engine is ready to be sprayed with preservative. New spark plugs will go in shortly... Now to winterize the kicker...

[SomeSailor]

I've got a kid washing, waxing and detailing mine this weekend. Pulled the camper off for him to get some buffing and waxing done back there, but will be starting on some winterizing tasks later in the month.

He's trying to get a boat detailing business started, so he's giving mine the once-over it needs at the end of the season (wash, buff out and wax). I'll start tidying up for winter when he's done.