Winterizing the Hatt

Well, yesterday was the day I finally bit the bullet and winterized my mains, genny and air conditioning. I don't winterize the water as we live onboard year around. Everything went as planned until I got to the port main.

Since we live in a part of the country that can and does (still) see sub-zero temps, I try and take extra precautions to make sure that all will be well if the power decided it was going to go out with the temps way down. Usually this entails the normal winterizing and then doing the best I can to keep the seacocks from freezing if for some reason I can't get the genny to start. I do this by blowing antifreeze through the seacock until I hear bubbles and then I close the valve and pour in more antifreeze.

This year when I closed the seacock for the port main, it did not seal completely. Water ran into the bilge from the strainer that I was cleaning until I got the strainer closed again. Thinking it might be just a piece of something caught in the valve I openned and closed it again several times to see if I could dislodge it. No Dice! Still wanting to protect the seacock I poured about a gallon on vegetable oil into the thing and then blew enough out so that the throughull, and the seacock and assorted plumbing should not have (much) water in them. Normally I would have had the boat pulled and replaced the seacock, but the travel lift is out of service until next spring. So, I hope what I have done is OK.

As a result I have a couple questions. First does anybody know what seacock I need to get for spring replacement ('72 48 Yachtfish with 8V71N mains)? What is the best way to handle the replacement? Is this something that I can do, or do I need to hire someone (prefer doing things myself)? Last, the raw water hoses going from the strainer to the raw water pumps are getting to the end of their life for both engines. Should I replace with the wire reinforced rubber hose as it is now, or is there something else that is easier to work with and better?

Sorry about the long post, but I appreciate any and all answers.
Dwayne

You don't need to replace the seacock, you just need to perform some normal maintanance. Here's a site with the typical maintanence: http://www.geocities.com/earlylight1...cockMaint.html

Problem is, I think my seacocks are the ball valve type vs the tapered plug. I am not sure if the same procedure would work in this instance. I sure would like it if I could as that seacock is NOT in the easiest place to get to.....

I used to winterize my boat as you described with extra antifreeze in the seacock connection. As an additional safety feature, you can also wrap a small heat tape (used for plumbing pipes) around your seacocks. Just don't overlap the tape as it can overheat and fail. Another alternative is a 15 watt light bulb, but these usually don't last all winter in really cold weather. The small fluorescents, now 13 watts, should also work but I've never checked them for heat output...but they have great longevity. You can add a bit of insulation as well to retain the light bulb or heat tape warmth.

Conceptually, seacocks will be warmed from surounding lake water unless that water freezes, say a foot or two thick. But even if the lake water is liquid two feet under the boat, sub zero temps in the bilge can freeze seacocks. A bubble system which prevents deep ice from forming around a boat will make seacock protection easy. As long as the bilge is above 32 degrees, you are safe.

My question was more related to power failures and having a compromised seacock and having to keep the boat in the water. Maybe I should have been more clear.

My wife and I live aboard our boat year around. During the winter we do have the bubbler to keep the ice away and I keep my engine room at about 45 to 50 so that the water pipes don't freeze. Normally we have pretty good service from the power company, but you never can tell if something might happen that could cause a long enough power outage that there could be a problem. I know that I should be able to start the genny to regain power, but what if for some reason it decides to not start. Then I have a problem because I know of no 100% solution to protect that seacock. I think that essentially filling the thing with oil, which will displace the water wil get the job done, but am not sure. At least it is better than doing nothing.

I guess the fact that I got no replys on types of hose to use for the raw water intake means that replacement with the same type is the best way to go.

Thanks, guys.

Use a grease gun and fill it full of lard. In the spring use hot water and blow it out.



BILL

Freezing rarely if ever bursts hose because hose has flexibility. It's the metal seacock which can't expand and contract. Wire reinforced hose is preferable to keep raw water pump suction from compressing/collapsing your intake hose. Any soft walled hose (no wire) may collapse and ruin your day.

If you are concerned about a loss of shorepower, try a 15 watt 12 volt dc bulb at each seacock instead of a 120 volt ac bulb. When shore power is available, your battery charger will take care of the load. If power fails the batteries will supply power for a good period since each bulb draws only 1.25 amps. Especially if wrapped in some moderate insulation, this will protect your seacocks for days.

But if power fails, aren't you worried about your fresh water system?? That will almost certainly freeze before the seacocks which are "warmed" directly by the bubbler system. If you have propane aboard, you can install a central RV propane heater, as Surburban brand, which is moderate cost and will keep the entire boat from freezing. But running 4" air ducts thru out is time consuming. My 34,000 BTU unit draws only five or six amps when running.

Another alternative: hang a digital thermometer in a port. Have a Marina Mate check temps if you will be away. I keep heat aboard and live an hour drive from my boat. A live aboard neighbor in the Marina checks my boat temp to be sure it's above 40 degrees when weather is freezing. You can also use a temperature alarm which will dial a preselected number should interior temps fail.

Replacing a seacock is easy if the boat is out of the water and you can replace like with like bolts/holes. After removing the old seacock, scrape the bedding area clean of old caulk, if any, and let the area dry as necessary. Use any underwater rated caulk to bed the new seacock. If the new bolts different from the old configuration, best to first plug the old holes with an epoxy paste after drying.

Thanks Rob, I will do the 12V bulb thing. Yeah, I am worried about the plumbing freezing since it is not winterized, but decided that that was a risk that i would just have to take. If we are going to be gone for any length of time, I take the extra precaution of emptying the tank and blowing out the plumbing as best I can to try and mitigate the damage. That being said I am sure that if it does freeze and burst it will not be in an area that is easy to get to.

Not worried about the hoses freezing, just the fact that they are old and need to be replaced. Over the winter I plan on replacing all the hoses on the raw water side of the mains so that I know they are new and not compromised.