What Did You Do To Your Boat This Week?

[Bill 310]

For the last two winters I have run one of these heater/fan units.



I bought the other unit as well, because I didn't know any better.

Now our boat is in the water all winter and we have a covered but not enclosed slip.

The boat is welded aluminum with a cabin and I set the thermostat at medium high and it cycles on and off and keeps the boat at about 70 F.

I place the heater on the floor in the cabin and block the door to the V-Birth open . We always have the heater stored on the boat and have a few times when it has been cold or stupid rainy out run the heater at night when we were sleeping. We have a smoke detector and a CO detector.

The boat is plugged in at the dock and I know our monthly hydro increases in the winter with the heater running but the invoicing periods are never the same so I can't figure out how much more it costs to run the heater all winter.

I could work out the cost if I used the power consumption but in the end I would still be running the heater so it made no sense to just find out exactly how much more another item on a boat costs on a daily basis in the winter.

We use the boat year round and I can't tell you how nice it is to get into an aluminum boat that is warm inside from the get go. If we didn't have the boat warm from the get go it would really curtail the enjoyment of winter boating

We unplug the electric and turn on the diesel heater as soon as we get aboard and crack open one of the side and rear facing windows to insure fresh air flow while aboard.

I went to Michaels (with the heater) and found a plastic box with a snap lid to store the heater in.

 

[Rain City]

For the last two winters I have run one of these heater/fan units.

View attachment 112023

I bought the other unit as well, because I didn't know any better.

Now our boat is in the water all winter and we have a covered but not enclosed slip.

The boat is welded aluminum with a cabin and I set the thermostat at medium high and it cycles on and off and keeps the boat at about 70 F.

I place the heater on the floor in the cabin and block the door to the V-Birth open . We always have the heater stored on the boat and have a few times when it has been cold or stupid rainy out run the heater at night when we were sleeping. We have a smoke detector and a CO detector.

The boat is plugged in at the dock and I know our monthly hydro increases in the winter with the heater running but the invoicing periods are never the same so I can't figure out how much more it costs to run the heater all winter.

I could work out the cost if I used the power consumption but in the end I would still be running the heater so it made no sense to just find out exactly how much more another item on a boat costs on a daily basis in the winter.

We use the boat year round and I can't tell you how nice it is to get into an aluminum boat that is warm inside from the get go. If we didn't have the boat warm from the get go it would really curtail the enjoyment of winter boating

We unplug the electric and turn on the diesel heater as soon as we get aboard and crack open one of the side and rear facing windows to insure fresh air flow while aboard.

I went to Michaels (with the heater) and found a plastic box with a snap lid to store the heater in.

View attachment 112022

I keep one of those in the v berth on low and then this year I bought this little guy.
Dehumidifier,88OZ Dehumidifier... https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0D9Y8K2KM?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
I noticed the Merry Fisher gets lots of condensation inside the glass so on my first cold morning it took a long time to get the windows clear. This has really helped.

 

[the force]

My gosh leg oil is expensive… I realize you don’t need much and it is not material in the grand scheme of things but are there any better options then $30/L? Is the Sierra stuff comparable? Just seems wrong…

 

[salmonkiller01]

My gosh leg oil is expensive… I realize you don’t need much and it is not material in the grand scheme of things but are there any better options then $30/L? Is the Sierra stuff comparable? Just seems wrong…

Pretty sure they are the same oil.

 

[Derby]

Most motor manufactures use nothing but the quick silver.. must be a reason why

 

[the force]

Are these alpha 1 zincs ready for replacement? Boat is in saltwater for about 10 days a year…What’s the guide for how consumed they can be before requiring change out?

 

[Aquaholic]

Are these alpha 1 zincs ready for replacement? Boat is in saltwater for about 10 days a year…What’s the guide for how consumed they can be before requiring change out?

Unbelievable how far gone the ram zincs are for ten days. Metal boat? No other hull zinc?

 

[the force]

Unbelievable how far gone the ram zincs are for ten days. Metal boat? No other hull zinc?

I’m not sure when they were last replaced, haven’t been in the 2.5years I’ve owned it… could be 10 years old for all I know.

Aluminum boat. As far as I’m can see only zincs are on the outdrive and kicker.

I’m a bit embarrassed to show this but it has a skookum kicker bracket (not my handy work) if that makes any difference. The zinc on kicker mount is decently ate up as well.
Trim tabs look fine.

 

[Bill 310]

I keep one of those in the v berth on low and then this year I bought this little guy.
Dehumidifier,88OZ Dehumidifier... https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0D9Y8K2KM?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
I noticed the Merry Fisher gets lots of condensation inside the glass so on my first cold morning it took a long time to get the windows clear. This has really helped.

Quite the device......

..........And This portable dehumidifiers with auto atmosphere lights create a sweet and romantic night ambiance. You can also choose your favorite color or turn it off.

Reminds of the old joke where the bear says to the hunter, "You aren't really here for the hunting, are you?"

 

[Rain City]

Quite the device......

..........And This portable dehumidifiers with auto atmosphere lights create a sweet and romantic night ambiance. You can also choose your favorite color or turn it off.

Reminds of the old joke where the bear says to the hunter, "You aren't really here for the hunting, are you?"

Funny you should say that, I had no idea that it had this feature. But boy was I pleasantly surprised when arrived to the marina one night and was welcomed with a glowing pink hue coming from my all glass boat that I could see from the road.

 

[Aquaholic]

Funny you should say that, I had no idea that it had this feature. But boy was I pleasantly surprised when arrived to the marina one night and was welcomed with a glowing pink hue coming from my all glass boat that I could see from the road.

I went to check on my mine, and thought someone had bought a Mary Kay boat.

 

[TMan]

All.this talk of winterizing makes me sad. Good thing I'm not going to!
When I did have a boat with a cuddy I went with the low draw dome heaters. Seemed to work really well in the cuddy and under the boat cover.

 

[kaelc]

Cut off the top shackle in my halibut anchor and replaced it with stainless, it ends up on the bottom of the anchor tote so was pretty rusted but took the zip wheel to cut off, probably strong enough for a lifetime of anchor pulling but had me worried

 

[DanJ]

Performed the renaming ceremony today. I was not able to get the boat to the ocean as it was nasty windy but luckily the boat is stored right beside the Stamp River so we made do. Now the new name is on the boat and the old name is gone from Poseidons memory.

 

[seachicken]

This weekend I finally finished up reworking the mounting of my main downrigger pads that I wasn't happy with.

The gunwales were built up to 3-3-1/2" thick but tapered on the lower side. I bored the holes out to 3/4" and put a little tapered piece of aluminum on the bottom to square up the surface for the nut. I filled the holes with 650 toughened epoxy with some filler. Outboard holes had a 1" void in the middle so I put some 3/4" aluminum tube in to contain the epoxy (a couple still leaked into the void though). Last I pilot drilled the holes nice and square with a 1/8" and a drill bushing and then 1/4".

Extra hole on the lower side between the outboard holes is just a vent hole I drilled 3/16" dia into the void and epoxied with a syringe (and drew out excess) to vent the void just in case of pressure buildup in the sun.

Pretty happy with how they turned out and very confident that won't be a point of failure. Next will be aluminum pads maybe...

 

[jackfish]

Partial winterizing. What I mean is, winterized the head and washdown pump. The boat is welded aluminum with a cabin and cuddy, trailered, and sees plenty of use in the salt all winter. So I just try to prevent those pumps and lines from freezing, which I can. Based in the gulf islands.

Question for folks is what is a good way to get the RV antifreeze to suck up into the lines from the outside of the hull? I have tried the sloppy method of a plunger, which is terrible. Gotta be a better way? Or are those pumps so clever that i just need to keep the valves open and they will naturally drain themselves?

 

[seachicken]

Partial winterizing. What I mean is, winterized the head and washdown pump. The boat is welded aluminum with a cabin and cuddy, trailered, and sees plenty of use in the salt all winter. So I just try to prevent those pumps and lines from freezing, which I can. Based in the gulf islands.

Question for folks is what is a good way to get the RV antifreeze to suck up into the lines from the outside of the hull? I have tried the sloppy method of a plunger, which is terrible. Gotta be a better way? Or are those pumps so clever that i just need to keep the valves open and they will naturally drain themselves?

Do you have good access to your through hulls? Can you take the lines off and put them in the jug of antifreeze?

 

[jackfish]

Do you have good access to your through hulls? Can you take the lines off and put them in the jug of antifreeze?

That's a good point. I do have access. The clamps are not screw type, so I'd have to pull the lines and swap out the clamps. And the lines are short and stiff. But i could rig up a flexible extension...

 

[seachicken]

That's a good point. I do have access. The clamps are not screw type, so I'd have to pull the lines and swap out the clamps. And the lines are short and stiff. But i could rig up a flexible extension...

Or if you can just find rubber hose that's close enough to jam in the through hulls from the outside might not take much to seal up. Even if you need an assistant to hold it.

 

[Max123]

Partial winterizing. What I mean is, winterized the head and washdown pump. The boat is welded aluminum with a cabin and cuddy, trailered, and sees plenty of use in the salt all winter. So I just try to prevent those pumps and lines from freezing, which I can. Based in the gulf islands.

Question for folks is what is a good way to get the RV antifreeze to suck up into the lines from the outside of the hull? I have tried the sloppy method of a plunger, which is terrible. Gotta be a better way? Or are those pumps so clever that i just need to keep the valves open and they will naturally drain themselves?

Not sure I follow - are you trying to extract fluid from these lines or pump RV antifreeze into them.

In either case, maybe try a fluid extractor - these are like a giant syringe and attach with a 1/4" hose. You could likely feed it down the thru-hull to extract- or just insert from the outside and temporarily seal it with some putty so it will hold a vacuum and you should be able to suck out. the line Alternatively, if you are trying to cleanly fill the line with RV anti-freeze from outside, this works too.

https://www.princessauto.com/en/200cc-extraction-and-fill-pump/product/PA0009061169

These are great for a lot of applications. They only come with a short length of hose, but I just bought a 4ft length from the hardware store and it works great.