Too late to winterize? Indoor Storage

[yobub]

My dealer's service department called today to confirm what I wanted for my winterization (even though I filled out a form a month before we hauled). We hauled at the end of October, and they haven't winterized the boat yet.

They told me they have stored the boat indoors so it is fine, but do I even need to have them do anything else at this point? I had already changed the oil and run antifreeze through the water system and through all of the faucets, etc. They were supposed to disconnect the batteries and drain the water out of the engines, which I couldn't do before they hauled because they had to run the boat over to the hoist.

Does it still make sense to have them do this? This is my first winter with indoor storage. We are planning to launch again April 1.

They also were supposed to soda blast the bottom and repair some blisters, and they didn't do that either. They had a problem with their contractor and don't know when they can get to it. The expectation was to have them strip the bottom and grind out the blisters so everything could dry out over the winter, then repair, barrier coat, and paint in the spring.

Thoughts?

 

[Strypes]

Is it heated indoor storage or cold indoor storage?

 

[Stee6043]

Assuming it's indoor heated I don't think you need to do much of anything. I've never "drained the water" from my blocks when stored inside. Silly question - why did you run antifreeze through your water system if you're indoor heated for storage?

Batteries should definitely be turned off at the switches but I don't think disconnecting them is necessarily a big deal.

Do you have water in your hull? I thought our boats were fully cored below the waterline. Though this, like many things, seems to depend on where you get your data.

 

[yobub]

Silly question - why did you run antifreeze through your water system if you're indoor heated for storage?.

Heated indoors storage. This is my first year indoors, so I asked the service department what to do, and they said to change the oil, winterize the water system, stabilize the fuel, disconnect the batteries, and drain the engines. Since they had to drive the boat for haulout I couldn't drain the engines or disconnect the batteries in advance, so I did everything else myself. I'm interested in opinions from this group as to whether that us needed, and also whether there is any risk if damage from their delay.

Regarding the blisters, my understanding from @fwebster is that they happen, they are superficial, but should be taken care of.

 

[villain style]

If it doesn't get below freezing I wouldn't worry about it. But if in Chicago and you get a freeze and indoor storage loses power - you may wish you did winterize those engines...

 

[Stee6043]

If it doesn't get below freezing I wouldn't worry about it. But if in Chicago and you get a freeze and indoor storage loses power - you may wish you did winterize those engines...

At some point you'll have to look at the advantages of heated vs cold storage if you're fully winterizing this rig.

FWIW - draining the water from the engines is not "winterizing them". Winterizing involves antifreeze, just like your water system.

 

[Captn TJ]

Heated indoors storage. This is my first year indoors, so I asked the service department what to do, and they said to change the oil, winterize the water system, stabilize the fuel, disconnect the batteries, and drain the engines. Since they had to drive the boat for haulout I couldn't drain the engines or disconnect the batteries in advance, so I did everything else myself. I'm interested in opinions from this group as to whether that us needed, and also whether there is any risk if damage from their delay.

Regarding the blisters, my understanding from fwebster is that they happen, they are superficial, but should be taken care of.

Heated indoor storage - you don't need to do any winterizing. We've got a huge heated storage facility here on Lake Erie and none of the boats get winterized including mine. Oil is changed as part of the fall list of things to do. Also it's the marina's inside storage protocol to disconnect the batteries (note they just remove the negative wire from the battery posts).

Not having to winterize is one of the big benefits of storing heated indoors.

 

[Golfman25]

To be safe from power issues I would drain the water. I don't know if they fog your engines or not, but some protection inside the cylinders can't be bad either. Also fuel treatment? Other than that I think your good to go.

I would press them on the bottom work. You want to be ready to go in the spring.

 

[RollerCoastr]

My first thought is that the mgt of your storage facility seems to be sending you a message to have them do as little "extra" work as possible!

I had the bottom blasted, blisters repaired and barrier coat applied a few years ago. I liked their strategy of blasting before storage, and waiting until just before spring to apply the barrier coat so the bottom had the entire winter to get as dry as possible. I know that people have the whole process done in a few days, but I can't argue with the results.

I don't winterize, but I understand the logic of those who do. Even if we only suffer a damaged heat exchanger or some house water lines, that would happen to dozens or even hundreds of boats that would all be contending for parts and labor resources at the same time. Could get ugly - especially when you're already suffering the impact of a labor shortage.

Having said that, I don't personally know of an indoor heated facility freezing boats. (fire is more a much more likely threat)

 

[Boatingnut]

All the heated facilities that I have used have a backup plan for heat, in case of an extended power outage. It would take a while for the building to cool to the point of freezing. Talk to the storage manager about this, just to put your mind at ease.