What do you take off/leave on the boat - leave on/turn off the boat when you winterize

M

mrsrobinson

Well-Known Member
Mar 9, 2006
7,704
Virginia
Boat Info
2001 380DA
Engines
Caterpillar 3126
I will be away from the boat for about 4 months this winter. This is somewhat new to me from previous boats. I was closer to them and sometimes used them in the winter.

Besides normal fresh/raw water water winterization, I am curious to learn what you
  1. Take off (stuff, supplies, junk)
  2. Leave on (stuff, supplies, junk)
  3. Turn off (AC DC Powered stuff)
  4. Leave on (AC DC Powered stuff)
your boat when you winterize. For example, do you turn off the freezer/refrigerator? Do you empty one, both? Do you leave waxes, cleaners, and other liquids (fuel additives for example), water bottles, that "could" be affected by the cold? Other?

I understand the answers may be different for those that run heaters in the cabin and/or cockpit.

My plan:
  1. Empty refrig/freezer
  2. Shut down the refrig and freezer
  3. Remove all other liquids I think could be affected be the cold
  4. Turn off all breakers, AC and DC, except the Inverter breaker switch
  5. Turn off shore power for the 30 AMP line (I have 2) I do not need
 
We always shut down the refer when we leave the boat for a while, but don’t shut any other breakers off. Maybe I can learn something here, @mrsrobinson, why do you shut other breakers off, as electrical fire prevention method? Thinking about it like that, not a bad idea……;)
 
As the seasons have passed we take less and less off the boat. We pull the sheets and bedding, wash 'em, and bring them right back to the boat when I cover it up for winter.

Shoot, I even leave beer in the fridge after I clean it out and defrost it. 45 degree beer isn't ideal but it gets the job done when working on the boat in winter :)
 
mrsrobinson said:
I will be away from the boat for about 4 months this winter. This is somewhat new to me from previous boats. I was closer to them and sometimes used them in the winter.

Besides normal fresh/raw water water winterization, I am curious to learn what you
  1. Take off (stuff, supplies, junk)
  2. Leave on (stuff, supplies, junk)
  3. Turn off (AC DC Powered stuff)
  4. Leave on (AC DC Powered stuff)
your boat when you winterize. For example, do you turn off the freezer/refrigerator? Do you empty one, both? Do you leave waxes, cleaners, and other liquids (fuel additives for example), water bottles, that "could" be affected by the cold? Other?

I understand the answers may be different for those that run heaters in the cabin and/or cockpit.

My plan:
  1. Empty refrig/freezer
  2. Shut down the refrig and freezer
  3. Remove all other liquids I think could be affected be the cold
  4. Turn off all breakers, AC and DC, except the Inverter breaker switch
  5. Turn off shore power for the 30 AMP line (I have 2) I do not need
Click to expand...
I take all my tools and supplies home. I spend a sunday afternoon in the garage watching football and going through my tool box and take out the stuff i didnt use and add the tools i needed. lol. these boats have so much storage and compartments. i found a sawzall that I forgotten in a aft compartment.
 
We take all the linens off and clean then put back on the boat in a vacuum bag. All food/drinks etc. off. All AC power off except the battery charger and outlets/lights. I leave most of the DC power on except the fresh water and generator power. Shore power is all on and batteries are left on and charging.
 
I've stored indoor both cold and heated. I shut down everything. Fridg & freezer are emptied and washed out. Bedding and clothes are removed from drawers and closets. Remove items that can freeze. Clean/vacuum boat. My main thing is to not leave a dirty cabin or places for dampness to be trapped....mold and critters like mice like that.
 
jmcdboater said:
@mrsrobinson, why do you shut other breakers off, as electrical fire prevention method? Thinking about it like that, not a bad idea……;)
Click to expand...
Correct, I see no reason to have power going to the boat, and/or to "something" if it's not necessary. I only leave one of the two dock power banks, or whatever they are called, turned on at the dock power now as well. My refrig and inverter are on the same one, that's the only things I leave running when I leave the boat.
 
We are in heated so a bit different..... But basically its left as it was getting pulled. I turn off all breakers and solenoids, Defrost fridge freezer and ice maker...leave doors open. Our storage place has fans moving air and huge dehumidifiers running....so I leave cabin and cockpit wide open. Short of that nothing else gets touched. When I am at the boat I plug it in to charge the batteries and unplug when I leave.

E7B4241B-95C6-4207-A51B-2C0F17CAA8EB.jpeg
 
Stee6043 said:
As the seasons have passed we take less and less off the boat. We pull the sheets and bedding, wash 'em, and bring them right back to the boat when I cover it up for winter.

Shoot, I even leave beer in the fridge after I clean it out and defrost it. 45 degree beer isn't ideal but it gets the job done when working on the boat in winter :)
Click to expand...

Same here, although I wouldn't if the boat were outdoors all winter.
 
If it’s not in use the breaker is off, no matter what.
Inverter stays on year round for me, I have AGM batteries but still watch them like a hawk
Electrical plugs and such stay on to power a LED light, bilge heater, and a cabin heater set very low or off.
Refer is off unless I spend the night there.
I have a split 30Amp service cord to keep the load off the boats system. The de icier and bilge heater run off it.

I guess it’s all in what you do with your boat in the winter. When we move snow I stay on the boat, it’s much closer to my work sites
 
We store indoors, non-heated but w/AC power.

We remove everything... clothes, bedding, paper products (tissues, toilet paper, paper towels), and cleaning supplies. Clean out the refrigerators and leave them open. Don't leave anything that rodents might use to make nests.

Liquor and beer go home too.

I turn the batteries off, inverter on and plugged in to AC, air dryer in the cockpit and cabin (w/door and all hatches/windows closed). Mooring cover on.

Goodnight my sweat heart, winter well!
 
Like someone mentioned, I use the end of season as an opportunity to take off stuff that I haven’t used or needed in awhile. I also take out anything that may attract pests. I try to leave a few bottles of fresh water in plastic bottles because I know inevitably in the spring I’ll be working on the boat and get thirsty.
 
Blueone said:
We are in heated so a bit different..... But basically its left as it was getting pulled. I turn off all breakers and solenoids, Defrost fridge freezer and ice maker...leave doors open. Our storage place has fans moving air and huge dehumidifiers running....so I leave cabin and cockpit wide open. Short of that nothing else gets touched. When I am at the boat I plug it in to charge the batteries and unplug when I leave.

View attachment 136737
Click to expand...
Do you winterize the engines in heated storage or just leave them as is?
 
Depends on the security and cleanliness of the storage marine. Ours was clean, secure and heated. We defrosted fridge and ice maker and put things away clean. Left everything on board ready for the new season.
 
I'm staying in the water this year. Taking all the bedding off, winterizing the AC lines, engines, generator and emptying the water tank. All DC breakers off but the AC panel will stay just like it does in the summer, except for the ac units and pump, those will be off. Leaving the battery charger on, thruster charger on, refrigerator/freezer on and the outlets on. Bilge heater plugged in and currently one cabin heater. I'll be adding a second cabin heater and also two 500w block heaters to the engines. Hoping the small 600w cabin heater and the two 500w block heaters don't trip the breaker. The block heaters will be plugged into the factory outlet in the bilge and the aft cabin 600w heater in to the factory aft outlet. I'm assuming by my breaker panel that these two outlets are on the same breaker....

As of right now it's 34 outside, 41 in my cockpit and 55 in the cabin. The one 600w heater set on low is doing a good job so far for the cabin.

Planning on stopping by and checking on the boat weekly and probably spending a full day on it every other weekend or so.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Forum statistics

Threads
113,120
Messages
1,426,613
Members
61,037
Latest member
wojozobl
Back
Top