hi ppl any suggestions as to how to winterise a boat.
No idea shanook as we never winterised any of our boats.
Im trying to think using my common sense, are your engines saltwater or freshwater cooled? maybe if they are saltwater cooled you can flush them with freshwater not to let salt accumulate in the cooling system.
Then also the normal service ey changing oil and filters and i think you are ready.
Guys please correct me if im wrong ;)
The boat in general, hull, superstructure and electrics etc or are you including the engines etc?
the whole works nick including trailer
trailer i would suggest a good wash with soap and water then grease all the rollers etc and as for the boat if it is double bottom open the caps so that they will keep dry ..for the engine i wouldsuggest what bigboy said flushing them with fresh water and general service..wash the boat well...thats what i do to my boat basiccaly.
Shanook, for the trailer spray it with " wax oil ". Always after you use the boat, clean it with fresh water : engines,hull. As Lapsiboy
Just a couple of small points that might help anyone. If you have an outboard motor especially rinse out with fresh water by means of headphones & disconnect the fuel line while it is working to get rid of any petrol that might still be in the carburator to avoid getting the carburator dirty. Also try & get rid of any unused petrol as it could be a problem the next time you want to start the boat. alot of people have this problem every begining of the season as they leave the petrol in the tank & it does not burn properly after being in the tank a while. !!!!! important make sure you switch the ignition key of when engine stops running after the fuel line is disconnected as you can damage the ignition control box!!!!
Rinse the motor well with fresh water not with high pressure washer as you could do more damage by pushing saltwater in places were you do not notice , Grease all the grease points well & would suggest to remove the propellor & grease the shaft. I normally leave the propellor off anyway while it is winterised.
With regards to fibreglass hulls I am not sure if there is anything you could / need to do apart from giving the a clean with freshwater. ( If anyone knows anything else that they need done to them please advise ? )
With regards to the trailer do the same as Lapsi boy & Perla 165 said but would also jack the trailer remove the wheels clean the hub & grease , I also like to clean & grease the studs as they can really become stiff after a season.
The other note is with regards to any seafasteners you have I just let the boat a little loose from the winch not alot just let the boat slack and any other straps in the middle etc just losen them up too.
mmm very good advice anything else we should know...............
You could also put some support (wood blocks) under the trailer to share the weight with the tyres.
shanook what is the type of material of the hull, its made up by wood or by fibre?
I would like to add on electrical system wintering. Electrical panels that are exposed to salt water spray are most valnerable, but the humidity around all boats kept out on the water is also a killer.
Most people suffer problems with switches when starting the season.
If you can open the panels and check the connections for any corroded ends that need changing. I usually use some multipurpose oil spray to clean with. It leaves a thin layer of oil that protects.
Best thing is to give a coating of electrical wax film. I use "All Defend" by MaFra. Have been using it for ages. My Electrics are 12 years old and barely had any trouble. best done on new wiring, but still can be applied to old once they are cleaned. Also inspect plugs and sockets, espetially to VHF radios, GPS and other plug in apparatus.
Somthing else I do every year is take apart my push-and-pull stearing mechanism. I once experienced the helm geting stiffer, and when investigating found the s/s rod at the end of the cable, works inside an aluminum housing. This had corroded on the inside and expanded causing the rod to start jamming. I now take it apart each winter, clean and apply a new coating of marine grease. I found the white marine taflon grease best.
Gear pumps and bilge pumps can be flushed with fresh water. I suggest that they are periodically switched on for a couple of seconds while boat is wintered. Where you have rubber impellers, a good spraying of silicon spray will help lubricate the impeller for a quick dry run.
It helps as well to remove all floorings to have the air circulate in the bilges, so drying any humidity better. So cleaning the bilges, flushing with fresh water, and drying out...........and mind your step if you go inside the boat!!
sorry Perla its fibre
Would anyone know of some kind of polish that you can apply on a fibreglass hull to avoid applying antifouling? I only leave the boat in the water 2 weeks every month in the season as I garage it when I go abroad.
What you could do is just apply one thin coat for basic protection. If you don't want to apply any, a good marine polish will give the hull some protection but I doubt it will last 2 weeks. You'd have to clean it to prevent growth.
What would concern me more is possible osmosis effects. I would personally apply 2-3 coats of anti-osmosis treatment, something like Gelshield or West Systems.
Tatanka - Skip is right. You still need to protect the hull below the water line. Gelcoat is porous...and 2 weeks in the sea would allow enough time for the hull to soak up some water. As skip recommended, a good water barrier, such as West system or Gelshield by International would help prevent water being soaked up by the hull. You could then apply a good waxing, which will fill in the minute pores and finish off with a protective hull polish. That should do the trick I suppose.
Thanks for that info much appriciated. Do you have any names of vendors that supply the products mentioned Gelshield or West Systems. I have always had second hand boats which always had antifouling on them. But this year just bought a brand new one & it seems a pitty to put antifouling on. So I will try & go with the method you mentioned. ;)
I bought my Gelshield from RLR in Gzira, or you can buy it from the Just Paints outlets. I'm not 100% sure but I think that West Systems Epoxy is clear, whereas the Gelshield you normally buy a can of green and a can of grey so you can ensure you are applying evenly. The green is pretty shocking and the grey quite dark so you may not like the look, making West Systems a better choice for you.
Thanks Again Skip & The Gaffer it is good to speak about these things as no matter how much we all know there is always something to learn.
a good sanddown and two coats of west system should do the trick...west system is white so it will blend with ur baot that is if it is white. I can always ask my friend who treated his with west system as to colours that may be added.
Once the subject is winterising the boat, I've read many contradicting statements as regards to leaving petrol in the tanks. Some people say that you should leave a full tank and add a stabiliser and others say you should empty the fuel tanks. What are you opinions?
Full tanks with stabliser will help to elminiate the chances of getting condesation, which is worse on Aluminium and S/S tanks. Plastic tanks don't suffer to quite the same extent.
To be honest the tank rule only really applies to larger boats that have 250 litre+ tanks where the volume of air space is much greater and usually these are alu or s/s. Keeping those tanks full costs quite alot of money, not only do you need to add stablizer but ideally before you then launch and use (or on the day) you need to add a suitable amount of octane booster. Octane within fuel deteriates over time, so you need to factor in those costs.
Equally well if you leave the tanks empty, and also add some fuel treatment that includes stabilizer and lay the boat up over winter, and plan to launch around May, by that time the weather has warmed up and any accumulated water will have collected in the bottom. Run it through your Racor (or equivalent) water separators and remove the accumulated water before filling up. The mistake some people make is they fill up their tanks, and then don't pay attention to their Racors....the fuel stays on top and the water at the bottom, so that's the first thing that the pickups in the tank pull up!
Previous Racors required manual draining and if they filled up completely will fuel it would go into your engine. the new ones with the clear bowl apparently have some special release valve, whereby if they get fuel with water they will open and release into your bildges which is quite handy for lazy ppl! (benri don't think you have that type on your boat)
The other thing about leaving an alu or s/s tank full is that it helps prevent oxidisation/corrosion on the sides of the tank. On my dads boat that has a 750 litre alu tank I used to like the 'idea' of leaving the tank full with stabiliser, but a couple of times we had to drain the tanks to clean or inspect and we were advised not to re-use the fuel, making it all pretty expensive. Now I prefer to leave them empty, then add some cleaners/treatments along with around 20 litres of fresh fuel, water wetter (stuff that bonds with water) plus some octane and run it through to the engines keeping an eye on the Racor's. I keep draining the Racors along the way and when its empty, I then change the filters for the new season. In winter if you start your engines up every couple of weeks, whilst it's on the hard it's good to have this kind of cocktail mix in the fuel.
The above doesn't apply so much to smaller boats as most have plastic tanks, which are maybe 50 litres or 100 litres max, and one tends to use these types of boats more often, even say in winter as you can just trailer it for a day.
Benri your best bet would be to get a set of 'ear phones' to run your engine every 3 weeks or so over the winter, add some fuel conditioner (which includes stablizer, injector cleaner and water wetter) and you should be fine.
Can you give me the name of this conditioner please?
If on the other hand u have diesel and S/S tanks keep them full both in Winter as well as in Summer. I dont know nowadays but when I was younger (many, many years ago) we used to run the carburator dry, because of chemicals that gum up the carb. We also used to take off the spark plugs and spray some oil in the cylinder head,leaving the spark plug holes open and cover with a piece of cotton.
Dont know if same applies to new engines.
It's a good investment as well shanook, considering the way fuel price is going up!!
Hi just taught that this checklist that west marine have on thier website might come in handy for the people that have just bought thier first boat etc. There is some points that we can ignore but alot of it is also relevant to most of our boats.
http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/westadvisor/10001/-1/10001/WinterizingCheckList.htm#Batteries (http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/westadvisor/10001/-1/10001/WinterizingCheckList.htm#Batteries)
This is what i do.
1. Boat:-
clean with fresh water and soap. (i use the one as i use for the car)
smear all electric connections with vaseline
clean stainless steel with its polish (forgot the name- common though)
wash anchor life jacket ropes etc
2 Trailer
Wash with fresh water
touch up any chips etc
grease bearings
wax oil (after drying)
greese winch /hitch
check lighting board
Grease car hitch/check towbar
3 engines pls refer to your specific owners manual
wash external with soap (i use the same as the one for the car)
rinse with fresh water using headphones. I also started to use saltaway this year
(depending on type)
then remove fuel supply and let the engine die out.pull briefly the choke to ensure that all petrol has been removed. while engine is dying out i spray some fogging oil in the intake (some engines need to remove the intake cover or else spray the fogging oil through the intake hole .
Johson with VRO not recommanded to disconnect the fuel line since the vro pump will fill the carburettors with oil, Thus what i used to do is to remove all fuel from tank and put only 5 litres of petrol with johnsons 2+4 fuel conditioner double doze as stated and while flushing the engine the fuel system is filled with the new mixed fuel and than spray fogging oil through the intake. Thus i leave the system filled with mixed petrol. Never had any trouble with sticking floats etc. i know who used this method for 15 years and never had any problem. I have been using it for the last 5 years with no problem.
or else flush engine with fresh water than spray fogging oil through the intake and drain the carburettors from the drain plugs.
Prones and cones for the above. Some manufactures suggest to remove the petrol from the carburettor while others advice to keep fuel with conditioner in them to prevent the seals from drying up cracking etc
Left petrol (portable plastic tanks) . if its neat I use in the car.
If not (mixed with oil) do Not put in car if equipped with a catalytic converter. The oil will settle and block its honeycomb rendering the catalyic converter useless. when i had a carburettor car i used to put it in bit by bit.
remove sparking plugs (check condition/ replace) and spray some fogging oil in the cylinders turning the flywheel to ensure distribution
Replace gear oil ( check colour any milkisk colour suggests water mixing with oil)
Grease all points linkages etc.
Spray wd 40 on engine and wipe out any rubber parts.
grease steering linkage (leave steering rod fully out)
fill oil tank with same 2 stroke oil / prevents condensation check/clean filter if required.
manufactures do not recommand mixing types of oil due to geling etc.
Other notes.
remove battery. every two months charge for 4 hours. fully charge when ready to use.
every month turn the engine flywheel 2/ 3 turns not to let the rings stick or become lazy etc
if petrol is left in the system press fuel pump a couple of times to ensure that system is filled up with fuel/ conditioner.
turn motor from steering or from engine side 3/4 turns (full lock on each side )to work it out and leave the engine turned so that the steering linkage is fully out.in this way you prevent it from sticking .
Starting engine. manual oil mixing -others depending on type see owners manual
I put appx 5l of petrol with double doze of 2s oil start engine and let it idle for about 5 minutes, than fillup tank as usual. I put double dose so that there would be suffieint oil
to cover up for the fogging oil .
Hope this helps. please keep one thing in mind ..please see your specific engine manual caues although i did this procedure on my engines it may not suite your engine requirements.ps i have to start all over again now with the new engine once bought.
what i would add to the list is fogging oil, spray directly into carb for cleaning of passages.
proset , guys a very well definition ot winterising . exellent job.