I've been watching the temps around here (Seattle area) drop into the 20s at night for the last couple of nights. And having a hard time sleeping, worrying about the new girl on B-dock.
There has been frost on her decks (which she seems to be accepting with dignity), and there are no apparent problems - nothing frozen inside the boat, bilge water is liquid, not ice, fresh water comes merrily out of the faucet, etc.
Water temp in the marina is around 45F. Logically, that "should" be warm enough to keep things from getting too cold below the waterline - fresh-water tanks, thru-hulls, etc, even though all are exposed to colder air inside the boat. but... I worry. And it has me wondering if I should be doing things.
*Should* I be doing things, like
-- drain the fresh water tanks and purge the lines?
-- drain the exhaust can?
-- drain the water-heater/heat-exchanger?
-- close thru-hulls and pour anti-freeze down sinks?
....or should I throw another log on the fire and cut back on the caffeine?
And, as a related thing, the Ericson owner's manual says that the "engine fresh water system cannot be run through an empty water heater". Does that mean I need to bypass the water-heater (disconnect the engine freshwater hoses from the heater and connect them together) before I run the boat to her new slip later today? At this point, I'm not at all sure how much water is even in the water heater...
(O_O)
There has been frost on her decks (which she seems to be accepting with dignity), and there are no apparent problems - nothing frozen inside the boat, bilge water is liquid, not ice, fresh water comes merrily out of the faucet, etc.
Water temp in the marina is around 45F. Logically, that "should" be warm enough to keep things from getting too cold below the waterline - fresh-water tanks, thru-hulls, etc, even though all are exposed to colder air inside the boat. but... I worry. And it has me wondering if I should be doing things.
*Should* I be doing things, like
-- drain the fresh water tanks and purge the lines?
-- drain the exhaust can?
-- drain the water-heater/heat-exchanger?
-- close thru-hulls and pour anti-freeze down sinks?
....or should I throw another log on the fire and cut back on the caffeine?
And, as a related thing, the Ericson owner's manual says that the "engine fresh water system cannot be run through an empty water heater". Does that mean I need to bypass the water-heater (disconnect the engine freshwater hoses from the heater and connect them together) before I run the boat to her new slip later today? At this point, I'm not at all sure how much water is even in the water heater...
(O_O)