Keeping a boat dry/warm over winter shutdown with no-one onboard recommendations

[Richard10002]

23 minutes ago, nicknorman said:

I turn on the taps to expel most of the water, then close taps to build up a bit of pressure and one at a time operate the flush, the washing machine fill, the shower mixer at hot and cold settings, to blow as much of the water out as I can. This has been fine for the past 9 winters but then of course the last bad winter we had was 2010-11.

In the coldest snaps I do all the draining, and blow up the kitchen sink tap to get an extra bit of water out via the bathroom sink tap.

 

Having said that, I'm rarely away from the boat for more than a couple of days these days, so it would need to be a really really cold snap to freeze anything, (famous last words ???)

[blackrose]

1 hour ago, Tacet said:

Didn't you insulate the sliding hatch to reduce condensation?

No I insulated it to eliminate condensation as part of the fit-out of a sailaway because the sliding hatch was just an uninsulated sheet of steel. I first did that job about 15 years ago. Since I fitted out the boat I've had no problems with condensation on any insulated area. 

 

I replaced the rotting wooden sliding hatch cover with an aluminum one a year ago.

 

What's your point exactly? Try living on a boat in winter while you're fitting it out. You'll find any uninsulated area of steel will sweat. In my earlier post I was obviously not talking about the time before the boat was fitted-out.

Edited December 13, 2020 by blackrose

[cuthound]

6 hours ago, nicknorman said:

We use a dehumidifier - Meaco DD8L which has a “Humidistat” that keeps the relative humidity at 50%. We put it on the kitchen worktop and put the drain hose into the sink. We also tape up all the roof vents etc, because we don’t want to dehumidify the world!

 

The thinking behind this is that damp is the enemy, rather than cold. We do also turn off the water at the tank, open an air inlet to the pump and have it pump most of the water out of the system, well certainly water in the upper parts of the system. Water pipes under the floor are very unlikely to freeze, as is the calorifier. We do have remote control diesel heating so if there were to be an exceptionally cold snap, we could put the heating on. But this hasn’t been needed in recent years.

 

Following the first winter with DQ when the cupboard doors swelled, I too use a Meaco.Dd8L dehumidifier I block the vents to prevent it from dehumidifying the planet and supplement it with a couple of 700 watt oil.filled radiators set to come on at 6°C.

[tosher]

Back in the winter of 2008 when I was a novice at this canal boating lark I was totally unprepared for what damage could be caused by frost. All I did by way of precautions was to switch everything off and lock up the boat. Big mistake as when I returned to the boat a month later and switched everything back on I wondered why the water pump didn't cut out, then I heard running water!!!!!!    To cut a long story short the bath/shower mixer tap was split in half, the bathroom sink cold water tap was split in halve and four pipes had burst in the calorifier cupboard all at right angle joints. I managed to fix everything myself at a cost nearly £200.  Some time later I learned that most freezing happens between the water line and gunnel height which is exactly what happened to me. 

[cuthound]

2 hours ago, Richard10002 said:

In the coldest snaps I do all the draining, and blow up the kitchen sink tap to get an extra bit of water out via the bathroom sink tap.

 

Having said that, I'm rarely away from the boat for more than a couple of days these days, so it would need to be a really really cold snap to freeze anything, (famous last words ???)

 

Seems a bit extreme, what explosive do you use? ???

[JJay]

21 hours ago, blackrose said:

 

What's the benefit of an oil-free radiator as opposed to an oil-filled radiator? I can't see from the Argos website. Oil-free are much more expensive.

 

This -

On 12/12/2020 at 11:46, Alan de Enfield said:

Some folks use oil filled radiators set to 'frost stat' but I am always wary of them falling over, and the insurance will not pay out unless they are marine approved and installed as per manufacturers instructions. which is unlikely for a high, heavy heater on castors.

Even in a marina aboat can get 'bumped' quite hard.

Also it was 10 years ago! - they seemed the best option for us at the time