Leaving a boat in winter

[ChrisR]

Hi, I'm new to the forum and not yet sure of protocol, so hopefully I have the right place for this question...

 

We need to leave the boat during the winter for a few weeks at a time. Is damp/mould/mildew a problem for clothes and linens, or not? If so, what do we do to prevent it, and keep things from being musty?

 

We're reluctant to leave the heating on, for obvious reasons. But do we have to come up with some method of keeping it warm? Or will everything be fine and mildew not an issue? I've never worried in a house, but then I didn't live on the water!

 

And is your knowledge/insight on this issue from theory or experience?

 

Thanks,

ChrisR

[Amduck]

Sure others will be along soon with more stuff (because I don't leave my boat in winter), but some people drain water tanks and pipes in case of freeze. As far as damp/mildew etc goes, it will be less of a problem if the boat isn't heated, but I always leave windows open for extra ventilation.

 

There have been threads on winterising boats in the past, so you could try the search facility too.

[Paul Evans]

We leave our boat for longish periods over the winter and have not had problems with mould/mildew. They flourish in warm damp conditions so leave the boat dry but cold and you should have no problems. Make sure the ventilators (low level and roof) are open and leave a window open if you can. The fridge door should be left ajar (with the power off!).

 

If your water pipes and calorifier are either lagged or below water level you are unlikely to suffer frozen pipes (unless there is a BIG freeze) but we run our water tank down to about half full, turn off the stop-cock between tank and pipe work, open all the taps (galley and bathroom, including shower) and turn off the water pump. Leave the taps open. We have not had a problem as a result of doing this over 8 winters.

 

And make sure that you have anti-freeze in the engine coolant.

[jake_crew]

In two words :-

 

COLD and DRAUGHTY

[Guest]

We leave our boat for longish periods over the winter and have not had problems with mould/mildew. They flourish in warm damp conditions so leave the boat dry but cold and you should have no problems. Make sure the ventilators (low level and roof) are open and leave a window open if you can. The fridge door should be left ajar (with the power off!).

 

If your water pipes and calorifier are either lagged or below water level you are unlikely to suffer frozen pipes (unless there is a BIG freeze) but we run our water tank down to about half full, turn off the stop-cock between tank and pipe work, open all the taps (galley and bathroom, including shower) and turn off the water pump. Leave the taps open. We have not had a problem as a result of doing this over 8 winters.

 

And make sure that you have anti-freeze in the engine coolant.

Much the same for us.

[Phil Ambrose]

Sure others will be along soon with more stuff (because I don't leave my boat in winter), but some people drain water tanks and pipes in case of freeze. As far as damp/mildew etc goes, it will be less of a problem if the boat isn't heated, but I always leave windows open for extra ventilation.

 

There have been threads on winterising boats in the past, so you could try the search facility too.

 

You might like to consider packing clothing and bedding in vacuum bags , the sort that you suck the air out with a vacuum cleaner, they really work a treat and keep everything dry and fresh. Bonus is that by sucking air out the volume of contents is greatly reduced, we keep winter/summer clothing in one an swap with the seasons and likewise summer/winter duvets etc.

[Geoff]

If your water pipes and calorifier are either lagged or below water level you are unlikely to suffer frozen pipes (unless there is a BIG freeze) but we run our water tank down to about half full, turn off the stop-cock between tank and pipe work, open all the taps (galley and bathroom, including shower) and turn off the water pump. Leave the taps open. We have not had a problem as a result of doing this over 8 winters.

 

And make sure that you have anti-freeze in the engine coolant.

 

 

and most importantly if you have a Paloma/Morco etc water heater drain that

[Naughty Cal]

If you have an electricity supply when you leave the boat you can cut down on faffing around and draining tanks etc. by installing a couple of small tube heaters on thermostatic switches. These will cut in when the temperature drops below a set amount of degrees thus reducing the risk of freezing pipes and fixtures.

 

On the mould/mildew front ensure you have adequate ventilation through the boat and there shouldnt be a problem.

[ChrisR]

You might like to consider packing clothing and bedding in vacuum bags

 

Thanks, that might well be useful for some things. But I'm hoping I don't need to work quite so hard to leave the boat for 2-4 weeks (bad enough clearing out and defrosting fridge and freezer!). On the other hand, a responder from a different group came back after 4 (winter) months to find everything smelled musty. She just washed everything to fix it. I think for that length of time the vac bags would be ideal.

 

Chris