To winterize or not to winterize - that is my question

[stutting]

I am taking my Carver 3607 1989 from Iowa (Mississippi mile marker 503) to Nashville. I am currently in Paducah needing a fuel pump. I was under the assumption with the Cumberland river not freezing - I would not need to winterize the boat and could use it through out the winter when nice weather approached the Nashville area (my son lives there - can keep an eye on the boat). I think I may assumed wrong, or at least need plans for an ugly cold period. All my research leads to these options: 1. Winterize the boat and give up on getting in boating this winter (I hate this option), 2. Winterize the boat and learn how to re-winterize when needed -sounds painful, but maybe it's not as bad as I think - only the engines would be needed - I can forgo the water system and generator. 3. Buy a safe type heater and make sure my son / someone checks on the boat - possibly install temp monitors (I am an IT guy so know this technology well). Opinions?

[Midnightsun]

If the boat is in the water and plugged in then bilge heater and keep the cabin heat on a very low setting is probably your best option.

[TheNatalina]

The weather in Nashville is relatively mild and many boats do not winterize, keeping them open all year for operation. This would require a good bilge heater and, as noted, some heat for the cabin to keep the chill out - but the Cumberland River (and local Lakes) rarely freeze - so your boat will be in water that is in the 40s or above most of the time. We can see very cold air temperatures in the single digits, but typically only for short periods (days not weeks) of time and not at all frequently. Welcome to Nashville!

[ColRon]

I’m located 63 miles south of Paducah on the TN River/KY Lake. Yes, you can get away without winterizing most of the time, but that one time you don’t and Electrical power is lost, it could be painfully expensive. Two winters ago while the River/lake did not freeze over, the bay were my slip is did. Also, my marina often loses power due to its rural location. In January 2009, we experienced a freezing rain ice storm and power was out for weeks in a lot of places. Even though I have bilge heaters and they work great, I always winterize just for piece of mind and just to insure I don’t get caught in the rare unforeseen instance. I do my own winterizing. After you’ve done it a few times, while it is a time consuming pain, it’s not that difficult.

[buster53]

I hauled my boat for the winter a few days ago. Everything was winterized except main engines when I took it to the haul out marina a couple miles away. I winterized my main engines while the travel lift was moving into place...takes me About 6-7 minutes.

[g36]

I live near chattanooga on lake Chickamauga a bit further up the Tennesse River. Im in electronics so this is up my alley anyway.. I keep bilge heaters and heaters in the cabin to keep my boat bout 45 degrees inside at least. I have cameras and also wifi thermometers that I can see the condition of the boat while not there. I do live only 15 minutes from the marina. So if needed I can get there easily. I don't think you need to neccesarily winterize but you do need some heat in bilge and cabin. You mentioned your in i.t. so you wouldn't have a problem setting up some ways to monitor your boat but if not close you do need to have someone visit it in case you find a problem or lose electrical power.

[km1125]

Are your engines raw water or fresh water? It makes a big difference in the effort to winterize or re-winterize them. If you do need (or choose) to set it up to re-winterize, then you can rig the boat to do it easily by adding in a few valves and making some modified caps for the strainers. If you were planning on leaving the boat there for years this kind of approach could pay off in the long term.

At the very least I'd probably winterize or blow out the potable water lines and perhaps the hvac water circulation, as I'd think those would be the most vulnerable.

I'm also curious if your fuel pumps were original and if you're replacing both or just the failed one.

Seems like block heaters would be a good solution for something like this. Keeps the engine warm which also warms the surrounding area, but there's also a big mass you're heating so it would take quite a while to cool if power failed.

[SplashyLady]

I lived upstream on the Ohio from you in Louisville for 5 years and we had no choice but to winterize. This isn't due to temperatures, it's that the Ohio would flood every spring and our marina would be under water. Even marinas with floating docks often had docks flood over the pilings.

Now - if you are on one of the lakes - it's a different matter. Here in NC, a lot of folks don't winterize - we run our boats all winter. I have a bilge heater in mine, and cabin heaters keeping everything above 45-50 degrees all winter. I installed a web camera accessible though my cell phone that points at a thermometer inside the boat giving cabin and bilge temperatures. The only issue is if power goes out, but I've found the boat stays pretty warm for a day or so if you turn the heaters off - and since I live around the corner from the marina, I only need 10 minutes to for get on the boat and start the generator.

If I remember right, most of the large Kentucky lakes do not freeze, except for a little skim ice on very cold days. So my vote would be bilge and cabin heater - unless you are on the mighty Ohio!

[tomschauer]

Where we live we must winterize. All of the above is good info.
I would add, you need to consider many of your potable water lines are outside of the "heated" areas of the bilge and cabin and could still freeze.
Such as transom shower, dockside water inlet, aft deck or cock pit sink etc. These items will freeze even if the interior of the boat is 80 degrees.