Monday, December 5, 2011

Winterize

Kintala will stay in the water this winter. We couldn't pull her if we wanted. Not only is the only travel lift big enough to lift her at another marina on the other side of the lake, with the V-drive disaster still unfolding we couldn't get her off the dock on a bet. That being the case we need to try and not do any more damage to her due to freezing temps.

Nomad was easy to winterize; pump some pink stuff through the engine, drain the water and holding tanks, add a little more pink stuff, a splash in the bilge...ready for the cold.

Kintala's engine can't be started. Part of the cooling loop runs through the V-drive, those lines loose, open, and lying in the engine bilge. I think most of the water drained out when I pulled the drive but this last weekend I took the wet-vac to them. Now I'm pretty sure all the water is out of the cooling loop. I did the wet-vac trick on the A/C as well. The manual suggest one "blow the lines out, with compressed air if possible." There are times when sucking and blowing end up with pretty much the same result; I'm hoping this is one of them.

I sucked all the water out of Kintala's bilge last weekend. With the a/c out of service and not needing any ice in the 'fridge (the only two things that empty into the bilge) it seemed reasonable that it would stay pretty dry. Not. It pored down a cold rain for much of last week and this weekend. Apparently water running down the mast, inside and out, is the bane of a dry bilge with any keel stepped mast; I sucked another 10 gallons or so out of it this past weekend. I'll empty it out every chance I get, but a little pick stuff will be added every time we leave the boat for the city. We dump a little down the galley drain when we leave as well.

Nomad had one, 50 gallon, water tank. Kintala has 3; 79, 4, and 20. It takes a little more pink stuff and one must turn a valve or three, but it isn't much of a deal. There is also a deck wash that needs to be drained.

I think that is it. If not we'll know before spring.

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