I brought my boat home and was curious how far people go with winterizing. My cat guru tells me he pulls off his tramp for winter. Sound a bit extreme to me. I have in the past just slung a tarp over it to keep the leaves off. Should I be removing lines and textiles? In S. AL it barely freezes so snow is not a concern. I don't want it too far apart because if daytime temps go above 65F and sunny I may even sail it.
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FYC, Nacra 5.2 "Chris's Flyer" & Nacra Playcat
Previously owned: Trac 14, H14, H16, H18, N5.0, G-cat 5.0
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Winterizing
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Posted: Nov 30, 2020 - 03:20 PM
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Posted: Nov 30, 2020 - 07:37 PM
Snow melts, then freezes at night, snows on top of ice, melts again, then freezes After 3 or 4 cycles, ice layer is very heavy and can crush round bottom hulls. Pete -
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Posted: Dec 01, 2020 - 08:06 AM
remove the spark plug and coat engine with a thin coat of oil or use a fogger - oh wait - wrong kinda boat ;)
if snow and ice isn't a concern, just cover it to protect it from UV and debris. be careful not to make it too comfy for rodents or other creatures. -
- Rank: Lubber
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Posted: Dec 01, 2020 - 08:26 AM
If your mast is above the tramp (i.e. resting on trailer cradle), you can use a couple of thin pvc tubes arched over the mast down to the edges under a tarp so that water and snow run off.
James -
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Posted: Dec 01, 2020 - 10:22 AM
I live on the same latitude as Mobile, AL and do not do anything special for winter. Every 3 or 4 years we get a "hard freeze" which means 24 hours in a row below freezing. On those occasions I double check to make sure hulls are dry.
Happy sailing!
Brad in Jax
Stiletto 27 x2 (one for sale soon) -
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Posted: Dec 01, 2020 - 01:43 PM
Ditto the above, except I have to seal my wing tubes so they don't collect water. I also remove the drain plugs and crank the bows up so they stay dry. I guess it's more about UV exposure than anything else where I'm at. To that end, I remove all the rigging, clean it up good, dry and store.
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Chuck C.
H21SE 408
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Posted: Dec 01, 2020 - 02:18 PM
Be careful with “tenting” a tarp over your mast. The tarp can collect hundreds of pounds of snow and water, turning your mast into a pretzle as well as damaging the hulls. At a minimum, cut some holes in the tarp to allow water drainage and be deligent about clearing off snow.
I take winterizing my boats to a little bit more of an extreme level, mostly because I know they won’t be used for several months. The past few years I have fully disassembled the boats and built a rack that holds the hulls upside down. This is a great space saver since I can put three boats in the same space that would normally be required for one assembled boat. With the hulls flipped over, i can also leave the access ports out to ensure lots of ventillation. The crossbars can then also be fully inspected and stored indoors which slows the inevitable corrosion. Masts get hung on ladder racks attached to my fence. All other gear goes in storage boxes or in the basement. I generally also put the trailer axle up on blocks to raise the wheels off the groundto reduce the chance of the tires developing flat spots since the trailer will stay in one spot for months.
sm -
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Posted: Dec 01, 2020 - 05:49 PM
I live in a condo, so no outside storage. I've just cleaned out my heated hangar and I have a spot where my catamaran will live. I should be picking it up in a couple of weeks.
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Bryan in Poplar Grove, IL
Supercat 17, unknown year. Future project
Hobie 16, 1977 - died a spectacular death https://youtu.be/Y7O22bp2MVA
Hobie 16, 1978 - current boat
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Posted: Dec 09, 2020 - 12:59 PM
Just make sure your covering will drain water well, and is UV treated to keep the sun off vulnerable stuff underneath.
Also keep everything as dry as possible.
Seal up your cat box, or bring the stuff indoors.
Roll your sails together loosely, loosen battens, avoid folding them.
If the weight of the mast is bearing down on your rear crossbar, consider moving your hulls back or forth once a month to keep the load from concentrating in one spot.
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Sheet In!
Bob
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Prindle 18-2 #244 "Wakizashi"
Prindle 16 #3690 "Pegasus" Sold (sigh)
AZ Multihull Fleet 42 member
(Way) Past Commodore of Prindle Fleet 14
Arizona, USA
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