How cold is still ok for the boat to be in the water all the time?

Around here (Switzerland) the lake (130 m deep) has last frozen 40 years
ago, and with global warming it is unlikely to happen again.
We get at most maybe -10 degrees C (14 deg F) in cold nights, most of
the time less, the water most likely does not freeze at all.

What are the critical parts in a cabin cruiser (petrol/gasoline) that
limit having it in the water all year round? And at what temperature do
you have to take it out? Or is it possible to keep it in the water?

(SeaRay 315 Sundancer if that matters - cabin, water, head and all that).

Thank you in advance

Marc

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Probably the biggest problem is that your wet exhaust will freeze up
-- it freezes before the surrounding water because of less mass and
more exposure to cold air. Also of course the water in the heads and
your FW system. The water system can be treated with potalbe
anti-freeze, but the raw-water side of the cooling probably can't. If
you inadvertently start the engine up with the raw water frozen either
or both of two things will happen: the engine will overheat, and
maybe the raw-water impeller will be destroyed.

All this can be avoided by reliable heat inside the boat. I keep
"Barbara" in year-round in Maine,but I also takae precautions.

Cheers,
Michael Porter

Marc Heusser d
wrote:

How cold is still ok for the boat to be in the water all the time?

Around here (Switzerland) the lake (130 m deep) has last frozen 40 years
ago, and with global warming it is unlikely to happen again.
We get at most maybe -10 degrees C (14 deg F) in cold nights, most of
the time less, the water most likely does not freeze at all.

What are the critical parts in a cabin cruiser (petrol/gasoline) that
limit having it in the water all year round? And at what temperature do
you have to take it out? Or is it possible to keep it in the water?

(SeaRay 315 Sundancer if that matters - cabin, water, head and all that).

Thank you in advance

Marc
Michael Porter Marine Design
mporter at mp-marine dot com
www.mp-marine.com

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In article ,
Michael Porter wrote:

Probably the biggest problem is that your wet exhaust will freeze up
-- it freezes before the surrounding water because of less mass and
more exposure to cold air. Also of course the water in the heads and
your FW system. The water system can be treated with potalbe
anti-freeze, but the raw-water side of the cooling probably can't. If
you inadvertently start the engine up with the raw water frozen either
or both of two things will happen: the engine will overheat, and
maybe the raw-water impeller will be destroyed.

All this can be avoided by reliable heat inside the boat. I keep
"Barbara" in year-round in Maine,but I also takae precautions.

Thank you, that helps.
What are the precautions you take, and how do you heat the boat?

TIA

Marc

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remove bye and from mercial to get valid e-mail
http://www.heusser.com

I lived in Annapolis, Maryland for a few years. Conditions there are a bit
worse than yours. We got 4-6" of ice on the bay's creeks in some years. The
low temps were roughly equal to yours.

There are several issues with leaving a boat in the water:

1. Freezing of the surrounding water and the grinding that can occur on your
external hull. Sounds like this is not an issue for you.

2. Freezing of the throughulls in more severe climates. Also not an issue
for you.

3. Freezing of the raw water and fresh water system. This can and will
happen to you. You can either drain or purge the raw water system with
propylene glycol antifreeze. Do the same with the fresh water system. It
shouldn't take more than an hour and 5 gallons of PG antifreeze to do both.
You should temporarily install a bypass around your hot water heater so you
don't have to fill it with antifreeze. Drain it instead.

You can keep electric heat inside your boat. But then you are vulnerable to
a power failure which is more likely during a cold snap. Unless you plan to
use your boat during the winter, I would antifreeze it.

David