Does anyone winterize?

I never have. I have 2 boats. One is a 27' express and one is a 33' Carver. The express is kept on a lift in a berth at my marina. When the weather is forecast to get below freezing for a day or two I lower the boat into the water. There's really not much chance the water will freeze (!) and having the drive in the water kind of insulates things. That's my theory anyway (which my dealer thinks is just fine). After 4 years this strategy seems to work. If your boat is in the water (especially if it's a covered berth) I wouldn't worry about it. There are tons of boats on the hard at Lauritzen's marina right next door and I seriously doubt that any of those folks winterize. I've never really heard of any problems. Of course, there could always be some kind of freaky cold spell that messes everything up, but as I say, I've never known anyone who has had any issues. Perhaps others will chime in here ....
 
If your worried, get one of those boat safe heaters and drop it in the bilge.
 
I keep the boat in a covered slip all year. The only winterizing I do is a 45-watt lamp on in the cabin plus a couple of Golden Rod dehumidifiers in smaller areas. These are all dehumidifiers and not for freeze protection.

We do get hard freezes or "killer frosts" but these are rare: like once every 10 to 20 years. Boats in the water aren't affected by this but if you keep your boat on the hard you may want to take measures if temperatures take a trip to the 20's.
 
Back in the late 80s [I think 1989, but not sure] we had a hard freeze in the Delta which caused many broken water pipes at marinas, etc. About 1500 boats stored on trailers on Bethel Island had damaged blocks. No insurance would cover the damage!!!! NO boats, even those on lifts, experienced damage. I had my OB cuddy on a trailer, but I had drained the water out prior to storing the boat and experienced no damage.

So if your boat is in the water, you are safe unless the water around the boat freezes. If you have your boat on the hard, winterize!!!. If you won't be using your boat for extended periods of time, it is best to change the oil and add Sta-Bil to your full fuel tanks. Also protect other boat systems as needed. I make sure my water tank is full so the water can't freeze. But I go to my boat several times during the winter, run the engine and other systems and air out the cabin even if I'm not going take the boat out.
 
Flutterby, that is a great post, because it is important to point out that there is more to winterizing than freeze protection. No point in leaving a holding tank half filled all winter...
And just as important is the spring commissioning. Those engine belts and raw water pump impellers don't get any younger over the winter.
 
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