Other Winterizing Activities

J

jmicklov

Member
Joined
Dec 23, 2004
RO Number
15952
Messages
188
Over the years, I've gotten into somewhat of a winterizing 'ritual' of things I do at the end of each season, and was curious if I'm being over anal or somewhat normal.....

I remove all my dock lines, bring them home and run them through the washing machine with fabric softener. They are flexible and smell nice.

Also remove all fire extinguishers, electronics (that can be detached), the little propane tanks for my grill, flares, all liquids- cleaning materials,soaps, etc., blankets, pillows and clothing. They usually fill up 3 plastic bins that I put in my basement for the winter.

Put 2 moisture absorbers in the cabin, run one of those continuous duty fans in the fwd. berth, hang mildew retarders in all closets and closed areas.

Overkill or normal things to do. Any others?
 
A couple weeks ago when I was doing mine and I noticed one of our members removing his fire extinguishers, I have always left mine but now you mention it. Who else takes them off?

Niles
 
I use my boat year round, so I just remove the "summer" items such as the marine BBQ and summer clothing, etc. Every fall and spring I rotate out my bedding, washing every thing and store til it is time to rotate out again.

When I am at the boat during the winter, I make sure to air out the cabin and the enclosed cockpit, to prevent any mold/mildew. If I know I'll be gone for an extended time during the raining season, I strategically place open containers of coffee grounds to prevent mold and odors.
 
quote:
Originally posted by nwaring

I have always left mine [fire extinguishers] but now you mention it. Who else takes them off?

Click to expand...


I take everything but the fire extinguisher off. Don't know a reason why I leave it on except it is one thing that will not mildew and it is outside the cabin. Not sure if the cold weather is good for it though. I wondered if the cold will promote the powder inside to cake.

Another item that I do is open up all compartments (and frige)
 
Yea, I open up all my compartments and the fridge too.

But I never heard of coffee grounds for mold and odor prevention. You just open up a fresh can of coffee and let it sit there?
 
I always shake my fire extinguishers to make sure the powder is loose and free. Then I lay them on their side for the winter to keep the powder from becoming compacted. Of course, I shake them several times each season to keep the compaction from happening.
 
I plan on riding around on my boat in the winter. Does that count?
 
Dock lines in the washing machine? That sounds interesting. Do you do it in your home machine or take it to a place with a commercial machine? I have a top loader at home and would be afraid they would wrap themselves around the agitator in the center and break the machine.
Do you use detergent, or just fabric softener?
My plan was to take them home and soak them in a bucket of warm water with a little fabric softener added overnight, then rinse thme with a garden hose the next day. But I think I like the washing machine idea better.
The coffee grounds thing sounds interesting too.
I usually open up a couple of boxes of baking soda and leave them in the cabin, but someone this year was telling me that charcoal in a plastic container does a breat job at fightine odors.
 
Been doing the lines in my front loader for the past few years. Soap and fabric softer are the trick. they look brand new and coil very nice. also. fill up my anchor locker first with detergent rinse than fabric softener . Anchor line coils very nice.
Al
 
quote:
Originally posted by Robyns Nest

You put the dock lines in a mess bag to prevent them for tangling up in the machine, use soap and softener and you will be the envy of your dock. Silky clean and smell great.

The coffee absorbs odors and smells good to me, if you have old used coffee grounds you can dry them out and use them too.

Click to expand...


I'm going to have to check Wally-Mart for a bag to wash them in.
I assume you let them dry naturally. Do you just lay them out in the sun or something?
 
I don't have a bag. I just coil up the lines and wash them on the gentle wash cycle for a few minutes. they don't really get tangled up. I then lay them out on my carpet in the basement for a few days and let them dry. Re-tie them up and stow away until the next season that right now seems eons away.
 
Instead of coffee grounds in the frig. we crunch up several sheets of newspaper to absorb the moisture and odors. Use fabric softner sheets to help keep out the rodents. (new item for us) Used to use moth balls but hate the lingering smell the next season. Always remove anything that may be damaged by the critters or that may tempt them to build a nest or eat.
Our storage is not heated so always remove any thing that may be damaged by repeated freeze and thaw.
 
Do you guys always remove all of your electronics during winter storage?
 
I let my eletronics on board, except handhelds. If you can't find a mesh bag, use a pillow case. I hang them to dry.
 
If it's not hard mounted, I usually remove it. Basically, it's my chartplotter and that's about it. I don't think it makes much difference though.
 
There's a New Boat Sales facility just down the road from me and I can't help but notice that every winter he leaves an awful loy of boats outside with their full camper canvass up. I would think that with the constant freezing and thawing and snow and ice we get here that just the weight of it all would bend the framewoks etc. yet he never seems to have any damage and I KNOW he doesn't have anyone go out and broom the snow etc. off after a snowfall. I've been thinking about this for a few days now and was thinking about leaving mine up this year but I'll probably chicken out this weekend and put the cockpit cover on instead (which has seen it's better days but it's better than nothing I guess).

Anybody tried this before in the Northeast?
 
I would suspect 1 year would be OK. It seems to me that there would be a lot more wear and tear on the camper top. Although it is usually not used even in the summer, what is cheaper: replacing camper canvas more often or shrink wrap every year?

Also, around here they shrink wrap to the water line. This will keep the gel coat from oxidizing => less work every year compounding
 
For the mosture problem, I read on this board a solution that I have used for a few years now.
A trip to Wal-Mart:
Get some plastic shoeboxes, fill them half way with kitty litter, than 1/4 of "damp-rid". The damp rid pulls the moisture out of the air, and the kitty litter absorbs it.
Put a few in the cabin, one in the fridge (leave the door open) and 1 in the head. Works great.
 
I saw some damp-rid (or some other brand) buckets at Home Depot. It has a built in containder under the damp-rid. You might want to check it out.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top