Conference unifix::sailing

    Dave, I've been wintering-in for 7 years now and it is well worth
    the effort. As I have a wooden boat this makes sense from a longevity
    point as well. If you plan to use the boat during the winter (does
    it freexe in there?) make sure that when you fire up the engine
    you let it reach full oper temp before shutting down, otherwise
    the acids formed will not do good things to the innards and exhaust
    system. I generally assume a 3 month moratorium on the engine and
    fill the raw water parts with ethelyne glycol, drain old oil and
    replace with new, turn over engine without starting for 15-30
    secs to get new good oil into passages, put a cover over air intake
    and open a bottle of Old Bushmills.......
    I also drain the water tanks and add 1qt of cheap vodka to stop
    freezing in the pump and make spring all that much more pleasant..
    I also top off the diesel fuel and add an inhibitor and/or a few
    qts of kerosene to make cold starting easier.
    Then we go out to it in the winter, fire up the heater and pretend.
    Regards, Ed

    Thank you for the help Ed.
    
    Plymouth does not freeze, thanks to the Gulf Stream, and our
    winters are mild (2 days of snow last year) so there should
    be opportunity for the boat to be used at least a couple of times.
    
    Thats a good point of yours about letting the engine get upto full working
    temperature. I plan to drain all the water tanks and keep the
    fuel tank full to prevent condensation and stop water getting in the
    diesel (yuk!).  I've never thought of using Vodka as an anti-ice
    agent, I would prefer it in me rather than the water tanks !

    How cold does it have to be before seawater will freeze ?  I assume
    that the water could freeze in the engine and crack the block, not
    a nice situation !
    
    Thanks again,
    
    Dave

    I love the Vodka for winterizing the potable water system Ed, does
    it hurt rubber diaphrams in pumps any ?
    
    Walt
    
    <would much prefer to taste Vodka in my water......
                                ...... than that nasty pink stuff>

    <<<.2 I haven't had a problem with the salt water freezing in the
    block but then I drain the raw water side. For you the safe thing
    would be to close the water intake, remove hose, run engine until
    salt water is gone. In fact, I can run the diesel without raw water
    cooling for well over 1/2 hour without load and not overheat anything,
    just relying on the fresh water for cooling.
    
    <<<.3 I have been oing this for 7 years and still have the same
    pump diaphrams. Perhaps the solution is so diluted and I do run
    the pump until no more water comes out the taps. The glycol tends
    to adhere to everything and folks I know who use it complain about
    the taste forever... Perhaps I could re-bottle the vodka and call
    it  'Eds special elixir for winterizing' and retire from DEC (-:
    
    Happy sailing. Ed

>                          In fact, I can run the diesel without raw water
>    cooling for well over 1/2 hour without load and not overheat anything,
>    just relying on the fresh water for cooling.

    I forgot to tell you, our engine is a Volvo Penta MD2B which uses
    raw sea water to cool the engine.  The hot sea water is mixed with the 
    exhaust gases and shot out of the back of the boat.  If it runs for 
    even a couple of minutes without water the neoprene impeller will self 
    destruct or so I have been told !  
        
    When I inhibited the engine last year I had it running on a mixture
    of water and soluble oil.  This would be a bit impractical to do
    after every winter jaunt !
    
    Is there any easy way to clear the cooling system of water without
    destroying my impeller ?
    
    Cheers,
    
    Dave

    I guess no 'easy' way except to disconnect the raw water intake
    and put it in a can of glycol and run until it comes out the exhaust.
    Then when you want to go sailing just re-connect the intake. I envy
    you guys with mild winters... I have a friend who just single handed
    from here to Galway and left the boat there for the winter but I
    believe he is having it hauled. He claims excellent sailing there
    and will return in the spring. Is the sailing good, ie. free from
    fog, people and lots of harbo(u)rs? He keeps trying to get me to
    go with him for the jaunt back but I'm not too excited about sailing
    back in a 30' old Alden.
    Good winds and fair tides, Ed

    I've never sailed in Ireland, but from what is written in the mags.
    it would be a good area to cruise, so if you get the chance, go!
    Ireland is not saturated with boats and people yet, unlike the 
    Isle of Wright and the Solent.  Once you reach Ireland there are 
    many good cruising grounds within a couple of days sailing e.g.
    Scotland, Brittany, Cornwall etc.
    
    Cheers,
    
    Dave
    
    P.S. Went sailing on Sunday, force 5-6 calm sea, Heaven !!!!
 

    
    RE: #1
    
    	Hopefully the Old Bushmills went in you, not the boat?!!
    

    
    
    I'm wintering since 5 years and I have a Volvo Penta wit raw water
    cooling.My boat is on a lake in Switzerland.Temperature is sometimes
    -20 degres centegrade.I had never any problems.I'm using my boat as well
    during winter.(the lake never freezes)
    
    There are 3 small valves on the MD2B motor.One on each cylinder
    (bottom) and one on the exhaust collector.I open only the  two on
    the cylinders and let the water drain.I also close the waterintake.
    I do nothing about the drinking water.So far it never froze and
    we had a very hard winter last year.
    
    I get my dieselfuel normaly during summer.So it will freeze by -5.
    I add additiv to make it good for -30 .
    I'm running the motor normaly once every month at least for 1 hour
    to get him to operating temperatur and maintain my batteries.
    
    25.Dezember is a nice sailing day.Good luck,
    
    
    Peter

    Peter,
    
    I've not given much thought to the idea of diesel fuel changing
    it's characteristics in freezing conditions.
    
    What additive do you use to prevent your fuel from becoming an
    inert 'lump of wax' ?
    
    Cheers,
    
    Dave.

    
    
    In Europe,petrolstation start around October to change from
    summerdiesel to winterdiesel.I believe winterdiesel is going down
    to -14 degr centr.Large petrolstations (look for trucks)are selling
    additiv for dieselfuel.There are two types.One includes "magic"
    and it should clean your injectors.Its very expensive.The other
    one says nothing about cleaning injectors and its used by trucks
    and is used only to make dieselfuel safe in cold weather.And its
    cheap.1 liter goes for 100 liter diesel.
    A even cheaper way is to use normal unleaded petrol.You should
    not add more than 25% petrol,otherwise you are damaging the injector-
    pump.
    
    Peter