Winter is Coming ...

....as they say in the Game of Thrones (for those of you who may watch it). The boat is hauled for the season and maintenance and upgrades for next season are about to commence. Melancholy time but also beautiful time.

Yes it is, just finished pulling the docks for the winter and the boat will get winterised tomorrow, it is a sad time indeed, but on the bright side , time to get the snowmobile ready for another season, oh and dont forget icefishing season will soon be here.

For some of us the coming of winter is a good thing. My boating season is about to begin.

bobofthenorth said:

For some of us the coming of winter is a good thing. My boating season is about to begin.

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Yes, hurricane/rainy season is ending and temperatures are coming down. The yards and contractors are all making scheduling promises they can't keep. November 1, everyone wants to be heading for their winter destinations.

After an unusually long stretch of rainless, sunny weather we're sitting on the boat right now in our slip with 45 mph gusts (I just measured one) on top of a 30 mph steady wind from the SE and rain. There are whitecaps in the fairways of the marina. The sailboats all lean over about 5-10 degrees every time a gust comes through, canvas is flapping like mad, and Bellingham is back to normal.

Yes winter is coming. The boat is hauled, towed home and put under its winter shed with tarps over it. Then yesterday morning the broker calls and says someone wants to look at the boat. I don't think I'm going to like pulling the tarps all winter everytime someone wants to take a look.

Forecast says rain all week. Bummer.

Winterizing in NC just means bringing the electric blanket to the boat.:lol:

What confuses me (along with a myriad of other things) is that people in Alaska (of which I have an image of the land of the midnight sun, the Iditarod, sled dogs and umpteen below temps 8 months a year) seem to keep their boats in all winter while we here in the Northeast haul, cover and winterize because its just too cold to do otherwise. Is this another of those plots to keep away the out of State hordes?

Winterizing? What's that? Here it just means keeping the windows/doors closed during any rains. Lots of beautiful and temperate days in winter here. The primary negative is that daylight is less than 12-hours long.

SE Alaska, which is where people like Eric are from has a climate pretty much like the PNW and BC. And there are influences from warmer Pacific currents along the west coast of North America.

In the winter our prevailing weather comes from the west, off the ocean. On the occasions the winds switch and the weather comes from the interior, that's when we can get some very cold temperatures. If this continues for a few days its not uncommon for our marina to develop ice on the surface. It can get thick enough to damage gelcoat if you go through it. But as soon as the wnds turn back around it's gone very quickly.

I know that in SE Alaska people often will protect their boats from heavy snowfall. But even boats "laid up" for the winter stay in the water.

The climate is different in the "main part" of Alaska. Big rivers and lakes freeze and it's a whole different deal than in SE. There are still some ocean current influences but I would not be surprised to hear that more boats are pulled out up there.

Yup today was the last day of my charter season (another weekend of blowouts). First nice day the boat goes around into Chesapeake Bay up to Deale Island and Scott's Cove. Then it's out of the water, up on blocks, and winterized. Finally it's project list time and discussing with Sean what needs to done before May.

Then it's South to Fl to hunt trawlers......there is an open season on them don't you know.

Ted

GonzoF1 said:

Winterizing in NC just means bringing the electric blanket to the boat.:lol:

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Same in the Pacific North Wet except ours stays onboard all year - we just arrive to join it in the winter. Ten more sleeps until I'm back on the boat.

bobofthenorth said:

For some of us the coming of winter is a good thing.

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What a diverse group here!

I actually can't wait for winter. Looking forward to all the activities we get involved with during this upcoming season. I would be bored if all I did was just boating. We utilize all seasons to it's fullest.

Here is my list of toys that makes every season a perfect one with a few pictures to boot.

Arctic Cat Powler side-x-side - Country activity ( used late spring, summer and early fall )
Yamaha Rhino side-x-side - Winter trawler Country activity ( used late fall, winter and early spring )
Ocean Alexander Trawler - for excursions around the island and having fun fishing ( used late spring, summer and early fall )
Speed boat - Cottage time - ( used summer )
Yamaha Venture Royal - for touring ( used summer )
Bombardier Evolution ski-doo ( used winter )

Enjoying every thing life has to offer while I can!!

Elwin

dwhatty said:

....as they say in the Game of Thrones (for those of you who may watch it). The boat is hauled for the season and maintenance and upgrades for next season are about to commence. Melancholy time but also beautiful time.

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Nice Maine picture you provide!! Mine are sunrise in SF Delta.

Well I recall the seasons changing in Maine's Penobscot Bay. Enjoy your fall, winter leading to spring/summer! We need not haul boats here cept for paint/repairs. Different life for sure. But... Maine Spring Fever is a feeling unsurpassed by anything else, and at times missed by me!

dwhatty said:

What confuses me (along with a myriad of other things) is that people in Alaska (of which I have an image of the land of the midnight sun, the Iditarod, sled dogs and umpteen below temps 8 months a year) seem to keep their boats in all winter while we here in the Northeast haul, cover and winterize because its just too cold to do otherwise. Is this another of those plots to keep away the out of State hordes?

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Thats correct. I'm in Alaska and I'm on my boat right now. Its in the water and thats where it stays.

Some people, probably 15 % or so shrink wrap their boats in the harbor. I do not. All I do on the outside is double up the dock lines, clear the decks and cockpit, and take down the Bimini.

Inside I winterize the engines, washdown, and potable water system. I have two water tanks so all I have to do is fill one of the tanks when I come to the boat, then use the RV antifreeze in the second tank to re-winterize.

I have a 50 amp cord and a 30 amp as well. I connect both, and leave the built in electric heaters set to 45 degrees. The engins both have 250W block heaters.

What is this "winter" you people speak of?

Is winter that part of the year when the AC doesn't cycle on as often?

Sometimes it gets cold enough to breakout the long sleeved T shirts and jeans.

Moonstruck said:

Sometimes it gets cold enough to breakout the long sleeved T shirts and jeans.

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Don, When did you buy the Big White Cat? :lol:

Went over to Cowes on the Isle of Wight yesterday, lovely sunny day but a bit cold..Some of the best days in the winter as the Solent not like floating bumper cars and you can get into harbours.

Great time for boating (East of Vancouver Island)

Love watching the storms on the other side though; particularly the Brooks Peninsula.

Art said:

Don, When did you buy the Big White Cat? :lol:

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No cat. Just a dog. (not pictured, of course)

We mentioned to our dock neighbor that we had an appointment with the mechanic this week and he asked if we were getting our boat winterized. After a moment of stunned silence my husband I both laughed and told him nope, just routine maintenance. Though I can appreciate the folks that have other hobbies they indulge in during their off season from boating. Looks like some fun times! I feel very lucky to live in a climate where I can boat year round as I don't have any "winter only" activities I'm into.

Winter here in Alaska The Prince William sound to be exact is Tanner crab season and sitka deer hunting and time for projects inside the boat. I have to shovel snow off the boat sometimes but hey that ain't gonna stop me.

SD

Pineapple Girl said:

I feel very lucky to live in a climate where I can boat year round as I don't have any "winter only" activities I'm into.

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Sigh!

A question for our friends down under...

Is the upcoming season for you called winter, even though it's warm, or do you call the warm months "summer" as we do in the northern hemisphere?

Winter pictures from around the "hood" in Abaco. Glenn Patch is a professional photographer in Hopetown. He has excellent taste as he also owns a Sabre.

Zenfolio | Glenn Patch Photography | Hope Town, Bahamas

Moonstruck said:

Winter pictures from around the "hood" in Abaco. Glenn Patch is a professional photographer in Hopetown. He has excellent taste as he also owns a Sabre.

Zenfolio | Glenn Patch Photography | Hope Town, Bahamas

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Don - You need a bigger boat! Cool... err, warm... errrr, maybe even Hot! Picts. Thanks!

Art said:

Don - You need a bigger boat! Cool... err, warm... errrr, maybe even Hot! Picts. Thanks!

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No, no. I learned from Marin. If you have a bigger boat there will just be more people on it.

FlyWright said:

A question for our friends down under...

Is the upcoming season for you called winter, even though it's warm, or do you call the warm months "summer" as we do in the northern hemisphere?

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Flywright, I don't have an Australian keyboard, but I think they type summer upside down.