Shipping to the Great Lakes

[Bacchus]

Ajourney, great response. This is new to me so nice to here from someone that goes through the cycle at a marina. Since you see a lot of boats going through this are there common problems folks have in spring getting going again? Is there shrink wrap damage, battery issues, busted water lines or other random stuff one wouldn't normally think of?

We have wintered on the hard and shrink wrapped for close to 40 yrs w/o significant problems. Early on the marina winterized fresh water by disconnecting and bypassing water heater and FREQUENTLY there was a leak source after spring commissioning. I decided long ago to install permanent by pass and 3 way valves on tank side of fresh water system/ pump. Without need to disconnect/ reconnect leaks are non-existant. IMO its worth some effort to make winterization as EZ as possible since I do FW, raw water, AC, head myself. I leave main engine. & Gen for the yard when they pull the boat. It's inexpensive, they are set up tondo itbwhile in the slings and they stand by N t by evresults... one year they did not get the eng cooling system coil in the water heater adequately winterized and it split the coil... the yard stood behind their work and had an off the shelf coil installed within 1 hour @ no charge.
I usually visit the boat once after pulling / blocking to plug in and FULLY charge battys before disconnecting. (No ability to charge over the winter).

 

[Frosty]

Ajourney, great response. This is new to me so nice to here from someone that goes through the cycle at a marina. Since you see a lot of boats going through this are there common problems folks have in spring getting going again? Is there shrink wrap damage, battery issues, busted water lines or other random stuff one wouldn't normally think of?

I'm not @Ajourney (but I'm sure they will respond too), but I can say that a decent midwest yard (which they tend to call "marinas" not boatyards) will not see you having these types of problem. They are used to winterizing and taking care of boats. You should not expect damage from shrink wrap or freezing (do make sure to opt for vents in the shrink wrap, which they should recommend).

Battery issues would be the only thing I could think of, but that would usually be just because the batteries were already weak or ready to retire.

As @Bacchus mentioned, the batteries should be fully charged before storage (especially if they are lead acid).

 

[kthoennes]

Yep, we do the winter cycle here too of course (SD). Same things come to mind - it's hard on batteries, we always test them in the spring (five of them). Our marina disconnects them all but leaves them in place. And I'm always surprised how dirty everything is in the spring, even under very good shrink wrap. We do put a zipper door in the shrink wrap so we can do monthly or maybe six week checks. We also installed a solar powered webcam on the radar arch, uses the year-round marina wifi, but not much to see really. Pulling every year does give us a good maintenance opportunity - change the zincs, check and clean intakes, power wash, check props, underwater lights, etc.

 

[a_real_journey]

Ajourney, great response. This is new to me so nice to here from someone that goes through the cycle at a marina. Since you see a lot of boats going through this are there common problems folks have in spring getting going again? Is there shrink wrap damage, battery issues, busted water lines or other random stuff one wouldn't normally think of?

Speaking only from my (limited) experience at one marina, it tends to be pretty seamless. Folks have shrink-wrapping—and un-shrink-wrapping—down to a science in these parts. Drive by any marina near any lake or river in MN in November, and you'll be greeted with a sea of white or blue plastic. I won't say, "Nothing to it," but it's not an insanely technical process.

The only damage I've ever seen from shrink-wrapping is someone nicking a boat's hull with a utility knife when unwrapping. (We report and repair any damage like that.)

If you let a battery sit over winter, you're not doing yourself any favors. Better to pull them or have the marina do so. Fully charge it and store it above freezing.

Every water line needs to be flushed and pumped full of marine/RV antifreeze. Let the marina do it, and they are responsible for any damage. Do it yourself for peace of mind. Obviously, the more complicated your boat, the more complicated the flush-and-fill (with anitfreeze) process will be.

Also need to winterize the drive, flushing water out and running anti-freeze through the intake. Good time to change fluids, too.

Those are the things that come to mind. All of this is routine in northern climates, and my observation is that boat yards have it down to a science. I'm sure there are a handful or horror stories out there, but I'd trust just about any reputable marina in a northern climate to do this work.

 

[Jeff F]

All of this is routine in northern climates, and my observation is that boat yards have it down to a science.

Yep. I've worked at several large yards in Canada and the Midwest that winter store close to 1000 boats. Autumn is the busy season, and getting all the boats hauled, winterized and stored in a few weeks is an annual challenge that's well understood and choreographed.

 

[a_real_journey]

For what it’s worth for anyone living in a milder climate: Here are a few pics of the shrink wrapping process (and finished product).

 

[Comodave]

With shrink wrap it is critical to have enough vents in the wrap so you don’t get mold or mildew. Also if the hull sides are painted the shrink can damage the paint by trapping moisture against the hull, it has to be spaced away from the paint. We winterize and are very careful doing it. A lot of people say to add antifreeze until you get color out. But if you test the output antifreeze it can test as high as +30 degrees when you first see color. I use a Refractometer to test every outlet to make sure it tests at least to -20. If you do winterization carefully you will not have any broken lines due to freezing. We used 33 gallons of -100 antifreeze this year. I buy it through the boatyard and they bring a 55 gallon drum to our house and we pump it into gallon jugs to go to the boat. Save a lot of money that way. We remove every last bit of food or any food like substance since the mice will get into the boat to get the food. Even Tupperware isn’t good enough to stop the mice, they will eat holes in it. Toilet paper and bars of soap have to go too. They will eat off the bar of soap surprisingly l