Camanos 31 Owner's Handbook Manual - page 26
21
Winter on the Hard (in really cold places)
If you plan on leaving the boat in very cold climates or are unable to check it periodically, you might
want to take some extra steps to safeguard your investment. Most importantly, yo u should prevent your
boat from freezing up by draining all of the water on the boat or by replacing it with antifreeze. There
are three systems you need to protect: the engine; the domestic water; and, the head. Plus the air
conditioner, if you have one.
Engine
Check the engine's internal coolant system (fresh water system) to make sure it is protected to well
below the expected low temperature for your part of the country. Replace the coolant with an
appropriate antifreeze mixture if there is any doubt about its ability to resist freezing. Next, the raw
water (seawater) system must be purged and the contents replaced with antifreeze. To do this, recruit
two helpers and tell them as little as possible. Place one end of a hose in a large bucket filled with
antifreeze and the other end snugly against the raw water intake fitting in the hull (haul the boat first).
Place one helper at the exhaust outlet at the transom with a bucket to catch the antifreeze and the other
helper at the helm to start the engine. Once the antifreeze starts to appear at the exhaust, shut down the
engine. The engine and the rest of the cooling system are now protected.
At the engine water feed to the shaft seal, clamp off the hose with a vise grip to prevent the antifreeze
from running out the shaft. Use 2 thin pieces of wood to avoid the jaws of the vise grip damaging the
hose.
When first starting the engine again you will be pumping this antifreeze out the exhaust. In order to
prevent releasing the antifreeze into the environment, it may be easiest to purge the system by using
the same procedure prior to launching, only pumping fresh water through.
Domestic Water
If you decide to drain the water, use the domestic pump to remove as much as possible. Disconnect the
supply lines attached to the tanks, disconnect the lines to the pump and open all faucets. Run the pump
for a short period to empty all water and then drain the hot water tank. A wet/dry vacuum cleaner is
very handy for this task. If that sounds like too much trouble, you can replace all the water with a
potable type of antifreeze. First, drain the tanks by opening one or more faucets. Shut the faucets and
then pour enough potable antifreeze into the tanks to more than fill the hot water heater, which has a
capacity of 6 U.S. gallons). Open each faucet, one at a time, both hot and cold, including the cockpit
shower if you have one, and close them once the antifreeze appears. Remember that if you fill the
system with antifreeze, you have to drain it and flush the system with fresh water before you start
cruising again. Even though the antifreeze is potable, some people find that they can taste it forever
after. If that is the case on your boat, best to drain the system.
Head
To winterize the toilet and pumpout system that has a Y valve, refill your bucket with antifreeze and
get your recruits back on the job. The recruit who started the engine earlier, now gets to stick one end
of a hose in the bucket and the other against the toilet intake fitting in the hull (the smaller of the two
fittings on the hull bottom). The volunteer from the transom now operates the toilet, drawing antifreeze
into the system. Turn the Y valve to the holding tank position and direct antifreeze into the tank. When
you have enough antifreeze in the tank, operate the pumpout system until the volunteer on the outside