14 degrees tonight

[texasvet54]

Boy I sure wish that I had bought that Xtreme bilge heater a few weeks ago for my houseboat.

Sunday it was 73 degrees, water temp was 54 and the bilge was 54. Today had a high of 27, water temp of 45 and the bilge was 42 . It is going to be 14 tonight with a high of 28 tomorrow. I'm going to go out to the boat tomorrow morning and pray that I'll find the bilge in at least the high 30's.

Wish me luck or pray for me or both.

Thanks,
TexasVet

 

[26aftcab454]

Re: 14 degrees tonight

Duct tape the bilge vents closed and use a droplight with a metal cage(hang right side up) with a tough duty 75W bulb.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: 14 degrees tonight

you'll be fine--it's when you get sustained temps in the 20's that you have some freezing, or if you are on a trailer or lift. I keep mine inthe water, but just to be safe, bought some pink (marine) antifreeze and put a splash in there, just to keep any ice from stressing my pumps. Try that.

But be sure your outboard is down so your lower unit won't freeze. That is more important.

Oh, and when you go to check on it? watch out for invisible frost on the deck; I slipped and busted my butt last week here on a combination of invisible frost on the gunwale and a sudden burst of gravity.

 

[tmcalavy]

Re: 14 degrees tonight

Man, that's a heat wave...it's a whopping 1 degree this a.m. here in Lubbock, Tejas. Be safe, those sudden bursts of gravity are tough.

 

[Bondo]

Re: 14 degrees tonight

Boy I sure wish that I had bought that Xtreme bilge heater a few weeks ago for my houseboat.

Sunday it was 73 degrees, water temp was 54 and the bilge was 54. Today had a high of 27, water temp of 45 and the bilge was 42 . It is going to be 14 tonight with a high of 28 tomorrow. I'm going to go out to the boat tomorrow morning and pray that I'll find the bilge in at least the high 30's.

Wish me luck or pray for me or both.

Thanks,
TexasVet

Ayuh,... I guess just Draining all it's water was Too much work, eh,..??

Good Luck...

 

[Lou C]

Re: 14 degrees tonight

Yeah for sure I'd drain the block drains, manifold drains, pull off the big hose on the front at the bottom, and drain as much as you can out of the raw water intake hose. If you can get to the drains, all of this should not take more than 1/2 hr. You will freeze your fingers but not your engine. And you don't need sustained temps in the 20s to crack a block, it takes only about 8 hrs. Boat in the water helps but still taking a big chance. BTW it's warmer here, than in Tx, hard to believe that one! I think we hit a high of 35 after getting sleet and freezing rain for about 8 hrs, at least 1/8th inch worth on everything outside. I drain and winterize our boat in Oct and fill up the engine with -100 marine Antifreeze, it has really kept down the corrosion inside. When I replaced the circulating pump on the front of the engine in Oct when I winterized it, I was amazed how free of corrosion the water passages in the heads were for a salt water cooled engine. But I did use AF with corrosion inhibitors every year....

 

[texasvet54]

Re: 14 degrees tonight

Thanks for all of the replies. I went out early this morning when it was 15 degrees and the water temp was 41 and the bilge was 39. I put two 75W bulbs in metal cage drop lights and the temp was 41 in the bilge an hour ago. 15 degrees tonight, then 32/21 Thursday, then 38/25 Friday, then 54/37 on Saturday, then a week of normal temps in the 50's and 60's.

I think that those of you who said that I didn't have much to worry about were right. Still, I'm going to purchase an Xtreme heater and not have the worries any longer. Remember, this is my first winter with a houseboat in the water, so this is all new to me.

BTW, I checked the prices on new Mercrusier 350's should I want to replace my 12 year old engine. OUCH!!!!!

Thanks,
TexasVet

 

[Mainiac Boater]

Re: 14 degrees tonight

Normal temps in the 50s and 60s in February?! Good for boating I suppose.
Snow banks above my head (and around the boat) and a couple feet of ice on the lakes around here.

 

[veritas honus]

Re: 14 degrees tonight

Thanks for all of the replies. I went out early this morning when it was 15 degrees and the water temp was 41 and the bilge was 39. I put two 75W bulbs in metal cage drop lights and the temp was 41 in the bilge an hour ago. 15 degrees tonight, then 32/21 Thursday, then 38/25 Friday, then 54/37 on Saturday, then a week of normal temps in the 50's and 60's.

I think that those of you who said that I didn't have much to worry about were right. Still, I'm going to purchase an Xtreme heater and not have the worries any longer. Remember, this is my first winter with a houseboat in the water, so this is all new to me.

BTW, I checked the prices on new Mercrusier 350's should I want to replace my 12 year old engine. OUCH!!!!!

Thanks,
TexasVet

Glad everything worked out for you... Except, of course, the price of the Merc. 350. Don't know what you were expecting, but, scary... isn't it? If your 12y/o motor has been well maintained, no worries. If you're concerned, have it tested.

 

[26aftcab454]

Re: 14 degrees tonight

Normal temps in the 50s and 60s in February?! Good for boating I suppose.
Snow banks above my head (and around the boat) and a couple feet of ice on the lakes around here.

it was 70 & 72 degrees 5 days ago.

 

[RGrew176]

Re: 14 degrees tonight

It is 11 degrees outside. It is supposed to go down to 0 to 2 degrees tonight. UGH. The good thing is we are just shy of the midway point of the current winter season. Soon it will start to get warmer. Soon.

 

[Mainiac Boater]

Re: 14 degrees tonight

it was 70 & 72 degrees 5 days ago.

It was 70 & 72 degrees 5 months ago!

 

[texasvet54]

Re: 14 degrees tonight

It was 73 last Sunday, which was a little out of the ordinary, but that is Texas. That's why I moved here from the NE many, many years ago. Any winter day has the possibility of being a good golf or boating day. That's one of the reasons why I didn't look into winterizing my engine.

 

[DaNinja]

Re: 14 degrees tonight

Snow has been falling in Central Texas for a couple of hours.
No need to winterize the Sea Ray since I lost that engine last year.

 

[Joshua Nichols]

Re: 14 degrees tonight

I was sweating last Sunday night out in the garage.. Went outside to cool off and it was hot out there too..

This cold weather has unmotivated me to finish my boat repairs here... This has by-far been the coldest days of the year