Leaving boat in water full time.

[srwiley]

Hi Folks, Can anyone lead me in the right direction on what I need to do to leave my boat (just inherited it!) in "brackish" water full time. It has an I/O. I have a 25' Wellcraft 250 Cruiser from 1988. I'm in Florida near Kennedy Space center and don't predict many freezing nights!
This may seem like a stupid question but I'm completely new to the boating world
Thanks in advance.[/SIZE]

 

[jaxnjil]

Re: Leaving boat in water full time.

you need pull it at least once a year and check-change impeller in sea water pump,bellows in the transom assembly, change oil in the leg + inspect it, and inspect clean and touch up bottom paint. will need bottom paint every 3 or so years. allso keep a close eye on your protective anodes
as far as freezing you should be ok as long as the water temperature is above freezing.
that said i still like to drain my manifolds and block when i leave boat.
my boat is i 60* water now. i don't worry about the sea water pump and oil cooler because they are well below the water line and the small amount of water that stays in the bilge has never frozen.

 

[EddiePetty]

Re: Leaving boat in water full time.

..... Can anyone lead me in the right direction on what I need to do to leave my boat in "brackish" water full time......in Florida........ [/SIZE]

....a complete, and positive answer will depend on whether the boat is moored, tied-up at a marina or private dock.
Access to continious electrical power is the dedermining item to your question.
Keeping the bilge dry will be your main concern.
Please provide your mooring details.
FWIW....Ed in 'ol Virginny

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Leaving boat in water full time.

Also from Virginia:
Bilge pump and float switch is important. Next is how closely watched is it: mine is at my house so I can check it after a rain storm to be sure the pump works (and for other issues) but if you won't be able to check it for a few days at a time you are at risk. You don't need shore power if you stay on top of it.
I'm scared of I/O and everything riding on that thin old rubber. but there are lots of them floating around here still.

 

[arks]

Re: Leaving boat in water full time.

Hi Folks, Can anyone lead me in the right direction on what I need to do to leave my boat (just inherited it!) in "brackish" water full time. SIZE]

I keep my boat in a wet slip year round.
It's vitally important that a slipped boat be kept on a maintenance schedule. Things will break or wear down on a boat even if it's not used! Maybe talk to a marine mechanic to set something up.
I might add that if YOU can't visit the boat daily, then enlist someone who can at least make a quick check. It doesn't take much for a small problem to turn into a BIG one.
Example #1: heavy rains or a small cut in a bellows causes the bilge pump to cycle, eventually wearing the battery down. Boat takes on water and- if not attended to- it WILL go down.
Example #2: a raw water hose clamp rusts to the point of failure. The hose starts leaking, bilge pump can't keep up, boat goes down.
I think you get the idea..........

 

[26aftcab454]

Re: Leaving boat in water full time.

srwiley--Welcome to the CGWOC !!!
"Cool Guy Wellcraft Owners Club"

I keep mine year round in a slip in a big freshwater marina 1/2 mile from the house . I check it twice a week and usally go out every weekend. I have shore power and have a onboard charger to always moniter the batteries. I do not keep the bilge pump on but always check it. There are enough friends and marina staff to keep an eye on her. the slip is well coverd. last year the water temp never got below 49 degrees last year. I have petcock valves thru my freeze plugs and its an easy drain if it's gonna get much below freezing for a few days.

You'll get a lot more good advise on this site than I can give you.
I have a 1984 Wellcraft 26ft Aft Cabin that was repowerd in 1996 with a 7.4 mercrusier w/ bravo3 and I absolutely love the boat.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Leaving boat in water full time.

The least you should do is hook up an waterproof webcam inside the bilge with interior LED waterproof lighting, with a feed to an on-board laptop, then router it via satellite feed to a server that will transmit it via internet to your home and office computers--best have a second screen so you can always check it. Since the on-board computer requires power you will need dockside hookup, but power at marinas are notoriously unstable. Install a diesel generator as a back up; with a start-trigger so that if power goes out to the dock, it will kick on in not less that 15 seconds. You never know what can happen in those gaps. And you'll want a hydrographic alarm to feed a text message to your cell phone if water trips the critical setting.
Follow this advice and you should be OK.

 

[soggy_feet]

Re: Leaving boat in water full time.

First few posts mention concerns about having shore power, last few posts mentions concerns about not having shore power (ie: pump runs battery down).

Not much explanation was given for the concerns about HAVING shore power.

If you're constantly connected to power, your boat will suffer from electrolysis, slowly etching/pitting exposed metal parts if you don't have sufficient sacrificial anodes, aka, zinks.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Leaving boat in water full time.

Good point about shore power.
As for relying on a battery v. shore power:
I found that my battery (one standard 12v) would run my bilge pump constantly from sometime Friday night when vandals launched my boat with no plug until well into Saturday morning and after the help at the dock noticed. Although only 17' it is not a self-bailing (like a whaler) so the pump did have to work.
So I feel pretty good about relying on a battery for rain water, and also about a 12 hour window for a through-hull failure. This goes back to your planning based on how often you or someone responsible can see the boat, and also your running the boat occassionally to charge the battery.
I've always kept boats in the water (the one above was recently back from the shop and therefore on the trailer). IN the summer, the heat can run a battery down; in the winter, cold can slow it down.
I have found that even with a dead battery or failed pump (yes they will) a boat that starts dry can handle a day's rain. But it's close.
You also need to be moored bow facing any swells/chop/wake; a squall can ship a lot of water across a transom (as my father and I learned the hard way when I was growing up).
Another risk to a moored boat is that a line may come loose and the boat get caught under a pier, or hang on it, with the tide. You want to watch closely how you tie it and monitor through several tides. I know from a friend's experience that you can sink a boat if just a small edge of the rub rail hangs on the pier and the tide drops.

 

[NSBCraig]

Re: Leaving boat in water full time.

Your biggest problem will be things growing on it.

The problem with outdrives is there is a lot of places things can grow.

They will clog up your speedo hole, water intakes, grow on your bellows and one I've enjoyed grow all over your external steering components (at least it broke before going out Ponce Inlet). Coat it all and plan on spending time picking and scraping it as much as possible.

Bottom paint ( look at petit vivid), anodes (don't forget one behind prop), power and pumps should take care of the rest. (if your in a marina make sure you watch those anodes cause the boats connected to shore power will eat them up)

 

[srwiley]

Re: Leaving boat in water full time.

Thanks a bunch for ALL the great advice.
I will be mooring it on a private dock. Tidal activity is only a couple of inches!
I'll be able to check daily. I won't have any 120 power to the boat so it'll be battery only.
Oh, BTW. The gas in tank is about 3 years old. Should I drain & discard or can it be used?

 

[pmillar]

Re: Leaving boat in water full time.

...Oh, BTW. The gas in tank is about 3 years old. Should I drain & discard or can it be used?

If I understand you correctly to mean you have 3 yr. old gas then you really, really need to drain it and get some fresh gas in there. Even if it was treated with Stabil or the like. Save the old stuff if it doesn't smell really nasty and you can add a little bit at a time to a car/truck and run it diluted that way. I wouldn't recommend trying it with the boat though.

 

[soggy_feet]

Re: Leaving boat in water full time.

nothing worse than getting out on the water, but not having a way to get back in.

I wouldn't leave it to chance, change the gas. Run it in your lawn mower or something.

 

[srwiley]

Re: Leaving boat in water full time.

Will do Guys,
Thanks a bunch!

 

[Capt'n Chris]

Re: Leaving boat in water full time.

Is your boat fiberglass? You should be aware of the phenomenon called "osmosis" or osmotic blistering. Gel coat is semipermeable and many boats left in the water are susceptible to this problem. It is a sickening feeling when osmotic blisters are discovered. If this should be a concern to you, consider a professionally applied vinyl ester barrier coat.

 

[RWilson2526]

Re: Leaving boat in water full time.

The least you should do is hook up an waterproof webcam inside the bilge with interior LED waterproof lighting, with a feed to an on-board laptop, then router it via satellite feed to a server that will transmit it via internet to your home and office computers--best have a second screen so you can always check it. Since the on-board computer requires power you will need dockside hookup, but power at marinas are notoriously unstable. Install a diesel generator as a back up; with a start-trigger so that if power goes out to the dock, it will kick on in not less that 15 seconds. You never know what can happen in those gaps. And you'll want a hydrographic alarm to feed a text message to your cell phone if water trips the critical setting.
Follow this advice and you should be OK.

That's funny!!!

 

[fat fanny]

Re: Leaving boat in water full time.

srwiley welcome aboard but besides all the info provided even by home cookin do your own research and a post search here on iboats and you'll do just fine. But I warn you this forum is as adictive as boating it's self.

 

[Tea Bag]

Re: Leaving boat in water full time.

The least you should do is hook up an waterproof webcam inside the bilge with interior LED waterproof lighting, with a feed to an on-board laptop, then router it via satellite feed to a server that will transmit it via internet to your home and office computers--best have a second screen so you can always check it. Since the on-board computer requires power you will need dockside hookup, but power at marinas are notoriously unstable. Install a diesel generator as a back up; with a start-trigger so that if power goes out to the dock, it will kick on in not less that 15 seconds. You never know what can happen in those gaps. And you'll want a hydrographic alarm to feed a text message to your cell phone if water trips the critical setting.
Follow this advice and you should be OK.

WOW, either your joking or have unlimited time and funds on your hands!

 

[srwiley]

Re: Leaving boat in water full time.

The least you should do is hook up an waterproof webcam inside the bilge with interior LED waterproof lighting, with a feed to an on-board laptop, then router it via satellite feed to a server that will transmit it via internet to your home and office computers--best have a second screen so you can always check it. Since the on-board computer requires power you will need dockside hookup, but power at marinas are notoriously unstable. Install a diesel generator as a back up; with a start-trigger so that if power goes out to the dock, it will kick on in not less that 15 seconds. You never know what can happen in those gaps. And you'll want a hydrographic alarm to feed a text message to your cell phone if water trips the critical setting.
Follow this advice and you should be OK.

Oh crap, you were just joking??!!
I've just gone & had them installed!
I hope it was $2500 well spent!

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Leaving boat in water full time.

joking, but there are some folks around here....