Whether you are a day boater or live on board all year round it is absolutely essential that I know how to winterise my boat RV or caravan. Failure to do this may be a very expensive mistake!

Winter is approaching and you need to be ready for it! Although we live full time on our boat in the north of England, what follows is also applicable to other recreational kit. This includes caravans and recreational vehicles. To a certain extent you can also include outhouses, some sheds and garages etc. In my case I know it is incredibly important that I know how to winterise my boat

As you read through this you can pick and mix what applies to your own situation. I’m going to approach this from the perspective of a boat owner. The reason for this is that the equipment on boats, particularly live aboard boats, pretty much cover the needs of RV’s, caravans and outhouses as well. So read ‘how to winterise my boat’ as ‘how to winterise my boat or RV or caravan.’

Why do we winterise? The main reason of course, is that when water freezes, it expands. On a boat, this affects everything from the engine, through to plumbing pipes, shower heads and much more. On our marina, and I’m sure on lots of others, some of the boats use gas water heaters. If the heater is not drained before winter and the heater experiences frost, the water in the heaters internal coils will expand and burst the pipes. Not good to come back to in spring. So easy to avoid. Learn how to winterise my boat RV, caravan or in fact, anything that can be affected by freezing temperatures.

This next item is boat specific. If your engine draws in water from the river, sea or lake to cool the engine, known as ‘raw water’, there will generally be a seacock below the waterline that will be connected to a strainer. If you are leaving your boat unattended for a period and absolutely definitely before the frosts arrive you must close your seacock(s). There is a very good reason for this. In most cases the seacock connection to the strainer is generally made via a flexible rubber or similar pipe. If this pipe were to burst for whatever reason, and it can happen, it could sink your boat.

I’ve actually witnessed this in my own marina but been able to save the boat because it happened late overnight and was spotted before it was too late.. I do know how to winterise my boat, and if you are new to boating so must you!

Very important. When you come back to your boat after the frosts. Make sure that you open the seacock(s) before you start the engine(s). Check the pipe connecting to the strainer for integrity. Failing to do this could damage the cooling system and engine possibly.

Less specifically let’s move on. Your engine should already have antifreeze in it but if not, you should have the system drained and new antifreeze installed. If you have a raw water oil cooler it would be useful, if possible, to drain the water from it.

If you have a calorifier it should be at least partially drained. Simply turning the hot water tap on will not empty the calorifier. Calorifiers do not generally operate through gravity. Instead, the hot water is pushed out of the calorifier by cold water being pumped in. You may of course open the taps to empty the cold-water tank, if there is one, and much of the system, but to remove the water in the calorifier other action is required. Some calorifiers have drain valves, many more, don’t.

You could loosen or remove the cold-water pipe at the bottom of the calorifier. You may be able to catch the escaping water or let it go into the bilge. Another option is to locate the PRV, pressure relief valve, and use the override lever to remove water that way. Its generally suggested that the calorifier only needs partially emptying. The reasoning is that if there is air space the water can expand into air. If you take that route, I’d suggest that you remove as much water as reasonably possible.

Leaving all taps wide open and removing the spray attachment from the shower is also a great idea.

As you are going round winterising it is a really good idea to jot down exactly what you have done to act as a reminder when you de-winterise. If you do that it will guarantee that the jubilee clip you left loose on the heater or whatever doesn’t get overlooked.

If you have an electrical supply available, small tube heaters placed strategically are brilliant. The are very cheap to run and great for protecting engines and water pipes etc. Do not solely rely on electrical heaters. Winter is also a time of possible power cuts that could leave you unprotected.

If there is no secondary heating, winterising is essential.

A last note. In very cold climates, thought must be given to protecting batteries from freezing if possible. If this is not practical, remove the batteries!

For more information about insulating your plumbing take a look at this Wikipedia article

If you’d like to read more interesting articles about looking after your boat, RV or caravan click the the link, scroll to the bottom of the page and find the category list.