Winterizing, etc.

[merriweather]

Ed, thanks for your advice! Does anyone know of a website that addresses this issue or can anyone add to Ed's short list ("Paint Job")? Being new boat owners, we don't want to overlook anything that might cause unwarranted expense in the future. We have experienced enough of that as homeowners! Also, can anyone offer advice about sanding? Although the paint job will have to remain on hold for a couple of months, we are anxious to at least get started. Should we be concerned about moisture once she's sanded?

[Scott]

merriweather ....
A lot is going to depend on how much restoration you’re going to be doing and how long the boat will be high and dry…….

Like Ed said stabilize the fuel (especially if the boat will not see water for awhile) Hopefully you have room in the tank to add the stabilizer then add new gas on top of it (the new gas will help to mix things up a bit add distribute the stabilizer hence the remark about having room in the fuel tank)...

Additionally TOPPING OF THE TANK IS VERY IMPORTANT .. otherwise you run a condensation risk and water in you fuel tank....One marina up here will not winterize until the tank is full (trust me you don’t want the marina adding gas… they charge an arm and a leg for simple stuff like this) get the motor running (once the fuel is stabilized ) then disconnect the fuel line from the engine while its running .... This gets most of the gas out of the motor...to avoid it "varnishing" things up....makes starting the boat in the spring a more pleasant experience.
You may want to fog the engine .... but at this point you've only got a few months until the boat gets wet again …so that’s up to you ....again unless the boats going to sit for a long period of time.....You can even take the spark plugs out and squirt some fogging oil into the cylinders and turn the motor over a few times to distribute it...then replace the plugs...

I have in the past (not so much with the current boat) I drain the lower unit oil in the fall then replace with new.... primarily to check its condition and see if it need to go to the shop over the winter for repair.

Most of the above is if its an outboard...inboards have different considerations... especially the cooling system)

Batteries out and throw a charger on them every so often if you wish

Onto sanding......Personally I would wait for prep sanding for painting until right prior to the paint job (within a few weeks at least)....If you prep sand now your opening the surface up to contamination from the environment and poor adhesion for the primer and paint ...Otherwise you may have to re-sand it again to get a good bonding surface..
ASK FELLOWSHIP ABOUT SANDING THE BOAT FOR PREP OF PAINTING as I recall he didn’t have too much fun..

If its rough sanding your doing say from fiberglass repair work… I personally sand it down and put a coat of primer over the newly sanded area to protect it from the weather ...especially the sun (look in some boat yards were the resin was left “raw” it discolors and over time becomes brittle) until the prep sanding occurs..

There are steps to take for preparing the surface even before sanding begins (dewaxing and cleaning the surface so you don’t grind bad stuff into the prepped surface) and steps to make sure the surface is the best for bonding the primer... US Paints (Awlgrip) has a webpage that has good info on prep work (or you can send for a hard copy of the pamphlet....) Or talk to the Manufactures technical guys about your "little" project ... They are usually quite helpful... [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img]

Hope this helps [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[ February 03, 2003, 02:00 PM: Message edited by: Scott ]

[merriweather]

Scott, thanks for all the useful info! It sounds as if Fellowship's prepping experience is left forgotten unless there's a lesson you think we might learn from it? We'll get to winterizing right away but as far as dewaxing, cleaning and sanding goes, it sounds like it should be put on hold. At least we can purchase the equipment/supplies. Can you give us an idea of what we're going to need and an approximate cost to have in mind for our "little project"? Is it time to increase the credit card limit?

[Scott]

It sounds as if Fellowship's prepping experience is left forgotten unless there's a lesson you think we might learn from it?

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I'm not sure I understand your question about FellowShip and maybe I wasn’t very clear on my end .... My point is that its not the most pleasant of jobs (sanding for primer and paint) , lots of nooks and crannies, sore fingers, tired arms ....well you get the idea...So you don’t want to do it more than you need to. BUT that is why its rather expensive when you contract someone to do the work for you (I've been quoted as high as $15,000 to paint the boat top to bottom, inside and out....needless to say I quickly made an about face and walked away from that place !!!!)

I've also asked about prepping the boat and letting them do the paint work ....and I've received mixed response on that ....

Someone made mention of starting to strip the boat down (removing hardware, rubrails etc....) That would be a good place to start .... as weather will not affect that process (just cover up anything that is exposed once you have removed it i.e. the mounting holes left behind from rodholder, hawse pipes, cleats etc... that could soak up water....epoxy should be put on those raw edges of the core material when it gets warm enough so you don’t have to worry about rot.

What you will need is dependant on how much work needs to be done.... If its just a prep sanding for primer and paint .... then lots of clean rags, solvents to clean the hull prior to sanding, lots of sand paper (finer grits) and a Palm sander and or a Random orbit sander...(I use both) to sand the broad flat areas inside and for sanding the hull. For the tools I have used a place in CT. I think called www.Coastaltool.com they seem to have good prices.

You could also start researching what paint your going with....Awlgrip, Sterling etc.... Fellowship also steered me to a video put out by Awlgrip and sold by Bennett marine on how to brush Awlgrip...Its a short tape but clearly gives you the basic steps on how to roll and tip a boat. Just a heads up .... the paint is not cheap...If I recall Fellowship spent close to $1000 just for paints and primers....Brushes and rollers designed for this paint are also quite expensive....and a good deal of nice weather and your time

The most important thing to remember is to take your time and prep the hull the right way...It will pay off in the long run!!!!!!

Its a true "Labor of Love" ( there is that boat name again!!!!!) before I'm done that just might become her name.

Please feel free to email me if you need details about any of the above [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img]

Scott

[ocuyler]

We've stripped the 23', ground out the cracks, removed the rubrail and will do all the prep. Our local good guys will do the final sanding prep and paint inside and out. She gets turned over, painted bottom and hull sides and then painted on the inside. They'll end up around $4,500. We'll reinstall everything else. I think it's a good comprimise as they do sweet work and it'll show.

The motor gets a go-through by the local certified Yamaha dealer. They agreed to accept the motor on a pallet, do the work and re-install the motor on the boat (after it's painted) to tweak the controls.

Can't wait.

Otto