Tomcat owners, your checklist for winterization?

This thread has been a great resource...thanks!

I rinsed both engines with fresh water after every single cruise this season. Since I am on a mooring that means I have to use one engine to get back out. I would switch the engine used to get back to the mooring each week. Once on the mooring of course I trim up, etc.

What are your thoughts on salt away? Or is the consensus to just run them on a fresh water for a good long end of season rinse?
 
Matt I really like salt away and use it every rinse plus I use it on my trailer. On my black Suzuki you can see the salt caked on it sometimes. Rinsing with clear water does very little but with the salt away you can literally see it melt the salt away. I suspect it does the same thing in the cooling system.
 
Well as I suspected, the original dealer replaced the shower sump and connected the water hoses to closed off nipples. You need either a saw or a drill to get them open. Imagine these guys just connected water hoses to very obviously blocked nipples? Anyway - it's a back breaker to get down to the shower sump but I sawed the end of the nipples so it will work properly. When I open the drain valve on my hot water tank it now drains into the sump.

If you're still reading Dr. John, where did you find your detailed winterization instructions? Mine came with a small folding brochure that said "don't run caustic chemicals such as Narcool into the hot water tank". I will contact Seaward today to get more info on.

Thanks
 
Matte,

Deep down in my co-pilot's cabinet, behind where the fridge would be if I had one, I found a folder of instructions hitherto unnoticed, which included the full Wallas manual as well as the Hot water tank manual. I bet you could get the manual online. If not, PM me your FAX number and I will try to remember to bring the manual back to the office next time I'm on the boat and FAX you a copy.

John
 
I have found that the best way to winterize Reef Madness is to remove the rod holders on the starboard side. Attach 1" heater hose to the rail for protection against crab pots and install my Ace line hauler. So far we have had a stellar crab season since this year they let us fish before the comm'l guys set their pots.

Gene
 
Gene,

Wow, that sounds like the way to go! Unfortunately all we have around here similar to crabs are crawdads!

John
 
drjohn71a":1ywwwnom said:
Matte,

Deep down in my co-pilot's cabinet, behind where the fridge would be if I had one, I found a folder of instructions hitherto unnoticed, which included the full Wallas manual as well as the Hot water tank manual. I bet you could get the manual online. If not, PM me your FAX number and I will try to remember to bring the manual back to the office next time I'm on the boat and FAX you a copy.

John
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Thanks for the offer Dr. John. I spoke to Seaward yesterday and they were kind enough to fax me the instructions for winterizing the hot water heater.

I also spoke to Lonnie in technical support (X213). I'm sharing the following as a reference to others who may have the same questions I had. It is OK to put the propylene glycol non-toxic anti-freeze into the hot water tank as long as you don't have the anode. You can easily tell if you have the anode by the drain valve. If you have a plastic drain valve knob, you don't have the anode. If you have the anode, you will see just a metal plug where the drain valve would otherwise be...a plug with either a hex insert or something like that. I was pressed for time and opted to just fill my system with the antifreeze including the hot water tank. I will be draining the system fully once I have my boat wrapped and use the excess to winterize my bildge pumps and live well tank pumps.

Thanks again for all the suggestions.
 
Dr John;

If you like crab and rainy weather you can take a trip out here. We can go get dungeness crab whenever the ocean allows.

Gene
 
Thanks Gene for the offer... you'd better be careful - someone might take you up on that!

When I fish with my sons down off Galveston, they use crabs as bait!!! Live ones! The boys kept hollering at me to stop throwing their bait into the steampot on the Wallas!

I am guessing you are around San Francisco, CA? or North of there?

Keep us all up on what's biting over there!

John
 
macmac":1ehav61f said:
2. Start your furnace or stove. Once it is up and running, pull the fuel line out of the tank, or otherwise disconnect the fuel supply and let the Wallas unit run until it quits for lack of fuel. When you come back to the boat after the layup period, you will need to re-prime the Wallas unit, but this process will help prevent gumming deposits inside the Wallas.
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What's the procedure for re-priming a Wallas?

--Georgs
 
I do not know the latest, "official", Wallas priming instructions, but here is how I do it.

The fuel supply hose is clear - you can see the level of the fuel in the hose and where the 'air' is. The fuel tank is clear and flexible and movable.

I fill the fuel tank, put the lid with fuel supply line on top tightly and lift the fuel tank up, watching the level of fuel in the supply line. You can turn the stove on to try to start it at this point, I suppose, to see if you got the fuel high enough in the line so the pump will pump it into the little burning dish, OR

what I do is to gently squeeze the fuel tank, watching the fuel level in the line, while elevating the fuel tank to the stove level, until the fuel is seen running thru the entire supply line, driving out the air. If you squeeze too hard or too long, it will overflow and smell a bit, but I have not had any problem. Any time you take the fuel line out of the tank, some fuel may run out leaving air in the line. Wallas is suggesting burning the remaining fuel out of the line by running the stove for winterizing, and that will, of couse, leave ALL AIR in the line and no fuel.

Anytime I remove the fuel tank cap to add fuel, I lift the fuel bottle up to stove level and slightly squeeze the tank side until whatever air was in the line goes out.

John
 
Except for shrink wrap Napoleon is done! The learning curve for the first winterization on this boat was not particularly fun but I kept detailed notes of everything in my ship's log right down to socket sizes. Next season will go much faster.

Monday I'm having a carpenter come over to do the overhead shelf closure. I have a nice piece of finish wood (forget the kind of wood) that will match the teak pretty well. I started the project earlier in the season but never got around to it. The carpenter is coming out for other house work so I decided to let the pro scribe the insert.

I had two remaining question....what do you guys suggest for winterizing the windlass? I was thinking of spraying it with corrosion block while the admiral hits the switch to rotate the gypsy.

Also, I have some small spider web like scratches where the fender touches the hull. In addition to fender covers for next year, what's the best way to take care of these?

Thanks
 
I'm aiming to complete winterizing my TomCat 24 as the first snow starts to fly on Lake Ontario.

1) What's the best way to pull off water hoses that have not been removed in six years? Is brute strength the only answer or is there some secret technique?

2) After winterizing the head, I have some pink antifreeze left over. I've read that a good idea is to protect the bilge pump with antifreeze. What's the best way to get the antifreeze to the bilge pump which is right aft in the starboard hull?

--Georgs
 
Georgs, I have either heated the hoses, with water which was heated to near boiling or a hair dryer (these are a little less heat than a heat gun) to soften up and loosen up the hoses.

You know it is better for the boat, to bring it South--and start a magazine on cruisng spots in Florida!
 
thataway":1htmylga said:
You know it is better for the boat, to bring it South--and start a magazine on cruisng spots in Florida!
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Funny you should mention that, Bob, as I was just showing the Admiral some photos of cruising in the Bahamas, and we were talking about Cuba a few weeks back.

I'll try a hair dryer on the water hoses this weekend. We haul out Friday.

--Georgs
 
GxK":353ghc1q said:
I'm aiming to complete winterizing my TomCat 24 as the first snow starts to fly on Lake Ontario.

I've read that a good idea is to protect the bilge pump with antifreeze. What's the best way to get the antifreeze to the bilge pump which is right aft in the starboard hull?

--Georgs
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Georgs, on the TC 255 that has a pump in each hull, I just pour a gallon into the bilge of each and run the pump on manual for a couple of seconds until the pink stuff comes out the discharge. Mine is on a lift.

Charlie
 
Captains Cat":3vtmibgt said:
I just pour a gallon into the bilge of each and run the pump on manual for a couple of seconds until the pink stuff comes out the discharge.
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WHERE do you pour the antifreeze so it reaches the bilge?

--Georgs
 
Georgs,

On the TC 255's there is a round inspection port and a rectangular opening door to the battery shelf on each side. There is enough open space around the sides of the shelf to just pour down there.

Maybe you have openings in the cockpit floor? Boats are usually designed so that any stray water inside the hull ends up at the aft ends of the sponsons where the bilge pumps sit.

John
 
GxK":2yppouid said:
Captains Cat":2yppouid said:
I just pour a gallon into the bilge of each and run the pump on manual for a couple of seconds until the pink stuff comes out the discharge.
Click to expand...

WHERE do you pour the antifreeze so it reaches the bilge?

--Georgs
Click to expand...

We have access ports right on top of the bilge pumps at the stern.

Also, make sure you first jack up the bow so any water in the bilge will run back. Run the bilge pump until the water is gone then pour in the antifreeze.
 
I just wanted to bump to check again about suggestions for windlass winterization and spider scratches in the color stripe from fenders.

Thanks
 
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