Winter ballast protection

[Captain Dave]

I plan to leave my Mac in water this winter so I can enjoy an occasional outing. However, temperatures here in Oregon can dip below freezing for several days in a row. What is the recommended measure for making sure the water ballast does not feeeze, or do you simply drain it out before docking?

[Bawgy]

Antifreeze .

[ALX357]

Antifreeze would cost you a fortune, and be disastrous to the lake environment when you emptied it. NO WAY, do not use antifreeze in your ballast tank.

Does the lake freeze over ? If not, your ballast won't either, since it is effectively IN the lake, below the waterline of the boat. You could add a small bit of cheap salt if you want, but I wouldn't much.
Your best idea is to drain it out before docking.

[Russ]

What about dry storage on the trailer? Temps here can dip to 35 below. Does it drain all the water out or should something else be done to protect from freezing?

Does the ballast valve close tight enough to keep water out while at dock for weeks or will water seep in over time?

[Bawgy]

Alex they make a marine antifreeze that is safe to the environment . I buy it to use in my skiboats. Sorry I didnt make that clear . You may now remove the wadded panties HEHE Just kidding . That is a good point

[pokerrick1]

Dave;

Antifreeze is NOT necessary unless the water around the boat freezes, and if it did you wouldn't leave the boat in the water over the winter (ala Buffalo, NY and Chicago, IL).

Marine antifreeze is way too expensive anyway. You NEED to do NOTHING with the ballast water. That water will not freeze unless water the boat lies in freezes.

But do put in a travel sized bottle of Chlorox to eliminate odor and growth inside the tank from sitting long periods.

The ballast valve is pretty tight (nothing is leakproof forever), and should not take in water over an extended period.

Now protecting your engine in the winter may be a whole different animal What kind of engine do you have

PS I am not an engine guy - - - others will answer THAT question.

Rick

[Craig LaForce]

How about a couple lbs of salt? I left my water ballast in all last winter in Tulsa and it was fine. The lake froze a little bit but incompletely, and I shoveled a few tons of snow out of the cockpit once, but it was fine.

A little salt should depress the freezing point a bit for added peace of mind. Don't know if there would be any environmental issues with a little salt, but the rules seem to be increasingly nonsensical these days. Passing wind may be illegal soon.

[Don T]

Hello,
I keep my boat on the trailer so you don't really have to listen to me BUT since the Columbia hasn't frozen over since the 1920's, leaving the ballast in should not be a problem. We did have ice come down river back in the 70's when we had that 2 weeks of 10*F weather but it didn't freeze over in Portland. The problem around here is marina owners not being prepared for cold and snow buildup which can sink the covered morages, damaging and sinking boats. You will probably want to have some sort of light bulb / heater in there during the winter anyway to help control moisture.

If you raise your motor and be sure it has drained fully then it should not have a problem either.

About the 1920's, my Grandfather had a picture of him driving his Model T across the frozen Willamette where the Sellwood ferry ran. Cool pic.

[Catigale]

Just to SWAG the salt issue the effective molal freezing point depression of water is about 4 degrees C for a "one molal salt solution"

a one molal solution means that you have 40 grams of salt for each kilogram of water

So a 100 gallon tank has about 400kg of water and you would need a lot of salt......not bothering to calculate this....