Winterizing Run

Zebulon, NC


I screwed up. [I can hear the readers now.  "What's new about that Dick?"]   I regularly skip articles about winterizing boats, smug in the certainty that it is a subject I'll never need to worry about.   Now I regret that.

Yesderady Libby and I listened to the New Bern weather report.  It called for overnight lows of 19F, and subfreezing.   They said it will be the coldest night in NC in many years.  YIPES!  I have no anti-freeze solution in the raw water part of the cooling system.   What should I do?   On one hand, the engine would probably be OK.   Even if air temperatures are below 19F, the river temperatures are above 32F.   But am I confident enough in that to take the risk?  No.

So last night I drove 218 miles in a round trip to New Bern, just to put anti-freeze in the engine and in the head.    I really regret not having done that before leaving the boat.

Who was it that said, "Merely owning a car leads one to making unnecessary trips."  How true.