PNW seasonal boating

[dtour]

Hi all -

We are considering buying an 895 and I was hoping some of the folks who also boat in the PNW could share based on their experiences. One of our hopes is we can have an extended boating season and not be limited to the nicer ~3 months of the year.

1. The 2020 models have a factory optional webasto 3.5kw heater with 5 vents. How well does the salon retain heat? How well does the heater heat it? I'm assuming on a day like today (~40, calm water) it can heat the inside of the cabin to 65 or so without trying too hard?
2. How do people approach winterizing boats like these when left in the salt - do you winterize Nov 1 and not use the boat until April 1, or just winterize the fresh water system and cockpit shower, or some other option?
3. For spring and summer, without AC we will be windows open a lot of the time. Has anyone fitted screens or similar to help with bugs while near shore?

P.s. thanks for all of the informative posts here, it's been super helpful as we go through the process!

[Cruising Cascadia]

Feb 9, 2020 18:28:07 GMT dtour said:

Hi all -

We are considering buying an 895 and I was hoping some of the folks who also boat in the PNW could share based on their experiences. One of our hopes is we can have an extended boating season and not be limited to the nicer ~3 months of the year.

1. The 2020 models have a factory optional webasto 3.5kw heater with 5 vents. How well does the salon retain heat? How well does the heater heat it? I'm assuming on a day like today (~40, calm water) it can heat the inside of the cabin to 65 or so without trying too hard?
2. How do people approach winterizing boats like these when left in the salt - do you winterize Nov 1 and not use the boat until April 1, or just winterize the fresh water system and cockpit shower, or some other option?
3. For spring and summer, without AC we will be windows open a lot of the time. Has anyone fitted screens or similar to help with bugs while near shore?

P.s. thanks for all of the informative posts here, it's been super helpful as we go through the process!

Hi there and welcome!
We have a 2019 NC 895 and pretty much use it all year round. We have a webasto diesel heater that makes the cabin VERY toasty. We winterized the water system and do make an effort to warm up the engines and run the heater and stove at least once per month.
We do have the windows open when it is really hot outside. There are screens built into the overhead "sun rooof" and we have not been bothered enough by bugs to install extra screens (good idea, though). We LOVE our 895. We are located in Blaine, WA and would be happy to be a resource for you🙂
Stacey and Hans #CruisingCascadia#

[MartyB]

Ummm,

Been using my boat, granted a sailboat, 12 months of the year since buying her 12 years ago. I have yet to winterize it, ie blow out water lines etc. Then again, i do run an electric heater in the winter to keep the cabin about 40F temp. Add a bit higher temp if the temps get below 30F for a long time from a this area standpoint. Ie 1-2 weeks in the upper teen to 30F side of things.

A number of local yachtclubs that do cruises locally once a month. I know many that go out year around when boats are in water moorages.

We in reality, do not have cold enough temps, or time frames to really worry about winterizing full scale like the midwest or east coast of NAmerica.

Marty

[pnw895owner]

1) we use it year round.
2) i do no winterizing. Flush the engines and try to run it once a month in the winter.
3) the heater is excellent. You’ll be plenty warm.
4) haven’t added screens as the ones in the sunroof have been sufficient. Plus not that many bugs in the pnw.

It’s a great boat.

[jdl01]

Hi dtour,
I offer some PNW advice from the raghanger side of the party. Definitely go for the forced air heater. While your application may not be all you wished for in january, it extends comfortable boating through the shoulder seasons, providing happy boating for 8 months a year.
For winterizing, fully drain the fresh water systems, a bit of eco friendly antifreeze in the head, and most important, put a dehumidifier on board on a timer to run about 6 hours out of 24. [assuming you have shore power]

[Capt’n Ron]

Agree with jdl01 on the dehumidifier, otherwise you may end up with green stuff on the inside.  I drain my water and put some eco friendly antifreeze in the water tank and run my faucets and most importantly run it through your shower nozzles on the back of the boat.  Those plastic shower spray nozzles will freeze, expand, and crack.  I’ve already replaced mine once.  

One other thing to note, I ended up with crack in my port side window a few weeks ago where a screw connects the sliding window frame to the glass.  My theory is water built up around the screw and froze and expanded resulting in the glass cracking.   I typically run my electric heater on low to keep windows from freezing, but in this case the boat was at the mechanic for some annual maintenance and it dropped to freezing for a few days.  

[timbray]

We're in Vancouver and have the boat in the water year-round.  What keeps us mostly in-port is that we have to take the dock-to-float ramp at our cottage out in the winter (but we're getting it cantilevered so we don't have to).  We don't winterize, except for I have a little dock-power space heater that I leave at like 5°C, and I leave the cabin floor hatch and the under-sink cabinet door and head door all open for air-flow - the floor hatch to flow the heated air around the water tank.

Bear in mind that the boat is immersed in seawater that is (just now, checking on a cold day) >5°C, so the conditions down in the hull are just not going to get that extreme.

As others do, I run the engine and the bow-thruster once every couple weeks just so they don't forget how to go.

One more thing - even on a cold day, if the sun's out, those Jeanneaux, with all the glass, are like greenhouses, get pretty warm.

Once we've got the 12-month dock I may put in a heater for winter trips to the cabin, which is over an hour.

[dtour]

Thanks for all of the feedback and the help everyone! We've only had I/Os before and have been lake boaters, so it's a bit different.

Btw, timbray, I had found your blog post a while back while considering what manufacturer/model, really appreciated an owners perspective - thanks for writing that up.

Ron, major bummer about that window

Sounds like the consensus view is: drain out fresh water systems, use a dehumidifier + heater in the cabin, run anything with a motor every 2-4 weeks. Easy enough!

[westboating]

Of note, not only is running the heater monthly a good idea, it's a manufacturer requirement.

We're in the Columbia year round and we do drain (not blow out) and rv/marine anti freeze the fresh water... mmhhh tasty.

The heater works great, but we did have some warranty work on a failed connection at the panel.  Sundance was great getting it going again.  (thanks Jared and co.).

I will note that the defogging vents, even on high have trouble keeping the windows clean with a full cabin.  Our technique thus far is to give her a good 20 - 25 min to get all warmed up and dried out prior to casting off especially with four or more adults.

We've had her out every month of the year including in the snow.  The all season nature of this boat is one of our top 3 for getting the 895.  1. Two private cabins for us and kids.  2. Trailerable... wide 10ish foot slightly nerve racking ($20/month to WA DOT) trailerable.  3. Year round boating.

We did have our first small bought with moisture this week when I found mold on a magazine in the fwd cabin shelf.  When I went to chuck it, I realized it was pasted to the cabin wall.  I suspect condensation is the enemy here as our slip is covered and rain isn't likely to sneak in.  Ordered a low wattage heater/drier yesterday.

Good luck