Yes, we are boaters. That means we have a boat or boats, had a boat, lust after a boat, or are “between” boats. You pick. We have a special bond with a hunk of floating fiberglass that may be difficult for a land lubber to understand. I have been advised, by so many friends, that there is no cure.
As a boater, you know what’s coming. The year-end holidays are over. As fun as December was, we are likely facing several months of… hibernation. Winter is not the best time in a boat owners’ annual cycle. The cold winter season before us creates a certain separation anxiety. It is sometimes hard to explain. So, let’s talk about how to survive winter without your boat.
Yes, I know some of us get ourselves and our boats south. Plenty of Bay cruisers have some sort of a Florida connection to pass the winter. Hilton Head, Charleston, and Savannah are also sound winter destinations. So, some of us may have boating options in the cold and forbidding early months of the new year. Smart move if that is you!
However, most of us will hunker down and just dream about getting time on our boat. If that is you, read on. There is plenty to do to get you to the promise of spring.
Winter is a time for boat projects.
If you own a boat, you have a list of fixes, improvements, and general maintenance that needs to be done. It is a law of nature. No boat is ever without deferred projects!
Want to add a cockpit table, get the bilge cleaned, replace some aged piece of Sunbrella, fix that bulky VHF, update your MFD software? The winter months are your opportunity. Whether you do the work or hire any one of the skilled professionals at the ready in our home waters, now is the time to take action.
One winter I installed a lighted makeup mirror in the head. It took just a couple of hours. It may be the best “less than $100” improvement made to the boat. At least that is the viewpoint of a certain special member of the crew.
To accomplish this simple task all you need is a good mirror capable of being directly wired and an install location that offers you proximity to an existing electrical outlet. The mirror choices you can research online. I suggest paying attention to the lumens. After my install I went back online to find brighter LED bulbs. In these photos, please note that I took out a single duplex electrical outlet and box and did a little fiberglass cutting to create room for a double duplex outlet. This also gave me room to get behind the mirror mount to make it fast.
The various sized grab bars, available at many boating websites, have a plethora of uses besides serving as a handhold to steady yourself in a seaway. As you can tell from the attached photos, they can be used as towel bars, clothes hanging rods, and roof racks—in this case for mounting kayaks.
Some kind of table is a must for a social cockpit. I favor mounted rather than free standing tables. The side mount I used in these photos is from Boat Outfitters. I had a local boat shop make the tabletops out of three-quarter-inch Starboard. They are not as pretty as wood but are very resilient.
We also adapted a cockpit table for inside the main salon. This addition gives us extra counter space and a second small tabletop for dining and onboard “office” work. The top was made by a local countertop maker to match the existing Corian countertop on the boat.
Some of you are coffee drinkers. Some of that dedicated sect may appreciate the benefits of a built-in and plumbing connected coffee maker. Boat makers such as Fleming, Legacy, and Albin offer built-in coffee makers as options. The king of the built-ins seems to be a company called Brew Express. Though not cheap, for the volume coffee drinker, the built-in may make some sense.
Installation follows the instructions for the aforementioned makeup mirror, except that you also need to tap into the boat’s potable water system. There are 10 ways to do that, so I will leave it to your imagination and engineering skills.
Another small improvement that can make a big difference in a boat is motion-sensing lighting in cabinets or drawers. The lights attach to the top of the shelving and turn on when you open the cabinet door. The lights come with a sticky magnetic strip you paste to the shelves. Hint: use painters tape initially to position the magnetic strip where you want it. If the light is positioned forward, it will turn on when you open the cabinet door. If you push it back several inches, it will only turn on when you reach inside.
I added several in the galley, heads, and staterooms. The lithium batteries last several weeks to months, depending on use. When needed, you can remove the light and charge it just like your cell phone or tablet.
Besides boat projects, winter is a time for education.
Owning and operating a boat requires “continuing education” much as so many professions require. Do you want to sharpen your navigational skills, become more proficient at reading the weather tea leaves, get certified on the race committee, understand your engine better? Assuming so, you have a few months before your mind will turn to spring commissioning. Use it wisely!
Locally in Annapolis and other places on the Bay there are plenty of educational opportunities. The Annapolis School of Seamanship and many boater education operations, some online, are at your fingertips. Sign up!
Winter is a time for chartering in warm waters.
This winter, like so many before, a contingent of Bay cruisers will escape the cold for a week’s charter in the British Virgin Islands (BVI). There is nothing quite like an early morning flight out of BWI in snow flurries, followed by landing in the tropical islands somewhere. Crystal clear blue water, sandy beaches, and warm breezes you have not felt since sometime in September wake the senses. That you get to enjoy this sensory overload for a week or so on a boat is pure joy to the fiberglass addicted.
Winter is a time for maintaining social connections.
After the holidays and before spring launch can be a lonely time. There is only so much time you can devote to catching up on your reading or binge watching The Diplomat. Get out there and connect with your fellow boaters!
Perhaps most importantly, winter is a time to plan a summer cruise.
The opportunity to actively plan using the boat may be the very best antidote to the “fiberglass withdrawal” so prevalent in January, February, and March.
How about making the run into Long Island Sound next summer? Those of you on faster powerboats and Upper Bay locations can be in Cape May in a day. From there it is less than 120 nautical miles to passing under the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge and into New York Harbor. Long Island Sound offers some amazing cruising destinations, and it is closer than you think.
In the Bay, how far have you gone? Maybe it is time to stretch your legs (and transit distances). The ports in the Upper Bay are calling. If you are from Hampton Roads, the Lower Bay can be a world apart from your home waters experience.
So yes, the traditional boating season is over for most of us. Your diligent focus on the pink and purple stuff (antifreeze), seasonal maintenance, and winter covers is done. The year-end holidays did distract us, some. But the symptoms of boating withdrawal will hit home soon enough.
But winter is also a season of renewal. If you read this far, you know it is a time for boat projects, cruise planning, learning, reading, and maintaining social connections. It is a time when your warmest thoughts may be about using your boat next season. Whatever your view of the months ahead, you have “stuff” to do. That stuff will get you through the winter of your discontent.
By Mike Pitchford and Dave Cerrone