J/30 Class Association Forums J/30 Forum The Boat, Sails and Equipment Freeze question

My J30 experienced a 20 degree temperature for a good part of one day and multiple days under 32 degrees. I closed all thru hull valves and covered the glass strainer and hoses with towels. The boat is in a Galveston bay marina in Texas. The water was 39 degrees. There was no water anywhere in any bilge or on the floor. I could not find any cracks. We never have weather like this. The boat was covered in ice and touch of snow. Are there any trouble spots I should check?

Bob Nute

I think you are fine. You need a sustained period of sub freezing temperatures in order to get the water in the pipes and engine to freeze and expand. Anything below the waterline with the 39 degree temperature will not be a problem at all. Come to New England for sustained cold to learn what freezing is about!

x2 you're okay. Coming from wintering our boat in Maine. Weather as you've had in Texas recently is not uncommon for us in November before I get around to winterizing. Though it's ease of mind to be winterized during a freeze, it really has to hold below freezing for a solid week before any ice begins to swell. Ice in the bilge can be annoying though since it has to be busted up and removed by bucket; only happens once we're hauled out and on the hard.