Every winter we empty out our drinking water tanks and clean and dry them out. While our boat probably will not freeze up inside, it's best to take no chances. We pump the pressure water system until nothing but air is coming our, along with adding "RV antifreeze" to the raw water side of the engine cooling system.
All of the Olson 34's have a port list, mostly when the starboard settee water tank is empty.
So, with the usual 15 gallons or so in the port settee fuel tank for the off season, the boat heels several degrees. No harm, except that the slime grows over the waterline stripe on the port side.
Our particular boat has a custom ss water tank holding 38 gallons (it replaced the factory 23 gallon tank under the starboard settee) and the boat always floats upright when that tank is anywhere near full. The tare weight of the tank itself is about 80#.
Last season I finally got tired of the boat's "winter list" and decided that this year I would try something different: moveable ballast. I got the idea from some trawler buddies that have to drain their stern water tanks for the winter "freezing season" and then have to compensate for the change in trim, or the rain water falling in the cockpit will run forward into places it does not belong. They use one or two 50 gallon barrels filled with water, leaving some expansion room for potential freezing.
So I found a local company that sells reconditioned plastic drums and bought a "looks like new" plastic 30 gallon drum for only $30.
(Interesting place... my little pickup truck was almost lost in a gravel parking lot amidst class 8 cabs and flat bed trailers.)
After the guy in the office figured out how to bill and collect for a small-purchase customer, I was on my way. BTW, I had called first and a nice lady in their main office said she knew just what I was talking about for winter ballast and had power boat friends that did that routinely.
Choosing between securing the white poly drum on deck or being more subtle and tidy and having it inside, I went with stealth mode. The center of the weight is actually a bit further to starboard, being against the backrest, and almost full. The tare on this drum is 30#. I figured that I have about 250# on water in it, for a total of about 280#.
Anyhow, all is level now, within the calculated bounds of "that'll do".....
No direct interest here for the non-Olson owners, unless you Vikings also need to empty all of your internal tankage and then need to temporarily level your boat.
Oh yeah, sorry for the clutter pictured inside our boat.... cushions are all home and nothing but misc. "stuff" is left inside until we restore (some) order in the spring.
Loren
