Feel that chill in the air Thursday morning?
Heading out with the sun to take Oliver for his morning walk, I did.
Shorts and flip flops didn’t help the hooded sweatshirt – especially with an Australian Shepherd that wants to smell just about every blade of grass.
But cold it was, somewhere in the low to medium 40s, depending on how close or far away from the waterways you live.
Aside from a few warm teases, falling temperatures are what we can start expecting.
That’s why, two years ago, Vinnie Kent from here at Lynnhaven Marine decided to give some helpful hints of winterizing – or at least preparing your vessel for the winter – the craft you spend so much time and money on.
Take his advice. Letting an expensive boat as it is can get even more expensive if it’s not prepared and set up for frosts and freezes.
The National Weather Service just released its average first frost and first freeze days, based on a 10-year average.
Naturally, at first at least, it’s warmer around the shorelines of the ocean, bays and tidal creeks. Inland areas are just gonna be colder.
At Norfolk International Airport, the average first potential frosts – 36 degrees – come on November 11. Inland, first frosts have already been experienced. In Wakefield – the home of our regional NWS center – the first frost usually comes on October 21.
Freezes of at least 32 degrees come a little later. But not much.
In Norfolk, the first frozen day typically is November 23.
So you see, the “time is going faster” thing is quite true.
That means you should listen to Kent, the shop foreman at Lynnhaven.
He said that “winterizing a boat is priority number one if you aren’t going to be using the boat all winter long”.
Vent suggests pumping out the cooling system water in the engine and pumping antifreeze in. Fees of a few hundred dollars up to close to a thousand dollars – depending on the boat – is also suggested and include new gaskets, and greased fittings, joints and bearings.
Call the folks at Lynnhaven to get something set up, it’ll be worth your while.
And grab a sweater before you head out.
To read more of my work, go to: leetolliveroutdoors.com
