Winterization - pays "dividends"

[skiray]

This is for southern folks... I doubt the guys who's lakes freeze will think this was a real challenge. The guys up north can probably do this in 5 flat.

 

My wife bet me I couldn't winterize our TXI in less than 15 minutes. There was significant incentive. Timer would be ran door to door. I got to gather my tools inside before.

 

I opened the door, ran to the boat house, stripped the cover back and went to work. Manifolds - done, heater hose - disconnected, impeller hose - done, main water pump - done, broke both knock sensor wiring clips - crap I forgot a wrench. Ran to the house screaming timeout I'm inside. Got the wrench, door opens, timer starts back. Ran back to the boat house.

 

At this point, I'm sweating like a... (You fill this in)... In spite of it being 33 degrees.

 

Swing the knock sensor off. Remove block plugs - done.

 

Quick check - 2 in the back, 2 in the middle, 2 up front. Need to blow out heater coil.

 

Blow like there is no tomorrow.

 

Ok, now I'm sweating, dizzy and in my boat that's swinging in the boat lift.

 

Close the motor cover, sling the cover back over the back and clip into place.

 

Start running to the house, loose one Croc on pier. Loose the other one jumping from the pier. Stumble up the porch and fall into the house.

 

 

Boom chicka bow wow...

 

Or for my country friends:

Boom chicken brown cow.

 

Finally, this cold weather pays off!

[The_MS]

Yet another victim of B.R.D.S

[skiray]

You talking about me or my wife...

[oldjeep]

You forgot to change the oil and fill the block with antifreeze so that you don't grow so much rust in the off season.

 

Fwiw, there is no way I could do my vtx in 15 minutes.

[skiray]

@oldjeep‌ - no need. We may ski next week. I drain it when it goes below 28 or if it is below 32 for extended periods. I do add antifreeze if it looks like it's going to be that way for a while.

 

VTX - totally different job.

[Wish]

Hmmmm....sweaty, dizzy, dirty, exhausted, outa breath, and laying on the floor. Me thinks she got the crappy end of that bet. I'm gonna guess the next bet she takes involves little to no manual labor on your part.

[thager]

@skiray All that work for 2.5 minutes reward?

[Wish]

@thager you probably over estimate. But way to be a friend.

[6balls]

OK, my ski buddy who has a cherry '87 MC Prostar 190 does one thing only and has kept his boat in an unheated machine shed winters in MN for it's entire life. It currently has thousands of hours and runs great.

 

With warm motor (so thermostat open), disconnect water intake, connect intake to short hose extension to water/antifreeze mix in large bucket. Start motor and slurp it through until belching out exhausts. Shut her down and call it good.

 

If properly incented...I hate to think how quickly he'd have it done.

[Taperflex]

I just stick a lightbulb under the engine cover and try not to forget to turn it on,

 

[skiray]

@thager - 15 minutes isn't that bad a trade. I've pursued it for much longer times for the same 2.5 minutes. Much like the perfect 16.95 second pass, regardless the work prior, it's always worth it.

 

(That's good stuff, if she reads this I may get another 2.5..)

[I5boi]

@6balls‌ that's what we do, except We don't mix the antifreeze and we make sure to run through the shower hose too. When We're ready to go, it's lower the lift and start!

[countymountie]

@skiray‌

Did you put a torque wrench on those knock sensors and tighten them to tolerance? I think that would have put you over the time limit.

[Bill22]

@Taperflex‌ I have done that for a day or two but never long term. If you have an ice storm and your power went out for a week, that would be an expensive storm.

[Jody_Seal]

Why did you not just set it down in the water? Unless the lake water temp was with in a few degrees of freezing.

[gregy]

I have a two light bulb setup I use, just incase one goes out. Usually only need it a few times a year.

[lpskier]

The old "light bulb under the engine cover" trick works great for your block, but unless special care is taken, will not protect the core in your heater. (If you live anywhere that might be subject to freezing, I assume you have a heater.) You have to enclose the heater space (I use a fleece blanket) and use a second source of heat. Otherwise the heater core will freeze, costing you a couple hundred bucks to repair and you'll have no heater to use when you most need it.

[jhughes]

@6balls your friend has been lucky all these years and has probably had a varying concentration of AF and water in the block year to year. AF exiting out the exhaust manifolds is not an indicator to whether the AF has displaced the water sitting in the block. The proper procedure is to drain the block and manifolds, then pour or suck in AF (or just leave drained as many do for decades with no problems). T-stat open or closed is irrelevant as incoming fluid enters the system via a bypass in the T-stat housing. If the block is empty and the engine is cold, t-stat closed, your coolant will still go right into the block. The T-stat is essentially for letting hot water exit the system so cold water can enter and displace via the bypass. It's not an on/off valve for letting coolant/water in.

[6balls]

@jhughes interesting, thanks. He bought his Prostar in '87 new and has been lucky in an unheated machine shop winters in MN ever since. Probably has some shortcomings as you note...but must afford some protection.

[adkh2oskier]

@6balls, I have an 89 Natique 2001 and have been winterizing it every year the same way your friend in MN has, I was given this procedure from the Nautique dealer who sold it to me. I am in northern NY and it gets very cold here for extended periods, never had any problems. I know several other inboard owners who use the same procedure year after year, no problems. Takes all of 30-35 seconds once the oil has been changed and motor is warmed up.

[6balls]

@adkh2oskier do you use a fake a lake? We have been disconnecting and using a short hose section to a large pail. Hardest part is getting the tubing off to begin without tearing my hands apart when there is a sudden release from the flange. Have been thinking about a fake a lake set up as it would be quicker and easier each fall. We do my buddies '87 that way and my 2000 SN 196 as well though I'm lucky...heated winter storage.

[oldjeep]

@6Balls Better off just adding a perko flush kit to the boat. Then you can just attach a hose direct. The work a little nicer on V-drives since it is easy to route a hose back to the transom but no reason you couldn't install on a DD and just forget about the remote connect.

 

You can get them cheaper than this, but this is the one that doesn't include the transom setup. Just need to make sure you buy the right size for your hoses.

http://www.skidim.com/prodinfo.asp?number=DP7

[adkh2oskier]

@6balls, tried a fake a lake but it wouldn't seal properly on the hull so I use a short hose section, works great. On the 89 I just disconnect the raw water intake hose at the Strainer and connect a short section of garden hose, and use the hose clamp to get a good seal.

[kstateskier]

I broke a sweat just reading this...

[Chef23]

I don't have a heater on my boat and when we bought it new from Malibu in 2002 they said to just drain the block in the winter. That is what we have been doing for 12 years with no problems so far.

[6balls]

@adkh2oskier that is our process as well...very snug at that fitting, however, even after the hose clamp is loose. @old jeep...thanks.

[GAJ0004]

If you are in the south and you hit a cold spell, just drain the block and manifolds. If the boat is going to sit more than a couple of weeks, then I would winterize it. I take my time to make sure everything is done properly. It takes me an hour or two. I follow the factory procedure to the letter. After changing the oil I back the boat back into the water and let it idle for 10 minutes to get the new oil and stabilized fuel into the engine. When I get it back to the house I drain the block, and fill it with antifreeze and fog the engine at the same time. Once that is done I take the tension out of the belts, remove the impeller from the water pump and store it in a vacuum sealed bag or jar of antifreeze. I reassemble the pump and reinstall it on the engine. I remove the battery from the boat and put it on the charger once a month while in storage. That is what I do for a 5-6 month winter storage. Sometimes in the early and late season in PA it sometimes gets cold so as a precaution I will drain the manifolds and the block especially if I know the boat is going to sit unused for the week. The garage I store it in stays in the 40's most of the time during the middle of winter, but I use the antifreeze for corrosion protection as well as burst protection. In the spring when I put it back in I put everything back together, and let the boat idle for 10 minutes to flush the old fuel out, and make sure everything is working properly before going out on a cold lake.