Baller DefectiveDave Posted November 16, 2015 Baller Share Posted November 16, 2015 So I haven't winterized my boat yet and was caught with my pants down when the temperature fell to 26F last night. The local weather was predicting 34F last night with lows of 40F the rest of the week. It was low-50F most of yesterday afternoon and it looks like it was below freezing for a couple of hours last night. Can anyone give me an idea of the probability of damage? The boat was covered with a sunbrella cover for rain and such, but the bilge drain was unplugged. I will hopefully get a chance to take the boat out one last time this coming weekend. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller Chef23 Posted November 16, 2015 Baller Share Posted November 16, 2015 Is the boat on a lift in the water or on a trailer? Either way I think the probability of damage from a couple of hours below freezing is pretty low. It is easy to drain the block though so doing that quickly when you think the temp might drop would probably make sense in the future. If you have a heater I know the heater core would still have water in it but that is a lot cheaper and easier to replace than the engine block if something does happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller DefectiveDave Posted November 16, 2015 Author Baller Share Posted November 16, 2015 @Chef23, Thanks for the comment. The boat is stored on a trailer and I'm going out to winterize this afternoon. I thought I had at least one more week without winterizing every time I ski, haha. Oh well, such is life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller oldjeep Posted November 16, 2015 Baller Share Posted November 16, 2015 Pretty unlikely that you would have problems, especially if there was a cover on. You need that big lump of metal to get down to freezing before the block can freeze. Only real danger for a short freeze is the heater core cracking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller swc5150 Posted November 16, 2015 Baller Share Posted November 16, 2015 An Indmar/Ilmor tech I know at an MC dealer told me if your boat is covered, the temp needs to fall below 20 degrees for an entire night before the water in a block can freeze solid enough to do damage. That only applies this time of year, when it's well above freezing temps during the day of course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller Zman Posted November 17, 2015 Baller Share Posted November 17, 2015 Why gamble. There is full winterization, which takes a little time. Then, there is freeze protection that takes only about 10-15 minutes. Remove engine block drains, drain oil cooler, heater coil if you have one. It just takes too little time to risk it. When I am done, and I still might use the boat some, I reinstall block drain plugs, hoses, etc so I am ready to go on a good day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller DefectiveDave Posted November 17, 2015 Author Baller Share Posted November 17, 2015 Hey guys, thanks for the input. I winterized today after work. I just drained the blocks, exhaust manifolds, impellor, and raw water u-joint. I don't have an oil cooler or heater coil luckily so it only took about 15 minutes, 5 of which was covering and uncovering the boat. I'll just winterize it after skiing from now on until I switch to skiing only on weekends at a site where I can run power to the bilge heater. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller LeonL Posted November 17, 2015 Baller Share Posted November 17, 2015 With no heater, here's what to do if you're getting some below freezing temps, you want to keep skiing and don't want to do any extra work........put a drop light 100 watt bulb in the bilge and close it back up. Keeps it toasty under the engine cover. Works great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller DefectiveDave Posted November 17, 2015 Author Baller Share Posted November 17, 2015 @LeonL, That's a great idea for those that have a power supply. Unfortunately it doesn't work for me. I actually have a bilge heater that I can use, but I have to keep the boat at a storage unit due to the HOA policies in my neighborhood. No available power outlet for the light or heater. Still, it seems like a great idea for others who might be in a similar situation. Are there spark or other ignition concerns with the light? I know my bilge heater is rated to be run around gasoline or diesel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller skihard Posted November 17, 2015 Baller Share Posted November 17, 2015 Agree with @LeonL. When we lived in Canada and had to drive to the lake and on nights where it would drop down below freezing we would pull the plug at the lake and drive home to drain boat. Once at home I'd replace plug to not allow cold air to come up inside and simply dropped a clear 100 watt bulb in the motor box. This allowed us to ski an extra 3 weeks just about every year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller oldjeep Posted November 17, 2015 Baller Share Posted November 17, 2015 Maybe its just me, but putting an electrical device like a trouble light that is not spark protected in a bilge seems like a bad idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller gcam4 Posted November 17, 2015 Baller Share Posted November 17, 2015 We've never had issues with a light in the bilge area. We do use a sealed fluorescent light though and make sure the bilge is drained. It also has to get pretty darn cold to damage something though. Remember that fiberglass is decent insulation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller swc5150 Posted November 17, 2015 Baller Share Posted November 17, 2015 Christmas tree lights work well covering the engine too. I learned that trick from this site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller oldjeep Posted November 17, 2015 Baller Share Posted November 17, 2015 @swc5150 - as long as they are not LED bulbs ;) Someone is going to lose an engine one of these days after realizing that bulbs that produce a lot of heat are not the norm any more. Few years ago I tried to find a 100 watt bulb that would work with my nieces easy bake oven, took forever to find one that actually generated the kind of heat that old fashioned bulbs used to. If you need to heat a bilge - buy a bilge heater, made for the job and won't burn the boat to the ground. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller swc5150 Posted November 17, 2015 Baller Share Posted November 17, 2015 Great point @oldjeep! LED's will not do the trick! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller LeonL Posted November 17, 2015 Baller Share Posted November 17, 2015 My experience with electric light bulbs is if you(or I ) don't break them the only thing that happens to them is they just burn out and everything stays contained inside the glass. As far as fluorescent, they don't put out enough heat to be helpful in my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller skiinxs Posted November 17, 2015 Baller Share Posted November 17, 2015 Agree with @LeonL that fluorescent bulbs don't put out enough heat. You might try a heavy duty bulb that is designed to be knocked around in a drop cord. I think those are still available at auto parts stores. There is also some risk that a light bulb could burn out and leave you without the protecting heat. A second drop cord, both with 60 watt heavy duty bulbs would give a little extra protection. Maybe I am paranoid, but my experience is that if something can go wrong it will. They also make magnetic mount block heaters that are quite a bit safer and will stick right to the oil pan (assuming you have a steel, not aluminum pan). Another option is a dipstick heater. Just make sure it is long enough to get all the way to the oil. Compare it to your dipstick to make sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller Rivvy Posted November 18, 2015 Baller Share Posted November 18, 2015 Another trick if on a lift is lower hull so that it is in the water but won't float away. Water is still above freezing and buy you a couple weeks. Glad to hear about the diehards! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller gcam4 Posted November 18, 2015 Baller Share Posted November 18, 2015 I'm not a huge fan of the oil heaters because they can burn the oil depending on the wattage of the heater and if they have a controller or not. The probes I'm familiar with are typically in the 250w-1000w variation though. The fluorescent lights aren't phenomenal, but we only use the light method when it's borderline and only for a couple nights. After that we always winterized with rv antifreeze and good for the winter. I wouldn't recommend the rv variety for super cold climates though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller oldjeep Posted November 18, 2015 Baller Share Posted November 18, 2015 The stuff I use is Banfrost 2000 good to -100 figure even if that hits a pocket of water that it shouldn't freeze. Costs about $13 a gallon which is a lot more than the stuff meant for RV toilets, but $26 a year is cheap insurance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller GAJ0004 Posted November 20, 2015 Baller Share Posted November 20, 2015 If you are leaving the boat out in the cold, just drain the block and the manifolds if it is going to sit until you winterize it. If it looks like cold weather is coming in the spring and fall I will drain the block and the manifolds before leaving the lake for the week while the boat is still in service. If it is on a lift or trailer I have heard of some people putting a trouble light in the engine compartment to keep it warm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bogboy Posted November 22, 2015 Share Posted November 22, 2015 Just rigged my extension cord today with my heater on low, with engine box, and spotter seat tilted up, so I don't trip a breaker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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