New boater; critique my winterization plans, 3.0

[RaceCarRich]

First year of boat ownership. Great time. Now its time to think about winterizing. I've read the sticky and searched out internet info. Still its important enough that I want to make sure I'm on base here. Its a 2000 Mercruiser 3.0L Alpha in a 19' Bayliner. I know in my race car days, some people would go above and beyond what is actually needed and obsess about certain things. I'm trying to use some common sense to not fall into the realm of getting carried away with activities 'just because I can'.

My Plan:​

Fuel: Add Stabilizer, fill fuel cell to top to reduce dead air space and resulting condensation, run on muffs for 10-15 min. Fuel filter in carb and in line are both < 1/2 season old and I carry spares so no action related to filters.

Engine Fogging: Fog the engine through the carb. No plug removal.

Freeze Protection: Follow the blue hoses from the "lazy man's drain system" or whatever it's called and remove the nipples that go to the hoses (I believe one hose goes to block and one to manifold). Probe any sediment clogging holes and drain. Replace nipples with brass pipe plugs wrapped with Teflon tape. Discard nipples, hoses, and handle from lazy man system.

Is pouring antifreeze into the hoses required? Is it safer or more fool-proof? What's the best way?

Electrical: Fully charge battery. Do I need to disconnect? I don't believe anything on board is a constant drain.

Misc:
Put outdrive in down position.
Put on canvas covers. I am not planning to shrink wrap as previous owner never did. Covers have some holes in them and I plan on brushing off snow if it gets too deep.
Do I need to put some sort of bug/varmint repellant in boat? Boat will be in my suburban driveway.
Polish/waxing is optional if I get motivated.

​

Let me know what you think. In the spring I will change the engine oil/filter and the lower unit oil and impeller. I know the previous (original) owner and the impeller is still the original from 2000.

 

[Bondo]

Ayuh,.... Welcome Aboard,.... In no particular order,....

In the spring I will change the engine oil/filter and the lower unit oil and impeller.

Probably better havin' Fresh oils, insteada dirty contaminated acidic oil sittin' tight to yer bearin's all winter,...
If there happens to be any water in the drive oil, a busted case will greet ya in the spring,...

I change everything on the way to the barn, that way I know if any work needs doin' over winter, 'n that it's nearly Ready to go in the spring,...

Do I need to put some sort of bug/varmint repellant in boat?

Depends on the local environment, I get coons in the boat at the dock, nothin' over winter,...

Fog the engine through the carb. No plug removal.

Not unless over a year lay up is expected,...
I fog none of mine,....

Is pouring antifreeze into the hoses required? Is it safer or more fool-proof? What's the best way?

Ayuh,..... Air, Don't Freeze,....

I like yer idea of junkin' the busted block drainin' system,....
No tape necessary on the plugs,... bare brass works just Fine,....

Oh Ya,... Don't forget to pull the Big hose, off the circulatin' water pump,.....
It holds water,... not as much as the V-motors, but there's water there after drainin',....

 

[alldodge]

If your blue hoses "lazy man" means the removing blue wing nuts on block and power steering cooler, the good. Get rid of them or leave them, I like them so do what makes you feel best, probing holes is the way to go

Pour in antifreeze after all water has been drained, well air doesn't freeze. So adding antifreeze is an over kill if you got everything out but which ever way makes you feel better

Full charge battery is good, but put a maintenance charger on it. Removing is good but still needs to be charged every month or so. If you add a maintenance charger, just hook up and forget till next season

the above is my opinion

 

[RaceCarRich]

Thank you both.

My thoughts... well, real world experience.... regarding changing the engine oil before the offseason..... in my experience in dealing with race cars that also sit idle during the off-season..... some people felt in necessary to change the engine oil before being put away for the same reasons and then again at the start of the season. I felt it was overkill and never changed at season end. I can tell you, real world experience, that when my engines came apart after a couple seasons, the bearings looked perfect. Based upon that alone, I felt it was unnecessary. If anyone has experience that actually correlates not changing the oil before the off-season (boat will be used next season) with any sort of damage, let me know as I'm all ears. For those that change before being put away, do you change it again at the start of the season?

If I pull the oil drain plug from the outdrive and not open the vent, I should be able to tell from the few drops that come out if I have water or milkshake going on in there, correct? I definitely don't want to have any freeze issues but the other options are drain now, refill, then drain again when I do the impeller in spring or leave empty over the winter.

Bringing the battery in, that's probably a good idea and I will add to my list. More than once I've started a season off with a dead battery on the race car trailer that sat outside all winter.

Pulling the hose off the circulating pump... thanks for the tip. I absolutely would have missed that. This is the kind of info. that caused me to start the post!

 

[johnkom]

Buy a battery minder/desulfator like this one: http://www.amazon.com/BatteryMINDer-Model-12117-Maintainer-Desulfator/dp/B000P23HZS

I used to replace my battery almost every year. Going on four years with current one. Battery sits in boat all winter on the desulfator, along with the JD Gator battery.

JK

 

[alldodge]

Tenders are the only way to go for ease of use and long bat life. Think I have 8 or 10 of them. They are hooked up to all kinds of equipment I don't use often

 

[RaceCarRich]

Thanks. I'll pick up tender. I have 3 chargers but no tenders. I'll still have to bring the battery inside so the cord doesn't present a trip hazard or get caught in the snow blower.

 

[airshot]

Only thing I would add is to remove the outdrive for the winter, this way you can service it during the winter and be ready for install in the spring. On my boat the outdrive comes off for the winter and is stored in my heated garage, I pop out the plugs and let it drain completely and yes this takes quite awhile, in fact I let it drain for months. When completely drained I refill with new oil and ready for next season, this gives me the chance to check everything over and repair/replace anything needed over the winter.