winterizeing in the water

[erock194]

i am planning on keeping the boat in the water and of course the cold air is coming to the northeast and im late winterizing. what is the proper procedure for doing it in the water?
the boat is a 1980 wellcraft sportsman. raw water cooled 260 merc. alpha one drive. 4 brl carb and points ignition. no shore power but i plan on periodically charging the batteries.

 

[Bt Doctur]

Re: winterizeing in the water

I guess you could drain the block and manifolds but what about the water inlet hose??
If that should crack you`ll be sinking.

 

[Jeepster04]

Re: winterizeing in the water

Our boat is winterized in the water every year. For the intakes, you can take the hose off of the intake and put a cap on it if you like. We just drain the intake hose and leave it connected though. Water does not come through the intake when the hose is off on ours but I guess it depends on how your boat is setup. Drain the blocks+manifolds and winterize the engine like you normally would. You just cant change the oil in the drives.

Ive heard of people putting veggie oil in those intakes since it will float on the water but idk if it works its way out as the boat rocks, etc or not. Our boat has 5 intakes and they have been fine without doing anything. Last winter the water around the boat completely froze and everything was A-ok. Entire lake froze actually.

 

[Bondo]

Re: winterizeing in the water

Ayuh,... Draining the Block,+ Manifolds, along with pulling the Big Hose off the circulating pump will save the Motor,....
I see the P/S Cooler to be the Issue...

 

[ENSIGN]

Re: winterizeing in the water

Have a neighbor that insisted on keeping his boat in the water, The ice built up behind the drive cut the shift cable bellows and sunk the damn thing!!

 

[JustJason]

Re: winterizeing in the water

I can also see water freezing in the Y pipe and cracking that. That'll sink the boat to.

 

[fishinpa]

Re: winterizeing in the water

Its just totally beyond me why anyone would let a good boat in the water over winter !


Seems so much more of a hassle and a worry than just pulling it out and putting it up somewhere ??


fish

 

[Jeepster04]

Re: winterizeing in the water

Have a neighbor that insisted on keeping his boat in the water, The ice built up behind the drive cut the shift cable bellows and sunk the damn thing!!

Ive always wondered why it doesnt hurt the bellows but out of the couple of hundred boats around our marina nothing ever happens.

Its just totally beyond me why anyone would let a good boat in the water over winter !

Seems so much more of a hassle and a worry than just pulling it out and putting it up somewhere ??

When it would cost thousands to haul certain boats out of the water and pay for half a foot ball field to store them on its cheaper to leave it in the water. Some boats are made to stay in the water.

 

[fishinpa]

Re: winterizeing in the water

When it would cost thousands to haul certain boats out of the water and pay for half a foot ball field to store them on its cheaper to leave it in the water. Some boats are made to stay in the water.[/QUOTE]


lol

fish

 

[Ducatinut]

Re: winterizeing in the water

i am planning on keeping the boat in the water and of course the cold air is coming to the northeast and im late winterizing. what is the proper procedure for doing it in the water?
the boat is a 1980 wellcraft sportsman. raw water cooled 260 merc. alpha one drive. 4 brl carb and points ignition. no shore power but i plan on periodically charging the batteries.

I hate winter. Had to get that out of my system.

Anyway, I keep my cruiser in the water (granted, it's in Tennessee, so the water shouldn't freeze), but my modus operandi on that boat and my local runabout is to drain the block and manifolds before running the pink antifreeze through both. To protect the PS cooler AND the drive, I use compressed air to blow as much of the water out of the system through the raw water line as I can and then I blow antifreeze through the system (fill the hose slowly until it brims and then blow it out, repeat through about a gallon, to be sure). Be sure to use the pink stuff as it's supposed to be (relatively) non-toxic.

Anything north of the mason dixon should have bubblers in the water and a bilge heater to be safe.

All this stuff is self derived and tested - YMMV.

Fair winds,

Chris