Winterizing for a moored boat?

[BoatingTimbo]

We have a boat moored and wondering what I should do for winter preparation. It doesn't go below freezing often. We would like to use periodically over the off-season as well.

It's a closed cooled system on merc 5.7L EFI but should i still drain raw water?

I will keep a heater in the cabin and heater in the engine bay as the marina has power.

Anything else i should do (besides drain water tank and winterize head)?

 

[rwidman]

Re: Winterizing for a moored boat?

We have a boat moored and wondering what I should do for winter preparation. It doesn't go below freezing often. We would like to use periodically over the off-season as well.

It's a closed cooled system on merc 5.7L EFI but should i still drain raw water?

I will keep a heater in the cabin and heater in the engine bay as the marina has power.

Anything else i should do (besides drain water tank and winterize head)?

You should use a special heater for the engine bay, one that's ignition proof and designed for use in a gasoline engine compartment. Otherwise, the combination of gasoline fumes and sparks from the heater may make winterizing unescessary.

http://www.boatsafeheaters.com/

http://www.xtremeheaters.com/

If the water the boat is in doesn't freeze, it will tend to keep the engine, etc. from freezing. Water in my area doesn't go below 38 -40 degrees and winterizing is not necessary for boats kept in the water. I don't winterize anything. Neither do my slip neighbors.

Keep in mind that the marina might lose power for a while.

 

[rodbolt]

Re: Winterizing for a moored boat?

"most boats in the water dont freeze" how come I am repowering a penn yann with twin merc 260's?
ill tell you why, the power went out and the port engine manifolds cracked and leaked water into the engine.
does this 5.7 have the multipoint drain ? does it have a belt driven seawater pump?
does the hull have hot water heaters,airconditioning? aft shower? raw water washdown?
any thru-hull seacocks?
in my area it typically doesnt get that cold, but it can and usually does and every year I get busted stuff come spring.

 

[BoatingTimbo]

Re: Winterizing for a moored boat?

I have the factory manual so can find the drain points for manifolds and pumps etc. however would rather keep the boat ready to go through the winter. I'll have to figure out where all the thru-hull's are and how to close them up?

Currently installed in the small engine bay is this "Golden Rode" heating rode; http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wc...toreNum=10114&subdeptNum=10699&classNum=10701

I was also planning on getting this dehumidifier that pumps out a little heat as well to keep the air circulated and heat up in combination with the Golden Rod. This unit seems pretty common in the boats moored in our area i've seen: http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wc...toreNum=10114&subdeptNum=10699&classNum=10702

Would these two products combined heat enough if weather dips below freezing with my boat in water moorage?