Winterizing an inboard

[jsledder]

My first inboard boat and there's nobody close enough to take it to or I would, I just got home from a week in the south and the weather is going to be cold enough tonight for a hard freeze so I better think about getting the boat protected.

Is it as easy as putting on one of those ear muffs on the water intake and running it while running RV antifreeze through it or is that way off base? I'd like to be able to pull it to Mafesto and just let them take care of it, but I'm also thinking there might be some fishing left this year???? Plus, I just don't think I could haul it up there today (saturday) and get it taken care of, so I'd like to get it done myself if possible.

 

[steveo10]

my motor, which is a 4.3 mercury had 4 plugs to take out (exhaust manifolds)

took off a couple hoses, let drain

stuck wire up manifolds,hoses to get any debris out

cranked motor for a few seconds

put plugs in and hoses on, life is good!

 

[Mafesto]

First thing.....either get it in a garage for tonight or pull the drain plugs.

I would recommend the garage since you're unfamiliar with the draining.

I'm hoping this is a brief cold spell that will snap & we can get another week or better of safe weather because yesterday we crammed all of the un-winterized I/O's into all of the building space we have.
Now it's a cluttered clusterf#*k trying to move anything around!

Since you want to extend your use for late fall fishing, I would search the web for brand specific instructions on winterizing so you are not at the mercy of mother nature's early freezes, or repair shops that are always swamped this time of year.

Good luck!

 

[triple]

Put the muffs on and run the motor to get it warm. Once warmed up change the engine oil and filter. Spray Engine Stor in the carb with the engine running and the water on. Stall the engine with the spray and make sure the key is off. Open the throttle right up and spray a little more Engine Stor into the carb. Close the throttle. Pull the spark plugs and spray Engine Stor into each cylinder. Either put the spark plugs back in or change them. Pull the plugs in the exhaust manifold to drain the water, pull the rad hose off the water pump and allow to drain. Usually there are also drian plugs in the blocks (depending on the engine). I take the hose off the top of the engine and pour RV antifreeze into it until it starts pouring out of the leg or the top of the motor. Drain the oil in the leg and replace. The leg oil gets pumped from the bottom hole until it comes out of the top hole. Replace the drain plugs and use new O rings. Leave the leg in the down position once the boat has been parked. Any water in the prop hub will drain out. Remove the battery and place it in the shop/garage/basement. Make sure your PFDs and other related boating gear is properly stowed for the off-season. I put my trailer on blocks and wrap the wheels in tarp and plastic. I also fill the fuel tank to the top and add a fuel stabilizer for the winter. A full tank has no room for condensation to build up.

 

[triple]

If you just need to keep it from freezing but still want to use the boat get a small magnetic heater. I bought one for about 38 bucks from Princess Auto. Plug it in, stick it to the block and it'll keep the block from freezing. Lower your leg to allow any water to drain from the prop hub.

 

[jsledder]

Garage is full of sleds right now so getting it inside is not really an option.

Thanks Triple, sounds like I just need to start pulling drain plugs and hoses. The previous owner said he found an owners manual that goes over all this so he's sending it to me.

The magnetic heater sounds like the way to go for a couple days before we warm up again.

 

[Abominable]

In a pinch, just put a shop light with an incandescent bulb next to the block overnight, it will provide enough heat to keep it from freezing, but obviously this is a short term solution.

 

[Mafesto]

Triple gave a very thorough overview of what should be done.
He obviously knows what he is doing!

On the magnetic heater idea.....it will protect the block, but the extremities of the exhaust manifolds would receive minimal if any benefit. (my opinion)

 

[skibreeze]

Don't forget the intake manifold has water in it as well, I missed that one year.

 

[MN_Nole]

Triple is right on what he said. I just finished putting mine up for the season today.
I like to siphon most if not all of the old gas out first and then fill the tanks with fresh gas and seafoam before I run it to get it ready for anti freeze. This way you know you have stabilized fresh gas with less water in it( reduce the amount of stabilizer used to capture the water and more to keep the fuel). Leaving the tank full is also a good idea, not just for the less chance of water in the tank but keeps the tank from drying out and cracking.
I also stall the motor with fogging oil, while its running only I do i while runnning the anti freeze through the motor. I will run it for 5-10 minutes with the hose on through the muffs(make sure its warm), then switch to a 5 gallon anti freeze feed tank. When I see I an down to the last gallon, I will flood the carb with fogging oil. Then I know I have gotten the antifreeze into the cooling system.


Anyone have any input on seafoam deep creep, have used stabil fogging oil in the past, but saw the sea foam deep creep oil and was listed as a fogging oil. Trust there the traditional sea foam so wanted to try it. Anyone ever used or have any input, before I pull my boat out of the garage to store.
Thanks

 

[Mafesto]

Anyone have any input on seafoam deep creep, have used stabil fogging oil in the past, but saw the sea foam deep creep oil and was listed as a fogging oil. Trust there the traditional sea foam so wanted to try it. Anyone ever used or have any input, before I pull my boat out of the garage to store.
Thanks

Stabil....Sea Foam....I have used either & both seam to do the job.
Sea Foam claims to be more of a multi-purpose product (like fuel system cleaner etc).

One thing I am confident about, & that is that the gas seams to have a shorter shelf life each year.
I swear we are getting lesser quality gasoline each year.
Anybody else seeing this?

 

[Weekday Warrior]

I take the drain plugs out of the block and exhaust manifolds then hook my shop vac into the water pump hose and blow air thru there.


be surprised how much water comes out even though it supposidly drained out


always wanted to take out those stupid plugs and instal drain hoses and tie them into one valve I could just open and dump water out

 

[rockdog2112]

my motor, which is a 4.3 mercury had 4 plugs to take out (exhaust manifolds)

took off a couple hoses, let drain

stuck wire up manifolds,hoses to get any debris out

cranked motor for a few seconds

put plugs in and hoses on, life is good!

I have the same motor. I fill mine with rv anifreeze just to take care of any "low" spots that might not drain. One other place to check is your power steering cooler. (if you have one). Mine is below the block drains and must be drained by removing the water supply hose and draining into the bilge. The first year I bought the boat(22 years ago) I failed to do this so it froze and popperd the end cap off the exchanger and I had to pull it and resolder it on.

 

[Scott]

In our Nautique, I get it warmed up...pull the water intake hose out of the hull...stick a funnel in it and run it til water comes out pink. It must be done for the heater, the shower and the exhaust.

Takes about 6 gals of antifreeze to winterizet he boat.

Pull the battery (keep it inside)

Park the boat in a snowdrift.

After a few experiences......I do not believe in pulling all of the plugs out and draining the engine block...I've had to replace the water pump impellar every spring after it's been done that way. EVERY TIME!!!!! ( I know dealers usually do it this way and that's why I have dry rot problems).