who in the northeast has not winterized engine yet
- Thread starter ddurand
- Start date
Boat still in the water and we have been using it the past 2 weekends for overnighters. I just can't let go for the long winter!
I plan to winterize all systems next week, then wait for haulout.
Center console is at home, winterized and covered.
I plan to winterize all systems next week, then wait for haulout.
Center console is at home, winterized and covered.
Ive got my big boat out of the water and completely winterized. My 17footer is out of the water but the outboard is not yet winterized. Just replaced the head gaskets, thermostats, and now have to do some carb work. I wont be winterizing it till the middle of December, as I plan on testing the motor and the work ive done before it goes away for winter...
- Joined
- Jun 4, 2001
- RO Number
- 4846
- Messages
- 3,913
Big boat is done, center console is still fishing.......
Hopefully you may find this funny...
With temps dipping into the low 20's for the foreseeable 10 days in Georgia I got nervous and winterized yesterday. It was a comedy of errors. When I got to the boat the outside temp was 32 the temp inside the stern engine box was 39 so having the boat in the water helps keep the block from freezing to an extent. Inside the cabin which sits higher I got readings of 27 degrees. Winds were gusting at about 20 knots and the dock was groaning.
I hadn’t winterized my own boat in a few years so I spent the first hour locating where the drain plugs were (those that I could actually see 4 out of 8) . I go to add the stabil into the tank. It doesn’t appear to be going into the deck fill as it should. Well I removed the funnel and find it has a fancy locking mechanism on it. I twist it to see if that was the problem and the stabilizer in the funnel goes into the lake causing a sheen all around my boat. F*CK... Instead of calling the EPA I use Joy dish detergent to clean it up (somewhat) but you can still see the sheen was coming from my boat... I never knew such a small amount of Stabil could cause such a large sheen.
I then went to warm up the engines so the water coming out the block wouldn’t be so cold. Clickity click clickity click. Wouldn’t you know it, no juice. I had a feeling last time I was on her that the charger wasn’t doing its job. Well I have a spare battery in the back seat of my car so I walk the 1/2 mile back to the car to get it, lug it down and before I hook up jumper cables to the boat I check the terminals on the installed batteries.... wouldn't you know it they were lose. I proceed to get her cranked with her own battery. I feel sort of stupid now.... For the first block drain plug I wrinkle my body up into a pretzel try the socket, see it is too small, unwrinkle my body and get another socket. I try this about 4 times and determine it is 15MM. Once I get the right socket of course it falls into the bilge. I mean really deep into the bilge.... (note to self always have at least three 15MM sockets on hand when winterizing) Another 2 cramps later it is retrieved. I find the socket extension I was using had a rusted ball so that is why it fell off. First plug out is port engine block no sweat, followed by port manifold plug then water hose to the circulating pump no issues. Then on to that F 'ing power steering cooler. That will be the name from here on out since it was a B*tch to get to and took like 30 minutes to get it off. By this time I had about 3 cramps that I thought I was absolutely going to die from. I was doing things that circus contortionists have difficulty with. I put all the plugs back in with the exception of the plastic blue manifold one. For some reason it wont screw on.... I fool with this seriously for 30 minutes of course it falls into the bilge a time or two. Somewhere during this time the hose clamp for the main hose going to the circulating pump fell from where it was laying on but for some reason I cant see it anywhere in the bilge. So I say screw it, I always carry extras so off to the cabin to find my stash of hose clamps. After 20 minutes I cant find the baggy with all my hose clamps. This is still a mystery to me of where they are... I must have moved them to the runabout the last time I ran that boat.
I don’t like to leave things undone but I cant go any further with that engine. With time wasting I decide to move on to the Starboard engine. On this one there is no freaking way I can see the block drain plug after trying for some time to view it I just go by feel. Be aware that there is some serious sharp metal down there. one wrong move and I could have a cut on my hands like scar faces face. surprisingly after some pretzel moves I find an easy way to get to it. I have experience now with the Power steering cooler so this goes quicker using some grease to reroute the hose. I crank her a bit to get the last water out of the pump but I crank it to much and the engine starts. Crap.. Back into a pretzel to remove the plug again to remove the newly added water thanks to my over cranking.... By this time I have 3 small scrapes on my fingers hands and wrist. not huge ones just the small irritating ones. Well now it is time to time to button that engine back up but I cant find the blue plug for that manifold. 20 minutes pass and I find it in a small corner of the deck behind the engine hatch. Before leaving the boat I remember that there is a hollow space under a piece of wood that holds my batteries.... Wa La ! there is the hose clamp that I lost 2 hours earlier! Since I found the hose clamp I can now add anti freeze to the block. but wait.. FU#K I cant get that damn manifold plug back in.... I then swapped the plugs that went to each manifold and it worked. I could go on but you get the picture. I did however winterize the boat myself.
All in all I am satisfied that I did do a good winterization job and saved about 200 bucks however the job that will last all of about 2 weeks maybe... You see I am in line to get hauled out to replace some Alpha 1 impellers so once the shop is free I will motor the boat over there have them do the work. I will test drive it to make sure the temps are spot on then I will have to rewinterize it again. I didn’t want to winterize twice but this Arctic cold front that is blowing in was really not expected this soon in Georgia. I would not be able to sleep well knowing I was exposed to a cracked block. Hope you laughed some and it probably brought you back to how you were feeling a few weeks back in the North East.
Regards!
With temps dipping into the low 20's for the foreseeable 10 days in Georgia I got nervous and winterized yesterday. It was a comedy of errors. When I got to the boat the outside temp was 32 the temp inside the stern engine box was 39 so having the boat in the water helps keep the block from freezing to an extent. Inside the cabin which sits higher I got readings of 27 degrees. Winds were gusting at about 20 knots and the dock was groaning.
I hadn’t winterized my own boat in a few years so I spent the first hour locating where the drain plugs were (those that I could actually see 4 out of 8) . I go to add the stabil into the tank. It doesn’t appear to be going into the deck fill as it should. Well I removed the funnel and find it has a fancy locking mechanism on it. I twist it to see if that was the problem and the stabilizer in the funnel goes into the lake causing a sheen all around my boat. F*CK... Instead of calling the EPA I use Joy dish detergent to clean it up (somewhat) but you can still see the sheen was coming from my boat... I never knew such a small amount of Stabil could cause such a large sheen.
I then went to warm up the engines so the water coming out the block wouldn’t be so cold. Clickity click clickity click. Wouldn’t you know it, no juice. I had a feeling last time I was on her that the charger wasn’t doing its job. Well I have a spare battery in the back seat of my car so I walk the 1/2 mile back to the car to get it, lug it down and before I hook up jumper cables to the boat I check the terminals on the installed batteries.... wouldn't you know it they were lose. I proceed to get her cranked with her own battery. I feel sort of stupid now.... For the first block drain plug I wrinkle my body up into a pretzel try the socket, see it is too small, unwrinkle my body and get another socket. I try this about 4 times and determine it is 15MM. Once I get the right socket of course it falls into the bilge. I mean really deep into the bilge.... (note to self always have at least three 15MM sockets on hand when winterizing) Another 2 cramps later it is retrieved. I find the socket extension I was using had a rusted ball so that is why it fell off. First plug out is port engine block no sweat, followed by port manifold plug then water hose to the circulating pump no issues. Then on to that F 'ing power steering cooler. That will be the name from here on out since it was a B*tch to get to and took like 30 minutes to get it off. By this time I had about 3 cramps that I thought I was absolutely going to die from. I was doing things that circus contortionists have difficulty with. I put all the plugs back in with the exception of the plastic blue manifold one. For some reason it wont screw on.... I fool with this seriously for 30 minutes of course it falls into the bilge a time or two. Somewhere during this time the hose clamp for the main hose going to the circulating pump fell from where it was laying on but for some reason I cant see it anywhere in the bilge. So I say screw it, I always carry extras so off to the cabin to find my stash of hose clamps. After 20 minutes I cant find the baggy with all my hose clamps. This is still a mystery to me of where they are... I must have moved them to the runabout the last time I ran that boat.
I don’t like to leave things undone but I cant go any further with that engine. With time wasting I decide to move on to the Starboard engine. On this one there is no freaking way I can see the block drain plug after trying for some time to view it I just go by feel. Be aware that there is some serious sharp metal down there. one wrong move and I could have a cut on my hands like scar faces face. surprisingly after some pretzel moves I find an easy way to get to it. I have experience now with the Power steering cooler so this goes quicker using some grease to reroute the hose. I crank her a bit to get the last water out of the pump but I crank it to much and the engine starts. Crap.. Back into a pretzel to remove the plug again to remove the newly added water thanks to my over cranking.... By this time I have 3 small scrapes on my fingers hands and wrist. not huge ones just the small irritating ones. Well now it is time to time to button that engine back up but I cant find the blue plug for that manifold. 20 minutes pass and I find it in a small corner of the deck behind the engine hatch. Before leaving the boat I remember that there is a hollow space under a piece of wood that holds my batteries.... Wa La ! there is the hose clamp that I lost 2 hours earlier! Since I found the hose clamp I can now add anti freeze to the block. but wait.. FU#K I cant get that damn manifold plug back in.... I then swapped the plugs that went to each manifold and it worked. I could go on but you get the picture. I did however winterize the boat myself.
All in all I am satisfied that I did do a good winterization job and saved about 200 bucks however the job that will last all of about 2 weeks maybe... You see I am in line to get hauled out to replace some Alpha 1 impellers so once the shop is free I will motor the boat over there have them do the work. I will test drive it to make sure the temps are spot on then I will have to rewinterize it again. I didn’t want to winterize twice but this Arctic cold front that is blowing in was really not expected this soon in Georgia. I would not be able to sleep well knowing I was exposed to a cracked block. Hope you laughed some and it probably brought you back to how you were feeling a few weeks back in the North East.
Regards!
JL, thanks for your post. I've been there as well as many others. Remember, skin heals, boats do not. Good job! Winterized before at 11 at night on a Monday due to me waiting too long. at least you can sleep well now. Are you sure you don't want to wait till spring for the impeller and get towed to the lift?
- Joined
- Sep 28, 2002
- RO Number
- 10314
- Messages
- 850
First time I winterized it was a cold day in November 8 years ago, since that time I try to do it on a nice 65* day in October and I know that I don't get to use the boat much then anyway so it's a better plan for me....this year I also replaced the circulating pump and starter as the solenoid was rusted up (replaced the solenoid on the old one and kept it as a spare) and the water pump bearing was starting to howl so I figured why not do it now when the engine was drained. I also re-terminated all the starter wiring including the battery cable. I have been seriously thinking of getting an outboard for my next boat to make winterizing a non-event of stretching and back pain....and that's without dropping anything in the bilge this time....
- Joined
- Jan 1, 2000
- RO Number
- 847
- Messages
- 249
You folks from Long Island and lower Hudson Valley ought to be counting your blessings - that you live there vs upstate! It's cold here and the ice has started. Lake effect fron the Great lakes has started, but not anywhere near what it's like at the eastern ends of lake Ontario and lake Erie (my former home). Take one last ride for those of us further North ... and for those South..... someday.....
Jim
Jim
Froggy3K,
Thanks for the suggestion. I have the money now for the work. I have 2 small daughters if I wait to long they will have that money spent for me by spring
Besides when spring comes I am sure there is some other boat gadget that I will want to buy or will need based on our friend Murphy! LouC ya I did winterize the fresh water system on a nice sunny day... I normally winterize by December 15th and in Ga that is normally okay but this arctic blast came early. LOUC consider yourself lucky that you can get to the starter Solenoid. On my merc 4.3 to get to that thing you really need to lift the engine unless you are the size of an 8 year old....
Thanks for the suggestion. I have the money now for the work. I have 2 small daughters if I wait to long they will have that money spent for me by spring
Besides when spring comes I am sure there is some other boat gadget that I will want to buy or will need based on our friend Murphy! LouC ya I did winterize the fresh water system on a nice sunny day... I normally winterize by December 15th and in Ga that is normally okay but this arctic blast came early. LOUC consider yourself lucky that you can get to the starter Solenoid. On my merc 4.3 to get to that thing you really need to lift the engine unless you are the size of an 8 year old....
- Joined
- Sep 28, 2002
- RO Number
- 10314
- Messages
- 850
Yeah I am lucky, this boat has very good engine access, I can have the stater out in about 20 min and back in 20 min, I just take out the rear bench seat and move the battery back on that side, same thing with the oil filter.
- Joined
- Jan 1, 2000
- RO Number
- 775
- Messages
- 1,215
If you haven't done it by now, it's probably too late. I even winterized my boat in NC this year - as cold as it has been this month, but with the boat on a lift if, even with my Boatsafe heater I drained the block and manifolds. We have already had nights in the low teens and days only around 35 - very code for us, especially for this long of a period and in December. I am usually still boating.
Winterized last weekend and none to soon. Two day effort starting Sat morning. Weak starboard battery and with 28degree weather and 2mph winds, couldn't start engine(diesel). Replaced battery and fired right up. Had 3/4 full fresh water tank that had to be drained. 6 month old Shurhold 5 gpm variable speed fresh water pump stopped working at 1/4 full. Down to West Marine to buy what I thought was a exact replacement. NOT. In/Out diameter of connectors were different, couldn't use existing setup. Had spare "shark" connectors and temporary jury rigged connectors to at least get pink to all systems. Still had spray at pump connectors spraying in all directions into bilge but got it done. Had ice forming in aft head toilet, had to put space heater in head to help thaw so pink would flow to toilet. Same for aft sink. Had to use blow dryer to thaw spray down faucet at bow to get pink to flow. Open hot water drain into 5 gallon Home Depot pail and went about other stuff and forgot about it for 1/2hour. Figured I had overflowed pail and 11 gallons into bilge. Checked but nothing in pail. Checked pail, crack in bottom, all 16 gallons of hot water contents in bilge. Back home to get wet vac, vac'd all 16 or more gallons from bilge. Nice and clean! Changed oil, filters and fuel filters and zincs in both engines and gen. Pink in engines, gen and A/C system, done by 4PM Sunday. 2 vodkas and water by 430PM.
lol, That's funny glad you got her done....I hate water pumps in the summer so you know I hate them in the winter... Gosh 6 months on a shurehold that sucks. I may have to break my Shurehold and return it to west marine before my warranty is up... I have gone through so many pumps that I think that is the only way not to get burned. (Wow did I say that on a public forum). Anyway it is what it is. I have paid for enough of those damn shurhold fresh water pumps. I know I have gone through at least 4 in 6 years and I don't live aboard.