Winterization

[Dieselbreath 8]

What do people do to winterize their boats?

[Cwazy1 89]

Pull 6 plugs on the engine/manifold to drain. 

Pull heater hose on one end of engine and blow to clear hose and radiator. 

Remove intake strainer and dump out water

Pull v drive plug 

Turn on ballast pumps to ensure no water between ballast pump impeller veins

Open and close QF valves to ensure no water

Extra pooh: 

top off gas tank, pour appropriate stabil

oil change

oil filter change

replace impeller every other year

quick inspection of all hoses/wires/belt/lines

 

Edited October 27, 2017 by Cwazy1

[Dvpvic 0]

On 10/27/2017 at 0:10 PM, Cwazy1 said:

Pull 6 plugs on the engine/manifold to drain. 

Pull heater hose on one end of engine and blow to clear hose and radiator. 

Remove intake strainer and dump out water

Pull v drive plug 

Turn on ballast pumps to ensure no water between ballast pump impeller veins

Open and close QF valves to ensure no water

Extra pooh: 

top off gas tank, pour appropriate stabil

oil change

oil filter change

replace impeller every other year

quick inspection of all hoses/wires/belt/lines

 

What year is your boat that you do all this yourself? If boat is under warranty can I still do this and not risk losing warranty coverage if something were to fail with the engine and they would pin it on something that could be caused by winterization?

[InfinitySurf 302]

I have a 2014 SV244 that I do all my own maintenance, mine is still under warranty till March 2020 and I have done all my own work since 2016.

You can do you own work when under warranty without risking issues, the key is to let the dealer do the 25hr service since that is required by PCM on engine warranty and they check a lot of misc things like alignment, etc. After that when you do work, you want to keep a detailed log as well as any receipts for oil, filters, etc. In your manual there is a log that you can write down everything and I have a file folder that I keep all receipts as well as scan them in so I also have a digital file. This will help you if anything comes up on warranty as well as help resale since you will have proof that boat was properly maintained.

Winterizing is not that hard, just follow the steps in the right order and make sure you find all the drain plugs (there is one below the v-drive that can be hard to see). Personally after draining all the water from my engine, I then pump 5-6 gallons of the pink RV anti-freeze into the system (Lowes or Wal-Mart carry it). I use a transfer pump cause once the system is drained of water it does not always like to prime itself and start pulling fluid back thru it unless there is some pressure to start the fluid between the intake and the impeller, mine will suck air so the pump just makes it simple for me. Some people then drain the AF too, personally I leave it in the system since its supposed to help prevent corrosion but a lot of that depends on where you live and if you have high humidity. You don't have to put the AF thru the engine (many don't even in really cold environments like MN and Canada) but if you will not be doing that, I recommend that after you remove all the drain plugs you hook up the boat and tow it around for 10mins to shake any residual water looks from the nooks/crannies...also remove the impeller since it can trap water in the impeller housing. I also use a shop vac and as I remove each drain plug I put the nozzle against the hole to remove as much water as possible but main reason is that I figure that suction will remove any misc buildup or debris that may have been sucked up from the lake. (I have heard of people getting freeze damage after removing drain plugs cause one of the holes was blocked with debris and didn't allow all the water to drain out). Especially your first year you may wanna check your insurance policy and verify if you have freeze coverage or not, most insurance companies provide that as optional rider to your policy, I am with SkiSafe. Its worth also verifying what their process is IF you have to use it (some only cover if you took the boat to a "pro" to have it winterized, mainly cause they can then subrogate against the pro's insurance policy)....but this again is why you want to keep receipts/records of everything you buy and do.

Since I live in NC and we ride till Thanksgiving each year.... then from Dec to March we usually get out once a month with wet-suits, I don't change my impeller or fuel filters till around April when the new season is about to start. You want to do the oil/filter change for sure tho to have fresh oil in there for the layup, newer engines don't need to have the cylinders fogged.

Here is a good thread on winterizing....