Winterizing RI boats

[carguy79ta 67]

I am thinking about winterizing my '17 257 myself this year.  Has anybody done this yet themselves? I have my shop built so I can work on it at home as opposed to trying to do it at the lake with limited tools/time. I am going to check a service manual and talk to my dealer also. Besides saving some coin, I will save hauling it 200 miles ea way, and having to make a hard call on when my season is over. Thanks!

[rhino89523 34]

I do all my own service on everything I own, If I owned your boat I would do it, it isn't that hard. I don't know the particulars of your boat but it is essentially oil changes in motor and checks or changes in tranny and drive, water dump or replacement with coolant, dealing with impeller....many go every other year, couple lube points and inspections, wax it up, clean it out, make sure its dry, cover it up, wait for summer.

I like doing my own services and maintenance, the only negative I can think of is if something goes wrong I can't go on the internet and rant about my mechanic...I have to look in the mirror and yell at that guy.

Edited September 17, 2018 by rhino89523

[wheels 151]

Just take out all the blue drain plugs. There is even a holder for them On the top of the motor. Couldn’t be simpler. If you have a heater you will need to disconnect that line and blow it out. 

[carguy79ta 67]

Thanks guys I downloaded the pcm manual, it looks like what you said @wheels. I will also change the spark plugs and oil and impeller and whatever else they reccomend in the manual.  I think the divider between the transom and engine compartment can be removed to better gain access (??).  Also do we have to do anything to the bags and hard tanks? My dealer also dumps some antifreeze in the hull since there is always some water in there. Sounds like a good idea. I will keep the battery tender plugged in. Any other thoughts?

[wheels 151]

No need to doing anything to bags and tanks except to drain them. Pointless to dump antifreeze in Hull, and this is one of the funniest things I’ve heard.  You only have to worry about freezing when there’s no room for expansion.  Remove both your hull drain plugs and get the boat tilted back at an angle and any water will drain out. 

[carguy79ta 67]

I dont know where the 2nd plug is. A while back, I looked in all the access hatches and couldn't find it. I guess I will crawl under the trailer and find it that way. Thanks! Also I will run a fake lake and fog the engine. Do you guys do that? I dont do that on cars tho.

Edited September 18, 2018 by carguy79ta

[rhino89523 34]

I forgot about the whole fuel game, You need to stabilize the fuel...I'll steer clear of the best stabilizer argument and you pick the brand but you need to stabilize the fuel. There are differing theory's on this as well and most of it relates to the ethanol blended fuel being hygroscopic...O.K. my spelling might be wrong but it means it wants to absorb moisture from air. Some people fill the tank because that doesn't allow room for the moisture i.e.water, others go halfway and then take a fresh shot of fuel at the start of a new season. I go with sort of the latter, On my last few runs of the year I make the trip across town and get the blue gas available at one station in my town...this is the non ethanol stuff. I run that on my last few runs and think I probably get most of the ethanol out of there, I go about halfway at the end, stabilize that and take a fresh shot at the start of the season.

Fogging is another one, you cant fog down the neck like you could back in the old carb days. I have seen a few different ways to do it and I think PCM and Merc both recommend mixing up a cocktail of gas/stabil and 50-1 two stroke in an auxiliary fuel tank and running that for like 10 minutes or something...last I check I think they were still recommending this for the boats with Cats as well, but I can't imagine a cat would be loving two stroke oil. I run my boat on my freshly stabilized fuel for a bit to get everything warmed up. Then I change all my fluids etc. When I change my fuel filter I add a little elixir in the filter, then install the filter, turn the ignition on and fill the filter, start the boat and let it get nice and smokey, then kill it. 

My technique is not the preferred technique recommended, it's just what I do and it is not correct.

Cruise the internet, there are so many theory's on fogging and storing, and so many arguments on what products to use, pick a lane and go for it...talk to your local dealer or boat shop and see what they are doing. My local shop has been on the seafoam thing for a while and having good luck so that's what I have been using.

Full disclosure, I decided to not steer clear of the what product argument, I do not work for seafoam, I don't have any documents or graphs showing anything relevant to anything, I am a total backyard mechanic, I barely graduated high school, All my time in college was focused on football and I never finished my degree, So I'm really just a guy with a bunch of tools and access to google.  

 

Edited September 18, 2018 by rhino89523

[wheels 151]

4 hours ago, carguy79ta said:

I dont know where the 2nd plug is. A while back, I looked in all the access hatches and couldn't find it. I guess I will crawl under the trailer and find it that way. Thanks! Also I will run a fake lake and fog the engine. Do you guys do that? I dont do that on cars tho.

Second plug should be right in front of the v drive, should be a t handle. Make sure you get the blue drain plug at the front of the v drive to drain that also. Don’t worry about fogging. I also run antifreeze through a fake a lake after I have drained everything. 

[InfinitySurf 302]

Last I heard, they do not recommend fogging direct injection engines. I don't know this for sure tho, remember hearing this from somewhere when I first winterized my new boat (I did fog on previous boats with carb engines) and I would say doing this or not, also kindof depends on the climate you live in.

I remove all my ballast bags from the boat for winter, but pour some AF in the ballast hoses just too run it thru the ballast pump impeller to make sure there is not pure water trapped in there, but like Wheels said, you don't have to worry about water freezing and breaking something if its able to expand. I run AF thru my engine after draining cause I hear that it can help protect against corrosion, does not get cold enough in my area where I really gotta stress about the freezing, so its more peace of mind and cause I like messing with the boat, its therapeutic for me (plus I have a heated boat garage now!).

My boat does not have the middle drain plug, must be an option cause my friend has same year boat and his boat has the 2nd T-handle plug just in front of the v-drive. The dividers are easily removable between engine and transom locker and make access to engine much easier, necessary for impeller and belt changes and much easier to change the oil, the spin on fuel/water separator and the FCC fuel filter (something you will want to change...tho personally I wait till Spring to change the impeller and fuel filters). On Ramfill (hard tanks) if you just use the "trailer mode" to open both the fill and drain gates, you wont have to do anything else. I actually keep mine open all the time when boat is on trailer so the tanks air out (also keeps my older generation Ramfill valves working better/smoothly)

[carguy79ta 67]

Yeah I will start buying the stuff I need. Do you all get your filters, plugs, etc from your dealer? or online somewhere. Thanks for all your help. 

[InfinitySurf 302]

2 hours ago, carguy79ta said:

Yeah I will start buying the stuff I need. Do you all get your filters, plugs, etc from your dealer? or online somewhere. Thanks for all your help. 

I like a few online sites.

Skidim.com The have everything I needed for my ZR409 engine and you can get 10% off with coupon code: MALIBU. Last time I ordered from them, their pricing seems to be a little better than everyone else that I have found. Think shipping was also free with these guys and being in SC, the parts get to me very quickly since I am in NC.

Bakesonline.com Also good and their guys are very knowledgeable and helpful if you email or call with questions. No coupon code that I know of, but free shipping over $99.

NautiqueParts.com (since you have PCM engine)....also have 10% off with coupon code: PN

I have not changed out my plugs yet, I may do that in the Spring since mine is a 2014 and they have not been replaced yet as she still purrs and I saw no need before. One thing I highly recommend is having an extra serpentine belt on hand since if that breaks on you....quick fix if you have one on hand and downtime if you don't (15mm socket for the belt tensioner and you slide it over one of the smooth edge pulleys last, not over the tensioner pulley. I made that mistake the first time and its too tight to go over the lip)...really the belt should last quite a while, I changed mine for first time this past Spring as preventative even tho old one looked good and kept the old one as my spare. I also keep a spare impeller, tho if your old one is in good shape that can be a spare, since I change mine out each Spring and they always come out looking perfect, I just keep the one from the year before and I store the old one in a small container with distilled water. Yea....I know its overkill to store like that, lol. (I change it yearly for peace of mind, many don't). I also keep extra oil and filters on hand since I change every 40hrs.....but honestly I buy the engine oil (Rotella T4 15-40) and filter at Walmart since its the same thing for half the price, all else I but at above places online.

I have found that ballast impeller usually are good for about 2-3 seasons depending on use and then they start getting a little stiff and you start loosing water out of the bag thru the impeller (I have the Ballast Puppies, which take the green nitrile impellers, I also changed all 3 of mine this past Spring (Wakemakers.com had the best price on them at the time and coupon code: MALIBU413 or MASTERCRAFT413 gets you 10% off on everything except props with them). May be worth at least having a couple on-hand if you plan to keep the boat for a while longer.

[rhino89523 34]

For me filters and oil come from Walmart, impellers come from a local boat shop. They are really cool to me, I make Christmas wreaths at Christmas and bring them one, they go easy on the markup on me for parts...about the same as I get online and they let me drill them in the offseason for advise. I have a local prop guy for props or if I hit something can straighten me out on the shaft or strut.

I do all of my own work but try to keep good relationships with local people who deal with stuff. My stupid Christmas wreaths seem to go a long way, 12 packs do as well. I just let these guys know I appreciate them if they help me or hook me up with parts, advise or whatever. I don't know what the magic formula is but it seems like maybe a lot of boat owners in my area are super demanding or tough to deal with. The guys working on this stuff seem to dig talking a little shop with someone who does their own work and understands the struggles they deal with first hand.

[carguy79ta 67]

Thanks for the replies. Found the  sparkplugs on Amazon for $6 ea. Do you use the PCM branded plugs, or the automotive 41-114 plugs. On pcm website they are about 15/ea. Thanks

[rhino89523 34]

I like AC plugs in Chevy motors, the number you listed I believe is an AC number and at $6 each I'm betting are iridium . I'd buy them from amazon...I will put money PCM isn't making there own plug so I would not be paying their markup to get an AC box.

[carguy79ta 67]

Yep they are iridium. Also pcm has an impeller for 60, and Kelly, I think, has one for 35. Will prolly go with kelly.

[carguy79ta 67]

Hi guys, been very busy with life. Winterizing now.  Boat is in shop so no probs. I changed oil and filter, worked great with surflo extractor. pulled all of the 9 blue plugs, no probs. The tyranny one was a biotch. Used compressed air to blow out the heater core lines. Gently, so I wouldnt burst the HC. Am going to check the impeller, easy access with the locker panel and top locker panel support rail out. Going to pour pink AF in heater core lines also want to do the motor just to be sure. Which house would you all suggest pouring AF into? @wheels, my fake lake doesn't cover the brass strainer all the way, so I cant suck it up that way...I guess..yours did?? The fuel filter access is going to be tough, will prolly have to remove another side panel, which I am not sure how big the panel is.