Winterizing --- Checklist

[bchesley]

RE: Re: RE: Additional winterization items

I hear you, and we have the opposite type of climate. Have you ever longed to jump in the lake to cool off on a hot summer day. We stay out of the lake to cool off. My lake regularly gets to the upper 90's on the surface. Its like a giant bathtub full of bacteria. I will take it though as I dont do well in cold temps.

[WakeSlayer]

RE: Re: RE: Additional winterization items

We only hit 79 water temp a couple days this summer, been 72-74 all season. Even this week still.

High 90's sounds like a staph infection waiting to happen. Our seasons all have their pitfalls, I guess. ... Mine just happens to be the mercury bottoming out in the middle of winter. Hate Hate Hate.

[8122pbrainard]

Re: RE: Re: RE: Additional winterization items

Dude, you have no idea the level of depression that sets in.....
i am pulling my dock and lifts on the 26th. Winterize Oct 17, and out til late April.

On the upside, I do work on a boat all winter lately. Got the last of the Mustang and a 68 Nautuque on deck this winter.

Mike,
I pulled my docks, the lifts and winterized all my boats up north over the Labor day weekend!! Definitely depressing when you only live at the lake part time. One of these days I'll be up there for good!!

Now, I do look at the bright side of winter. That's the time we get to work on our boats. If we didn't have that opportunity, we'd be working on them while others are out boating - now that's depressing!!!

[WakeSlayer]

RE: Re: RE: Re: RE: Additional winterization items

My condolences, Pete, on the Labor Day de-install. Sadly, I am not far behind you.......

And, yeah, I am all kinds of excited to get wrenching and epoxying. I would go crazy not being able to at least work on them. I got all kindsa stuff on the to do list this winter.

[schiffsnautique]

RE: Re: RE: Additional winterization items

Just a response to Wakeslayer's last comment. Your not the only one!! I think I sit at the wheel at least once a week in the garage with a cold beverage in hand wishing that I could move south.

[WakeSlayer]

Re: RE: Re: RE: Additional winterization items

Just a response to Wakeslayer's last comment. Your not the only one!! I think I sit at the wheel at least once a week in the garage with a cold beverage in hand wishing that I could move south.

Ha, and nor are you, my friend.
My whole rack comes out tomorrow. One boat is already in the polebarn, other one first thing in the AM. Won't pump the antifreeze til mid-October, but it's pretty much over for me....

[Boardboy]

RE: Re: RE: Additional winterization items

Wakeslayer that is definitely a three hankie post and you better bring your cell with you in the boat because you may need to call one of those wakeboarder "dead of winter" suicide support hotlines while your sitting there . Living in Orlando, looking at a minimum of another 2 months of riding (and maybe more depending how December is and how you like your water temp), after reading yours and others posts, I haven't felt this guilty since I took a fourth grader's lunch money when I was in eigth grade!
On the serious side, I am new to the forum over the last 4 month's and I can't thank the administrators and people like you and DanielC, Airtool, TRBenj, Mikeski,Bchesley and a lot of others enough for the generous giving of their time to help the rest of us who haven't been through all the issues the rest of you have. The savings of time, money and aggravation for us forum members is immeasurable. I tell every Nautique owner I run into about this great sight!

To alleviate some of my guilt and show my appreciation for this site and its members, I am offering anyone who needs a winter fix and is in the Orlando area a ride behind my '99 SAN (PP and about 2800Lbs. of ballast, bring your wetsuit) on the Butler Chain. "Warning!" It actually is cold in January and most of February and the boat usually sits. But any other time and you give me some notice we''ll make it happen. I'm a Realtor so my schedule is flexible.Like most lakes the water is calmer during the week. Let me know and thanks again everybody! I"M SERIOUS! HIT ME with a PM!

[frozone]

Winterizing...

So I'm new to this winterization process and want to understand how to do it myself because I generally know how to work on all my stuff. I'm no engine mechanic but it seems I should be able to winterize a boat.

I looked at the spreadsheet earlier in this thread, it's helpful, I understand everything in there at a theoretical level, my problem is I don't know how to identify most of these drain points on my boat.

I've got a 2006 226 with a heater and a PCM Excalibur 330. I've looked at the PCM manual and the water flow charts but these engines are so deep I have a hard time seeing below the manifolds. I basically have to stand on my head.

The manifold plugs are obvious, but how do I get the plugs on the block, how do I find the heater and associated hoses. I've looked at the exploded parts catalog but I'm still lost. How do you find all of these points if you've never worked on boat engines and there's nobody there to show these key points?

Once I know where they are and the tricks for getting to them I'm sure I can do all this stuff, but until then, I'm SOL.

Any ideas, drawings, magic clues? Or does the fact that I'm asking these questions mean I should just pay somebody to do this and move on? Even if I end up paying someone this year, I'll still be bugged until I figure it out.

Finally, it's 85 degrees right now, but we're supposed to get a cold snap, it could hit freezing tomorrow night or the next night, but probably not. What does it really take for me to have to worry about freezing? I know the heater core is the first to go.

I'd like to get a bit more time on the water before doing a full winterize, I was hoping to get to mid-October. I'm in Utah.

Thanks

[mwgasman]

Boat is winterized and in its home for the winter

We actually had a snow forecast this week! Its starting to look like just cold and rainy though.

Time to start thinking about the snowmobiles.

[DanielC]

The 226 is not an easy boat to work on. For the block drain plugs, if I remember correctly, on the left side of the engine, starboard side of the boat, one block drain is the knock sensor. At least that is where it is on a 2003 boats. The knock sensor is about 1 1/4 inches in diameter, and has a single wire on it. Find it, and the other block drain plug is on the other side of the engine about the same location. There is also may be a drain plug on the circulation water pump to drain water that gets trapped there.

[WakeSlayer]

Your heater is fed through a hose from the intake manifold through the heater and returns to either the starboard engine block drain, or to the water ciruclating pump. My 502 use the block drain, my Ford comes back to the CWP. REmove both and blow through with low pressurized AIR, or manually, both directions.

[cameraperson]

RE: Re: RE: Additional winterization items

Winter: We call it 'hard water' depression...

[coulseyd]

RE: Re: RE: Additional winterization items

Wakeslayer, What psi do you consider low...or by manual, do you mean blow in the hose?

[DanielC]

RE: Re: RE: Additional winterization items

I blow on the hose, with my mouth. After most of the water is out, then gently use compressed air, in short bursts.
Another option is to use the vacuum side of a wet or dry "shop-vac" to suck the water out.
On some wake board boats, any water left in the ballast tanks can be drained by using the shop vac on the out fitting on the side of the boat.

[WakeSlayer]

RE: Re: RE: Additional winterization items

I actually do it manually too. If you used a compressor something like 15-20 PSI would be low enough.