winterizing I/O in water

I just moved to a new marina this year and this marina has a bubbler system in the slips so I can keep it in the water year round. I'm used to the pull out and winterize antifreeze when the boat is on blocks, but how do you do this when in water?
My twin 8.1 has the plugs to help drain some of the water out, but is there anyway I can pour AF into the motor somehow to maximize protection?

Outdrives or v-drives?

You won't be messing with the engine - that already has AF in it. You'll just be doing the raw water side of things... intake, raw water pump/fuel cooler, heat exchanger, exhaust.

Lazy Daze said:

Outdrives or v-drives?

You won't be messing with the engine - that already has AF in it. You'll just be doing the raw water side of things... intake, raw water pump/fuel cooler, heat exchanger, exhaust.

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Outdrives and Ill just be servicing the raw side. I literally dropped my boat in 4 weeks ago and drove it up to the new marina, so the outdrives and anodes are already serviced, just need to do the engines...

do you have seacocks? im in the water in npt ri for the winter - i just close the seacocks and drain the blocks and strainers (raw water cooled)

Ididntdoit said:

do you have seacocks? im in the water in npt ri for the winter - i just close the seacocks and drain the blocks and strainers (raw water cooled)

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Not sure if I have seacocks on the engine, I think those are for V-drives, but I may be wrong. I've never looked for them but I do know my engines came with an hand air pump and I see the schrader style valve. I do see the 3 blue drain bolts, but I've never done this type of winterizing. I usually go the outdrive muff style when the boat is out of the water.
Here is something I've tried a few times and never really understood since whenever i look at the valve part on the engine, but both indicator is always green [w/ engine off or engine on]....maybe I'm looking at the wrong thing. I'll take a pic tomorrow

So I found a youtube on the green indicator, guess they have to pop out. How do one bump the engine if mine is a push button start and the key is in the cabin salon? I used to do it to my smaller boat when there was a key ignition and I physically turn a key. Here is my layout of my helm now.

Sounds like the blocks are raw water cooled and with outdrives I would not risk water storage in a freezing location. Much too risky. Check with your insurance carrier!

The issue you run into with stern drives, is that you have no "realistic" way of stopping water from coming into the bilge via the intake hose that comes from the drive. To better describe this... because the intake hose drops below the waterline, if you would remove the intake hose from the raw water pump, there's a good chance that you would siphon the entire Bay into your bilge.

The only way to prevent water from making it's way back into the engine (at least the raw water pump, anyways) is to remove the hose from the backside of the raw water pump and secure it higher than the outside waterline (and plug it for good measure). But, then, of course, you run the risk of that hose freezing and bursting over the winter... back to the siphoning effect.

If you could prevent water from entering the drive (for example, tape over the intake... just using that to explain the thought - don't actually do that), then you'd be OK. There are some that rely on the bubbler and a bilge heater... but if electricity is lost...