New member and Sea Ray owner

S

Scotyp

Member
Oct 4, 2017
58
Boat Info
2001 Sea Ray 340
Engines
6.2 L Mercruisers
Hello all! First post here and just purchased first boat . She is a 1998 Signature Bowrider 210 with a 5.0L Mercruiser. Live in the Seattle area.
First question as well....To freeze protect the engine do I just need to pull the 4 petcocks off of the engine and 1 for the manifold? Any other tips appreciated to winterize. I store her under a lean to with cockpit and bow canvas custom covers.
 
Congratulations and welcome to CSR!

As for winterization, there are some many different ways that people swear by. Basically pull all blue plugs, drain the water (clear any obstructions), put the plugs back and fill the block with antifreeze through the thermostat housing/hoses.
 
Welcome!

Agree with JimG on winter prep.
 

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There is a big hose on the starboard side when facing forward that comes off of the water pump, and that one holds a lot of water in the U bend. Best to remove top part of hose, bend it down to drain, and pour anti freeze in there.
 
On my boat I have 5 blue drain plugs. 2 on the each side of the block, 2 on each side of the manifolds. and one on the recirculating pump. I drain all those, then put plugs back in, hook up muffs to 5 gallons of -75 antifreeze and start engine and the impeller will pull the antifreeze up and out. You can confirm by watching it come out by the bellows. Been doing it that way for years in Wisconsin without any problems. Of course you have to fog the engine, change gear lube and engine oil.
 
I just winterized yesterday on my new-to-me 280 with twin 5.7s. Couldn't get 2 of the lower plugs out to drain it. I ran AF through the each block for a while but now I'm a little concerned about what might be lying in the bottom. I was able to get 1 of the lower plugs off each block and nothing came out when I did. Assuming I'm ok but was thinking of just pouring more AF in through the hoses. Thoughts?
 
smittomatic said:
I just winterized yesterday on my new-to-me 280 with twin 5.7s. Couldn't get 2 of the lower plugs out to drain it. I ran AF through the each block for a while but now I'm a little concerned about what might be lying in the bottom. I was able to get 1 of the lower plugs off each block and nothing came out when I did. Assuming I'm ok but was thinking of just pouring more AF in through the hoses. Thoughts?
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You need to poke those holes with a wire or something to clear the rust deposits and other junk that gets sucked up through the year. You might be ok but for the cheap cost of AF compared to a block I would remove the plugs and drain them again, poke the holes, and refill. At that point you'll definitely be covered since you'll have flushed the block with AF.

For the future, when I do it I leave the block drains out when I pour 1/2-3/4 gallon of AF into the tstat hose. I then let it run out of the block to "flush" any water that might have been left. At that point I put the drains back in and fill it up with AF
 
I poked the ones I was able to open and nothing else came out. I ran both engines with AF cycling through and probably used 8 gal each engine. I can't get 2 of the plugs out and I'm running out of time. I think at this point my best bet is to pour some AF back in through the hoses.

**Update: Went back in last night for another try and got the remaining plugs out. Now can rest easy this winter.
 
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Welcome. I am also a noob here and to older Sea Rays. I bought a same year as you '98 230 SS bowrider mid-september. Since it was so late in the season that I didn't have time to procure any sort of parking or figure out what needed to be done I took the easy way out and dropped it off at a Marina with storage to be winterized and put away for me so I'm not going to be any help. I'm just here to soak in the answers for next time :)

Did you get a chance to run it a while or are you going straight from the sale to dry docking it for winter?
 
Hi Walter. I was able to run it about 3 times here in Seattle since purchased, twice last month and once this month. Pretty mild weather here .I trailer the boat and store it under cover next to my shop. So far I have pulled the plugs on the engine to winterize, pulled and regreased the prop shaft, replaced all of the anodes, and spot primed and painted(Phantom Black color) some of the outdrive unit. Cheers!
 
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