Didn't winterize - how to get ready for spring?

I'd say the batteries are shot. The charger will hide that to some point. I had my boat off the charger for two weeks and it would not start at the end of last summer. A cell was bad and drew both batteries down. Cranking a V6 4.3 does not require a ton of juice so I'd say a bad battery or a corroded battery cable connection. I'd try a jump pack.....that's what I had to do to get to my trailer last fall. Sounds like you dodged the frozen engine bullet....not sure what fan was spinning though. Just put two new Group 31 batteries in my boat this week....plenty of power now, Mike.
 
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The fact that the voltage drops low after cranking then recovers quickly while on the charger makes me think it's the batteries, too. A good battery won't see a big voltage drop between a couple of cranks, and a good battery showing low voltage will recover slowly on the charger.
 
I'm not familiar with the battery set up on the model of 290 you have....do you have an emergency start button that you press while cranking over an engine using the ignition key? Considering your water system didn't freeze, you are one lucky....
 
Thanks, all. I will definitely check the battery situation - buying new batteries is SUCH a better option than buying a new engine!! I will try to get down there in the next few days to check the water, jump them off, and/or replace them. Update soon!
 
We leave our boat in the water all winter in Nanaimo. Only heat in the boat are two 100watt heaters with fans.
We do not drain any water but open all the taps and leave to toilets full of water.
Never froze any thing and boat starts in the spring. I have been out in the winter and the engine room is above freezing every time even when there was ice scim on the ocean.
Does sound like you need new batteries. New ones are a lot less than a tow.
 
northern said:
We leave our boat in the water all winter in Nanaimo. Only heat in the boat are two 100watt heaters with fans.
We do not drain any water but open all the taps and leave to toilets full of water.
Never froze any thing and boat starts in the spring. I have been out in the winter and the engine room is above freezing every time even when there was ice scim on the ocean.
Does sound like you need new batteries. New ones are a lot less than a tow.
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wow. I guess all of the winterization stuff is nonsense.
 
JimT said:
wow. I guess all of the winterization stuff is nonsense.
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It is "IF" you know what you are doing and are able to monitor the power supply. This thread is not one of those, but it can and is done all the time.
 
my DOG HOUSE said:
BTW, ref is Wisconsin, and yes, I will never live there again. :huh:
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I hope he did not sustain any freeze damage. From the reports so far that has not been determined. Most don't winterize here in the Carolinas if they stay in the water. But if I lived in DC ( and I did for several years) there is no way I would take the chance of ruining a block unless I lived on my boat.
 
If a dead battery is all that came from this, he is a very lucky boater. Here along the James where it's doesn't get cold for long periods of time, we had 6 reported sinkinges, 3 were reported to have been frozen strainer glasses. It just takes one or two good nights. I think this winter was a learning one for all of us here in the mid south.
 
Check both positive and negative connections at the engine and battery. Click, click, click, sounds like connections, slow turn over sounds like battery. Don't know if your model has an engine computer but if it does they will not work with less than 10 volts. The engine may turn over but the computer will not be awake to fire it up.
 
Okay, decided to go ahead and put new batteries in. They were a few years old, and wouldn't really hold a strong charge, so it was probably time. Weather permitting, I'm planning to give it a shot on Thursday, and see if she'll start. And if any water comes pouring out of the engine... Wish me luck!
 
let us know how it goes. good luck
 
Got delayed with some family stuff, but finally got back to the boat. She started right up, which was super encouraging. So, good call on the batteries, everyone! Ran it for about 5 minutes, and it seemed to run pretty smooth. A few dirty water droplets flew off the belt at first, but didn't see any other water. But now I'm concerned that there is oil in the bilge.

Truth be told, I've never spent much time in the bilge until all of this, and I'm not sure what is supposed to be going on down there. There is about 1/2 inch of murky fluid in the very bottom. I stuck an oar handle down there (after turning the engine off), and it came up with some sludgy liquid. Might be gross river stuff, might be oil- I don't know. But I'm scared to keep running the engine.

I checked the oil level, and I don't think it dropped. Not sure what else to check, or how big a risk I'll be taking by running the engine again.

What an adventure. Learning a lot, for sure, but also getting pretty frustrated- it's boat weather and I want to be out on the water! (And I do NOT want to buy a new engine.)


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Okay- checked the liquid again, and it definitely has some sort of oil/ grease component. I'm screwed, aren't I?


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Suck the bilge clean with a wet dry, check the underside of your oil fill cap for cream. Run her again and check things out again.

Just to give you great hope... The boat just down from us did the same thing, he's had no issues and was very lucky
 
Was the bilge clean before? If the oil levels are on target that is encouraging. I have seen some filthy bilge floors, so not sure it could be some rain water or a leak. Need more information really to help. I suspect the bilge is just old spilled oil and such. What matters right now is the engine and whether the oil level is staying at the appropriate level and water is not getting into the engine block. Also, when running was water coming out of the engine block. There are plugs designed to be drain the block that sometime will push out if not winterized properly.
 
I watched the engine while it was running, and I did not see any water coming out of it. All I saw was a little movement of the fluid at the bottom, but it looked like it was just vibrating from the engine. I'm so scared about getting too hopeful, though...

The bilge was not clean before, and, honestly, this is the first year I've really spent any time at all messing with the engine - I've always paid the marina guys to handle everything - so I'm not really sure how new this issue is. The oil needs a top-off anyway, so I'll shop-vac the liquid out, fill up the oil, and let her run again, all while keeping fingers, toes, and eyes crossed.

The worst part of all of this? I have a bilge heater that I didn't know about. It was installed by a previous owner, and I just never knew it was there. All I had to do was plug it in, and this frozen engine scare could have been avoided. (Although, I still plan to be more diligent about winterizing!)
 
Be careful with the shop vac if there's anything like oil or gas in the bilge. The vac could ignite the fluids as it sucks them up and creates vapors. Use a sponge and a bucket or a hand pump if you think there's anything flammable in there.
 
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