Winterize question

[sonworshiper]

Greetings all! and Happy Thanksgiving!
We live on the central Oregon coast where we have pretty mild winters when it comes to temperature. We have a lake 2 miles from our home that we enjoy fishing year round.
My question is this, Do I need to winterize if I either use the boat once or twice a month on nice days or at least hook up the water and and run the motor to temp every 2 or 3 weeks. I keep fuel stabilizer and a full tank of gas in the boat. The oil and gear oil have been changed recently as well. I also keep the battery charged with a trickle charger.
Any advise would help. Thanks to everyone!
Gary

 

[tmhudson2]

Do you park the trailer in a garage, or outdoors? What is the lowest temperature you can expect to have overnight if you are parked outside?

 

[Sundancer]

If you use it once a month or so, the only real issue would be the temps in your area. I know it's mild where you live, but if you get cold spells down in the 20's at night you might have to take some precautions to make sure your block doesn't freeze. If you are fresh water cooled, then there isn't much to do.

You can buy a Wolverine block heater or a boat safe heater approved for use in the engine compartment if you are raw water cooled. Either will keep the block warm enough to prevent damage. The Wolverine is a little cheaper and was discussed on another thread here somewhere.

 

[sonworshiper]

Sorry I was gone for a few days and just returned.
The boat is parked outside, and is lake watercooled. Is there any way to make sure all of the water is out of the engine?
We do get some cold weather, not a lot, coldest Ive ever seen it here was in the high 20's to low 30's.
Thanks!

 

[Sundancer]

Even at those temps, it would have to be there for a while to freeze the block. Draining the block isn't hard, you just have to find all of the drains and open them up and then poke something in each hole to make sure scale isn't preventing the water from draining out. With your boat, there is probably a block drain on each side of the 4.3 and then a drain for the manifolds on each side. It's a piece of cake to drain it and takes only a few minutes. There might be a drain on the power steering pump depending on the model. I'm sure someone with a 4.3 will chime in very soon!

 

[sonworshiper]

Thanks sundancer! I appreciate the help. Thanks for taking the time to reply

 

[sonworshiper]

Update.... We are in the midst of a very cold spell....... I chickened out and had the boat winterized. Guess we'll start over again in spring... better safe than sorry!

 

[Nehalennia]

Good choice. Not worth the potential risk if your weren't going boating anytime soon.

 

[Sundancer]

If they winterized your boat, they probably put all of the hardware in a plastic bag and attached it to the steering wheel. Make a mental note of how many drain plugs and hose clamps there are. Next time you need to drain the block you'll know how many. Look around the engine and you'll probably find the hoses they pulled as well. Once you know WHICH ones they pulled you can do it in about 5 minutes next time! It's a piece of cake but intimidating if you don't know WHERE they are!

 

[sonworshiper]

Thanks Sundancer, Good idea!

 

[Sundancer]

You can also UNWINTERIZE it in the spring and then you'll know where each part goes! Just take some pictures or notes or something. I was always scratching my head in the fall when I couldn't remember how many drain plugs there were in the 454! Then I switch to twin 350's and had to learn it again along with the hot water system! Draining is really easy and dealers get paid a lot of money for this simple task!

 

[ecostello]

if your engine is a 4.3L with a carb, don't forget to drain the intake manifold. Ask me how I know ($800 repair).