My summer is done...

[cloead]

winterize it yourself and ride till whenever the overnight lows start approaching the low 40s

[nyryan2001]

I would consider an extreme heater.... IF they had a 12V backup setup to run off your boat batteries for 3-5 days in an emergency. doesnt take much, just keeps the bilge area at 45 degs.

If the power goes out.... a breaker flips, or someone unplugs the cord, you just bought yourself an $8-11k cracked block repair and a good portion of your next April -June boating season when you discover how bad the damage is..

[nyryan2001]

Also, contact PCM.

They can provide you a laminated yellow 8.5 x 11" placard diagram that shows the 7-8 bolts and clamps that need to be removed for your specific engine/tranny/Vdrive.

[jonsquatch]

I went with a boatsafe heater http://www.theboatsafe.com/ for mine. I do live in AZ but at 3350 feet, so we do get a handful of hard freezes a year. The problem is they are overnight, and its still decent boating weather during the day (we have a heater, wetsuits and drysuits). I also have a long drive home and often its near midnight and 30 degrees cooler than it was during the day when I get home. I won't go out if its supposed to be near freezing on the way home, and when I do get home I drop the heater in once we get an overnight temp in the 40's. I have a remote thermometer out in the garage that send the temp into the house with an alarm to alert me if its freezing (try going back to sleep after that) out there after which I "winterize" the boat (it takes less than 30 minutes after the first time) even if I still plan on taking the boat out again. That rarely happens. Usually I just take a look at the daily low temps and use that to help determine when I am putting the boat up which usually happens mid Dec. through Jan. unless we decide to get in a New Year ride if its nice out, only problem is it probably requires a partial winterization after use, since we pretty much go year round I don't let winter determine when I should change the oil or fuel filters etc., but I do drain the bowl on the water separating filter if its going to be put up for 4 or 5 weeks during the cold if its not changed.

[dfoster]

+1 for learning to winterize.

I'm up in MA and we ride until at least end of October, usually mid November. But in October we can get a quick overnight freeze and then get up over 60 deg the next day. So I just pay attention to the forecast and drain the engine and strainer if they are talking a freeze. I don't worry about all the little stuff, just drain the engine and empty the strainer... 10 - 15 minutes once you get good at it.

I then winterize over Thanksgiving break and put the boat in a warm storage place (40 - 50 deg), so I don't need to worry about filling lines back up with anti-freeze, etc. So I just do oil-change, fuel filter change, pull the impeller and loosen belts, spray on some T9 Boe-shield (a fancy aviation WD-40) on metal parts and ballast valves that have gotten stuck in the past. No shrink wrap needed... just covered.

Then I pull out in March and do the same thing as you can get some nice early spring days followed by a hard frost. But the extra effort seems worth it to me so I can get out on the water.

The great news is that you typically "own the water" and you don't have any tubers out messing things up when you are out with 50 deg water temps.

[ers906]

Is there any difference in winterizing a boat with a closed cooling system. In the past since we ride year round, I did not winterize the boat, but this year I may go with a heater in the engine compartment (boat garage won't be done until spring). In Arizona, we only have a few nights that dip into the 30s-40s over the winter months. I used to use a few light bulbs on a timer in the engine compartment to keep it warm, but with the larger engine compartment of the G, I am thinking I may want to go less improvised and more professional. Any idea how long the ambient temperature needs to be below freezing to cause the engine temp to drop to potentially dangerous levels? The average daytime temps are in the 60-70 range, and typically will hit that around 10-11 am

[nyryan2001]

lots of speculation on this.... but most folks will say the following...

you need 2-3 nights of 27-28ish degree lows and low 40s high temps to crack a block/exhaust

you need 1 night of 22-25degs to crack a block/exhaust

wind, humidity and specific boat design all play a part in this. The question is, its a $10k gamble, how much risk are you comfy living with?

As a general rule, I wil flirt with low 30s temps with putting a 100w light bulb under the tranny. I say low 30s because on any given day here in the midwest plains, temps seriously can vary by 5 degrees...all depending on that wind coming down from our Canadian firends. And they do vary 5degs from the forecast often.

Just in the last 4-5 days we have had sustained 20+mph winds from the north. This is BAD this early in the fall.... already cooling down considerably. Trying to get 100hrs on the G before winterizing.

[Calgary210]

The wind does not make a difference in temp machines are not affected by windchill

[ers906]

100 hours on the new G? **** that would be impressive. Taking mine in today for another oil change, at 185 hours so far. Not too bad for a boat that first hit the water on June 20th.

[nyryan2001]

The wind does not make a difference in temp machines are not affected by windchill

I didnt say they did. the windier it is the quicker the temps will penetrate the cover, cushions and into engine locker of the boat. the quicker it will rob heat from the hull of the boat. Not winchill... quicker penetration of cold temps.

Also, the windier it is, the more the forecasted temps can vary. as they are trying to predict local temps off air that is 300, 500, 1000miles away.

[DanielC]

The wind does make a difference in how quick the heat is removed from an engine block. While it is true that wind chill will not make the apparent temperature go below the actual temperature, wind will cool something down that is above the temperature of the air.
If moving, or still air did not make a difference, no car or truck would have a fan behind the radiator sucking power from the engine.

In practical terms, if it is 28 degrees with a 30 MPH wind, there is a better chance of the water in a boat engine freezing overnight, than if it is 25 degrees, and calm.

[swc5150]

Is there any difference in winterizing a boat with a closed cooling system. In the past since we ride year round, I did not winterize the boat, but this year I may go with a heater in the engine compartment (boat garage won't be done until spring). In Arizona, we only have a few nights that dip into the 30s-40s over the winter months. I used to use a few light bulbs on a timer in the engine compartment to keep it warm, but with the larger engine compartment of the G, I am thinking I may want to go less improvised and more professional. Any idea how long the ambient temperature needs to be below freezing to cause the engine temp to drop to potentially dangerous levels? The average daytime temps are in the 60-70 range, and typically will hit that around 10-11 am

Closed cooling has one drain (heat exchanger thing)...much easier than a fresh water version.

[nyryan2001]

100 hours on the new G? **** that would be impressive. Taking mine in today for another oil change, at 185 hours so far. Not too bad for a boat that first hit the water on June 20th.

Yep I put 18 on this last weekend. What a blast.

And FYI, you only have PARTIAL closed cooling... you still have somewhere 7-9 bolts or clamps on your exhaust, tranny, Vdrive that will need to be pulled for full winterization. They include a laminated yellow winteriztion sheet for the XR550.... with pics and locations.... makes it super easy to do it yourself. Let me know and I can text a pic if it to you.

Sames with the 450s, PARTIAL closed cooling... AF in the engine only. The intercooler/heat exhanger, exhausts, Vdrive, Tranny, and raw water strainer all have to be drained.

[Woody_tobius_jr]

What is the year, and model of your boat?

If it has a GT-40, or an Excalibur GM 5.7 engine, reality is you only need to drain the water for an unexpected cold snap.

You really need to learn to winterize the boat yourself so you can control your last outing. Pretty sure there is a sticky about it here. Your owners manual covers this also. I feel you pain though but for a different reason. I put my boat in the barn early this year. Not for cold, but low water levels. We need rain bad here in Texas, lot's of rain.

I second learning to drain the water from your system. There are many important yearly maintenance items that folks often do at the time of winterization. But, simple freeze protection is fast and easy and takes less than 10 minutes for most engines/cooling systems.

I plan on studying up on this for next year. I have an '04 SV211 with the 5.7l. I'm a little nervous as I haven't winterized before. I wasn't sure what all was involved with getting antifreeze into the heater core, shower, ballast, etc. whether you have to blow all the lines out first and then run the anti freeze in, or if you can just circulate the antifreeze through it ( although I would be worried about diluting the anti freeze this way). I'll be storing my boat in my unheated indoor shop. We usually average about -20 celsius in the winter but it's not unusual to get stretches at-45 either. Definitely want to do the winterizing correctly as there is little forgiveness at those temperatures. If I can see it done once in person, then I'm good. I would definatley like to stretch out my season a little longer, it's been great week up here weather-wise.

[DanielC]

" I wasn't sure what all was involved with getting antifreeze into the heater core, shower, ballast, etc. whether you have to blow all the lines out first and then run the anti freeze in,"

Yes, you have to remove all the fresh water first, especially at temps common to Frostbite Falls, Minnesota.