To winterize or not

[cam05210]

I was talking to a friend about general maintenance and living here in NC where our winters may get to the upper 20's and every blue moon we may get a handfull of nights that are lower, my buddy asked why was it necessary to winterize the boat. Obviously in more extreme temps it exposes the block to freezing, but he thought that simply wrapping the engine in a thick comforter/blanket and being under cover and under covered storage that the temps wouldn't get cold enough to freeze the block or ballast lines. So what's the thought? I have always winterized, but he makes a good point. Discuss...

[Nautiquehunter]

RE: To winterize or not

Most of the cracked blocks happen in states with mild winters like yours . It only takes one night in the upper 20s to cause the damage. It only takes 15-20 min to drain the water? I keep mine in antifreeze to prevent rust and gaskets from drying out.

[WakeSlayer]

RE: To winterize or not

Winterize no matter what.

[DanielC]

RE: To winterize or not

He does not make a good point. If he gives you other advise like this, I would question your "friendship" with him.
A space shuttle blew up because the O rings in the solid rocket fuel boosters got too cold. Every so often, Florida loses an Orange crop because of freezing.
Due to the labor of removing, disassembling, inspection, reassembling, and reinstalling an engine, If done at a shop, it is cheaper to just replace the engine with a new one.
Remember, Ford no longer makes 351 engine blocks anymore.
It is also a good idea to run your engine every two weeks, if you do not prepare it for long term storage.
Spend the time now, or you could possibly not have the use of your boat for a while next spring.

[jmo]

RE: To winterize or not

A couple thoughts:

1. Its a $5,000.00+ mistake if your block freezes on the one freak snap of cold weather you get. So, I would winterize it just for peace of mind knowing your boat is fine no matter what.

2. One side effect of going through the process of winterizing your boat is you end doing an up close and personal examination of of your boats systems and you will catch small issues (loosed clamps fittings, cracked water hose, impeller on its way out, clogged strainer, etc) that could develop into larger problems later and ruin a day on the lake when something does go wrong...

HTH's,

jmo

[snowboardcorey]

I would always winterize!!! Call it long term storage if it makes you feel better, but I would highly recommend doing it. I've had to inform more than one boat owner that their "heated" garage lost heat at some point and now they need a new engine, its not a good feeling for me or them.

[WakeSlayer]

Re: RE: To winterize or not

Every so often, Florida loses an Orange crop because of freezing.

This is a great point of reference. Florida. This seems to happen more than every so often the last few years, if memory serves.