1st year winterizing the boat 08" SANTE 230 what do I need to know?

[sheltonpg]

Planet Nautiquers

This was my first year owning a boat and it has been and awsome season! Unfortunately it is coming to an end and I need to get the boat winterized. I live in Richmond, VA and will be paying to have the boat stored inside a non heated warehouse. I am required to get as much gas out of the tank as possible and remove the batteries. Can anyone tell me what else I need to do in order to ensure I don't damage the boat for the winter? I have the 390PCM engine and the boat is plummed for fat sacs that sit on top of the factory ballasts. I have heard I need to put antifreeze in the ballasts and the block? If so how do I do this? Also is there something I should apply to the seats so that they don't crack and split? The temperature acutally drops into the teens some winters here in Richmond, VA. Any help you can give me will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

[Quinner]

Really depends on how mechanically inclined you are, if not done correctly the resulting damage can be pretty significant.

Your owners manual should cover winterizing/layup procedures, you should also be able to find numerous threads on winterizing it here, there is also some good general information on www.SkiDim.com.

[CradGen2]

You can find the information in the manuals. That said based on your questions, I suggest you take the boat to a dealer for proper winterization. $500 now could save you 10K later. It normally costs me 150 to winterize my boat myself. Oil, Oil and Fuel Filters, Pink stuff, ETC. I pay the money now to have it done. I like my dealer and trust them. Also if you take it to a good dealer and they don't do it right they get to pay to have it fixed.

You are riding around in a 100K boat, pay to have it winterized.

[nyryan2001]

1st year winterizing the boat 08" SANTE 230 what do I need to know?

Can anyone tell me what else I need to do in order to ensure I don't damage the boat for the winter?

You need to fully drain the block, tranny, Vdrive and exhaust manifolds....and the raw water strainer if you have one.



I have the 390PCM engine and the boat is plummed for fat sacs that sit on top of the factory ballasts. I have heard I need to put antifreeze in the ballasts and the block? Not necessary IMO, extra money and overkill and dumps pink AF into the waterways in the spring. Ensure the fats sacs are completely empty....let the pump run dry for 10-20seconds and you are done. Putting AF in the block is not req'd. Additionally, "putting AF in the block" has fooled some folks into thinking they are ok.... when they are not.... because they ran AF thru the engine... saw pink coming out the exhaust.... when the thermostat didnt open yet as they werent up to operating temps and left pure unmixed water in the heads. and they were suprised to find a cracks block in the spring...cool $7k-$10k repair to start off your season. Recommend if this is your first winteration, you find a good mechanic and watch them do it or find someone you trust and have them go thru it with you. Depending on the boat.... 7-11 different bolts and hoses need to be removed.

Does your boat have a heater? If so, thats gotta be winterized if you dont have a AF 1/2 loop cooling heat exchange.

Also is there something I should apply to the seats so that they don't crack and split? Yep Aerospace 303.... or Boat Bling Condition Sauce. But your vinyl isnt going to split over 1 winter without it...totally precautionary.

^^

[NautiqueJeff]

Here's the info you need.

http://www.planetnautique.com/vb3/co...res-GM-Engines

Oh, and please don't double-post.

[jonsquatch]

Also is there something I should apply to the seats so that they don't crack and split?

Yep, what have you used the rest of the season? Some like 303 (haven't tried it), some like Boat Bling
Vinyl sauce/Condition Sauce (to greasy for me although I use the hot sauce and quicky sauce on the outside), I have been using Babes seat soap/seat saver. Seat soap every time, seat saver a few times a season and before I put it up for the winter.

You can find the information in the manuals.

Exactly the entire procedure is in there, the Nautique manual explains the boat specific stuff (like ballast tanks) and the PCM manual has the engine/drive procedures, with the specific locations of all the drain points for your setup (there are links at the top of the page on planetnautique to the manual. If thats not good enough, and looking through the archives and Jeff's post don't make you comfortable with it then as Crad said just pay the man for the ounce of prevention, or as nyryan2001 said have it done this time and take notes, pics, videos so your comfortable next time. For me its 275 miles to the dealer round trip so you would have to add 1-2 days off and 30+ gallons of gas just to get it there and back so the dealer starts to make less sense unless I have warranty concerns anyway.

"putting AF in the block" has fooled some folks into thinking they are ok.... when they are not.... because they ran AF thru the engine... saw pink coming out the exhaust.... when the thermostat didnt open yet as they werent up to operating temps and left pure unmixed water in the heads. and they were suprised to find a cracks block in the spring...cool $7k-$10k repair to start off your season.

This happened to my neighbor after he bought my first boat. I explained the process in detail and gave him the manual but he decided it would be easier to just fill a tub with the pink stuff and draw it in. He bought the boat end of Sept. and had it out 4 times before he put it up at the end of the season right before a couple of hard freezes which cracked the block, since then he has left it sit uncovered where I can watch it slowly decompose. It surely can be done right, and the instructions for the ballast tanks specify to use environmentally friendly antifreeze. If your planning on using it in your block you can drain all the water first, then you can backfill the system to reduce the chances of pockets of water.

Also be aware that with the gas tank mostly empty there will definitely be an increased opportunity for water in the form of condensation and if you have ethanol in the gas it will have a tendency to absorb the water and then separate out over time to the bottom of the tank. Its actually worse with a nearly empty tank so make sure you stabilize the fuel with your treatment of choice before storage even though there is very little left in the tank. It wouldn't hurt to check the water separator in the early spring once you get it going again just to make sure. For the batteries, I sure have been spoiled by my onboard charger, but if I had to pull them out I would store them at home and drop them on a 2 bank battery tender and forget about them, after checking the electrolyte levels if applicable.

[thedude]

You say you have the 390hp ZR6 motor. Aren't they all closed cooled? If so all you'd have to do is drain the manifolds, sea water pump, tranny cooler and V-drive. There are strategically placed plus to do all of this. Its pretty easy actually.

Take your piggy back fat sacks out. Drain water from hard ballast tanks as best you can. Then run a bit of RV antifreeze into using the ballast pumps (disconnect the intake side). Some say you can put the RV antifreeze in through the vent lines, but this may not work in your case with the piggy back fat sacs. I did this more to protect the pump housings rather than the tanks.

Save the $ and do it yourself, its a good way to learn the workings of your boat.

[sheltonpg]

Thanks for the info so far. Currently I live about 2hrs from the closest Nautique Dealer. It will take2 weeks before they can winterize the boat and then I have to head back down there to pick it up. So I am leaning towards doing the winterization myself. I do have a heater on the boat so is there something special that needs to be done to winterize that? Also is it absolutely necessary to put antifreeze in the block? If you guys recommend it I will do it.

Thanks,

[Quinner]

If you do in fact have the ZR motor it should be closed cooling therefore the heater, engine block, etc. should already contain A/F within a closed loop. You do however need to drain the raw water system completely, adding A/F after is pretty simple and IMO worth the effort for the added protection.

[quaylefarmer]

Bringing back an old thread.

I am getting ready to pull my 08 230 and winterize it for the first time.

If anyone can help to clarify 2 points it would be very helpful:


- Is the heater part of the closed loop system? (ie: does it not need to be drained)

- Do the exhaust manifolds need to be drained? (manual says no if it is a CES model but I'm not sure how to tell)