Cold enough to winterize?

[zotemart]

I live in NE Florida. I keep my 2000 Sport Nautique in my driveway with a cover.
I plan on using my boat year round.

The low temperature overnight goes below freezing maybe five times a year. Several years ago, it got down to 18F degrees. It never stays below freezing for more than a few hours.

Do I need to winterize my boat? Should I invest in one of those waterproof heaters? Does anyone have any experience with this?


Sent from my iPhone using PLT Nautique

[charlesml3]

The rule is "24 for 24." 24 degrees or less for 24 hours in a row.

-Charles

[Blamey]

Personally I'd drain water from the block and manifolds. It only takes a five minutes once you know what you are doing and would be the most expensive part if you did have an issue.



Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

[JD ski]

The info above is good. Exposure time is a big factor and the motor compartment / hull is a layer of protection from the elements. Another idea is if you are keeping your daily driver car in the garage change this up during a known cold spell. When you know it will be that cold leave the car outside, it has antifreeze and will survive. Put the boat in the garage during the cold spell. It was 18 at my house this morning and the dogs water only had about 1/8 in. of ice. That is nothing that is going to brake hard parts.

[2001SAN]

Do you use the boat in the off season? If not I would drain. If so I would probably drain as well! I have replaced an engine due to freeze damage (by previous owner) and it is zero fun. Cheap insurance and you can sleep easy regardless of what the weather may or may not do.

D.

[Blamey]

If you do use the boat during the off season you can install taps on the block drain. These can be opened by hand to drain the block.

I'd suggest winterizing the boat once. Going through the whole process once will take a couple hours the first time, but once you know what you are doing you can drain everything in about 30 mins.



Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

[srock]

I don't know of anyone in Jax who winterizes but taking minor precautions will help you sleep. Drop a treble light into the engine bay, start the engine before going to bed, or buy a dip stick heater. A little goes a long way when your barely on the edge. I find the heat radiating from the St Johns river in Astor is enough to stay above freezing.

[Infinity]

The engine compartment should also stay roughly 4-5 degrees warmer than the open air. Since you plan to use year around and it rarely gets below freezing....I would just get an ignition protected heater for the 5-10 nights in winter is gets cold enough to even worry about it since you are in FL.

[srock]

I copied this from Nautique Facebook page. "I use an “Xtreme Bilge 300w” heater. It creates no spark and has a small fan built in to move warm air in the engine compartment. It automatically kicks on once temps drop to 40 deg. I just plug in and set it down in the engine compartment."

[zotemart]

Is this where I should put the treble light?


Sent from my iPhone using PLT Nautique

[zotemart]

I figured out a good way to hang the light. The light kept the risers and manifolds warm enough. However, the light bulb burned out after one night. I replaced the bulb for the 2nd night and the same thing happened. Not sure what’s going on there.


Sent from my iPhone using PLT Nautique

[Infinity]

Personally, I don't trust a bulb for that exact reason, and that is why I have a small heater

[charlesml3]

Personally, I don't trust a bulb for that exact reason, and that is why I have a small heater

I personally don't trust a light bulb, small heater, or any other type of active winterization system. There are far too many things that can go wrong. Someone unplugs it, circuit breaker trips, or there's a winter storm that takes out the power on the coldest night of the year.

-Charles

[zotemart]

It looks like I’ll just plan on draining the manifolds when I plan on not using it for several weeks. Thanks for the feedback everyone.


Sent from my iPhone using PLT Nautique

[CHassmann]

Don't you guys mean trouble light, not treble?