Spring Turn-up: Change Plugs Every Year? Other?

[SkiTundra]

I have typically dropped our boat off @ MarineMax in the fall. They winterize, store and start up in the spring. I've typically had them do plugs every spring and impeller about every 2 or 3 years per their recommendation. Last summer they notified us that our 13yo boat (2008 211TE) was too old for their winterizing/storage so we'd need to find an alternative :-(

We had Midwest Winterizing do the winterizing. They said that for spring all we need do is throw charged batteries in, fill up with gas, drop it in the water, start and go. No need to change plugs if they'd been done last year. Being the southern boy that I am I assumed that plugs that had been fogged (never had to do that in 'Bama) would need changing every year?

Thoughts?

Given past things that MarineMax missed I did check the knock sensors and plugs that they'd missed in past years. Oil looks good. Water filter clean. I'm trying to find records on when the impeller was last changed.

Thanks,

[NautiqueJeff]

I would not bother changing the plugs every year. I would change the impeller yearly though. I guess if you've been getting 2-3 years out of them for the past 13 years, that works for you though.

Most people do not fog the newer boats because it can foul the sensors. I haven't fogged a boat in years.

Hearing that a 2008 211 is too old for their winterization practices is laughable. Winterizing that boat is no different than the newer ones except that the really new ones have nice convenient drain lines that can be drained quickly without the removal of block plugs, etc.

[SkiTundra]

Thanks Jeff.

I think the issue with not doing older boats might be more an issue of trying to cut down on being overloaded with boats every fall. Officially they said nothing over 15 years old but some people with 11 and 12 yo boats got the heave hoe as well. Being able to count on our dealers to take care of this every year is a critical bit for us so this likely means leaving Nautique after a few decades of devotion. :-(

[MN Ryan]

Marine Max did my '07 211 last fall, but I think that will be the last time. I was not overly pleased with how I was treated, and they overfilled my oil by about 1.5 quarts.

When you say Midwest do you mean Midwest Mastercraft? They did mine 2 years ago, they were cheaper than MM, and my BIL has bought 2 boats there, and they've always treated him well. On top of that, they'll take appointments for winterizing rather than, "drop it off and we'll get to it when we get to it."

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[SkiTundra]

Midwest Winterizing. Seem like good folks but this spring I found one of the washers for the battery holder in our Wake155 missing along with one of the battery connector boots. So rather than a quick plug change and launch I had to go buy a washer (amazingly couldn't find one in all of my junk). Still waiting on the boot from BRP.

Yeah, we've had our fair share of problems with them but in the end they're the dealer and have made things right. Last spring they forgot to connect and strap one of the batteries down so when I got home it was on its side (and fortunately not cracked). Then after launching we found warm water getting pumped in quite quickly and found that they'd not put in one of the drain plugs (fortunately there were some quite strong guys at the launch who helped me get it on the trailer before it sank). They were quite apologetic and gave us an interior and exterior detail.

A few springs ago they forgot to connect a knock sensor.

[shag]

"Too old for winterizing/storage"? sounds like they are trying to get more money from newer boat owners. My experience with plugs with on a 2009 and 2008 SAN 230, 330 motors is that they burn through plugs incredibly fast, even the expensive iridium ones (I think they're iridium). Depending on hours used, you may want to change yearly (don't buy the PCM plugs at double the cost, they just take a branded plug and put it in PCM box and double - or more - the cost). I am with Jeff, I replace the impeller every year for peace of mind. I might go every other year for plugs if I didn't use the boat that much. I also tend to replace fuel filters every year and always use ethanol free.

[bturner]

I currently do 4 boats a year on the "I get a ride anytime I want and free beer" payment plan from a couple friends and neighbors. Had 2 more requests last year but gracefully refused the request. Turns out there are fewer and fewer places that do good work available to do this type of service, apparently. Even fewer that do good work as they're too busy trying to get the boats out the door with the resources they have available to spend any real time paying attention to detail. Fall winterization is a great time to drum up winter business by identifying any areas that may be becoming an issue as you're pretty much all over the boat and get a really good chance to see anything that may be starting to leak or is worn. This used to be a real money maker for these shops but I guess they don't need the business or just don't have the people to do the work anymore.

I will admit I have slowed down these last couple years and have taken more of a consulting/workshop role in the winterization process. A lot of turn this, remove that type of thing while the younger guys learn to do this work for themselves.

As far as workmanship and attention to detail goes..... As I've said before, no one is going to care about your stuff more than you. Even the best shops are going to have issues with the talent they can get/afford these days. I'll spend 3-4 hours going through a full winterization process on a surf boat by the time I've changed all the fluids, filters, pickled the engine, water systems, pulled the batteries, and lubed any cables or ports and that doesn't include the trailer. Doubt anyone would be willing to pay me shop hour prices for that kind of winterization process but that's the only one I do.

As far as plugs and impellers go it's really going to depend on the hours you're putting on. I like Jeff haven't fogged an engine and years, same goes with changing plugs. The newer engines with fuel injection and Iridium plugs just don't need those frequent replacements. I'm on the 3 season unless something isn't looking right plan. After the third season I change in on principle but even then the ones coming out of my boat look like new.

[MN Ryan]

bturner I wish I could find someone like you to help me through it once--I'd feel a heckuva lot more comfortable tackling it myself.

[biacs]

bturner I wish I could find someone like you to help me through it once--I'd feel a heckuva lot more comfortable tackling it myself.

Ryan, are you talking about changing the plugs or just winterizing?

If you've never winterized buy a kit with a tank and a fake lake.

Run three or 4 gallons of pink antifreeze through it, after you've warmed it up on a hose to operating temperature.

Oil /filer change after that- pull the drain hose through the bilge and just let it drain out, it's a bit slow but that's the best way

Suck out the transmission drive oil with an extractor pump. Add a small copper ( fridge water line) piece to go down straight.

And drain the V Dive oil into an aluminum barbecue pan with the tiny drain plug on the back of it and fold/ crumple it up to pull it out of the bilge. Very slow to refill in the dipstick though.

And there is a silver fuel filter along the driver side of the engine that you should replace yearly as well. Held on with a band clamp.

I bypassed my heater so I don't worry about winterizing that and the antifreeze just runs through that waterline which I'm going to shorten this year.

So if you've never done your own winterizing there's a few extra steps but it's actually easier than mucking around with an I/o in some ways!

** also the impeller change is certainly not bad, but it's a bit of an art form in that tight space. And they also recommend to remove the prop at the end of the season :-)


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[bturner]

I hear you there. YouTube is great but it never seems to be the exact boat or car or engine they're working on and there's no one looking over your shoulder making sure you got everything. I have 2 guys in their 30s that I've been helping the last 3 or 4 years or so. We've been through this enough and have documented the process to the point that I mostly have a couple beers while watching them contort around their vDrives. They really don't need me anymore other than a safety net but let's just keep that to ourselves....