that time of yr again!!...winterizing... - Maxum Boat Owners Club

seapuppy · 10-08-2010, 03:40 PM

well...the temps are starting to drop out here...so..winterizing is going to be required very soon...last weekend I drained all the tanks....cleared the water in the line to the water pump by pulling the filter off....let water drain out and replacing..let the hot water heater drain out too....
started the generator and poured antifreeze into the strainer for pickup...poured antifreeze into the head....pulled out the heaters...and have them on to about 65 degs...
in mpi engines, I used the bicycle pumps to blow the raw water systems down...then pumped out the bilges to keep the bilge dry...

I still have a few smaller things to do..like oil changes, filters....zinc replacements...

so...let's here what you guys do for winterizing..

SP

rgreenwell8962 · 10-09-2010, 04:58 AM

I thought you were going to Poulsbo? WOnt you have to do this all over again?

seapuppy · 10-09-2010, 03:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rgreenwell8962

I thought you were going to Poulsbo? WOnt you have to do this all over again?

yep..I won't use the genny...the water tank and hot water heater will have to be drained again....san tank pumped out...no biggy as we do the pump out after every trip.....

we'll do it after every trip until it's too cold to go out..

SP

rgreenwell8962 · 10-09-2010, 08:16 PM

I guess that is one upside of leaving our boat in the water year round, we dont have to worry about that. I have an extreme heater in the engine bay, and run one of those round heaters 24/7 that keeps moisture down in the cabin. Other than that, I drain the fresh water tank, and run the pink through the lines, oh, and drain the hot water heater. I still go over and check on it during freezing cold wx, but the extreme heater has never kicked on. It kinda worries me that i have never seen it on, even when the air temp outside is below 35. It should kick on at 45 or so but it never has. I sprayed the sensor with a burst of cold air from a compressed canister and that turns it on so I guess it is working. Is there really that much insulation provided by the water?????? I would think the air in the bilge would be cold enough to kick it on. I may put one of those round heaters on top of the engine as a back up.

seapuppy · 10-09-2010, 11:29 PM

I put one of those round heaters in the engine bay......we're dry stored on blocks so the air in the engine bay can really get cold...

so..we drain everything down...no need to use the pink stuff when there isn't any water avail to freeze....

SP

rgreenwell8962 · 10-10-2010, 04:29 AM

So, do you recommend keeping my space heater turned on all the time on low, instead of having it on the setting that only kicks on when it gets super cold? My fear would be that the heater would overheat or something. THoughts boss?

dronthelake · 10-10-2010, 04:48 AM

Guys I hate hearing that your boating season is coming to an end. He in NC we boat year round. I'll plug in the bilge heater if it gets cold enough but besides that the only thing we do is plug in a ceramic heater so we don't have to run the Marine Air units so much.

shrew · 10-15-2010, 12:27 PM

Don't forget to open seacocks, pour a little AF into deck drains, runs some AF through bilge pumps. I have the bicycle pump system to purge raw water side of the engine on my 496 as well, however I still pull all of the engine drain plugs just to be safe.

seapuppy · 10-15-2010, 02:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rgreenwell8962

So, do you recommend keeping my space heater turned on all the time on low, instead of having it on the setting that only kicks on when it gets super cold? My fear would be that the heater would overheat or something. THoughts boss?

Rich..yes...I recommend you run the heater on low and set to about 50 degs...I have those 2 big metal heaters on..one in the front..one in the midcabin..I've done that even when I had your size boat....for you ..you only need one....I have used those ceramic heaters before but they tend to wear out faster...the huge metal ones that I lent to you seem to last forever...and they are cheap......well protected and you can get one from wally world for like 20 bucks.......set it to the 1300 watt setting...then about 1/4 on the thermostat...that will keep the salon nice and dry...put it on the floor....it has a tip over switch so if it does get rocked and falls on it's face..it will turn off.....

SP

rgreenwell8962 · 10-15-2010, 05:34 PM

Thanks Steve! Have fun this weekend!