Would it be ok to simply put a small electric heater in the engine compartment, keeping it about 50 degrees? I usually winterize my boat, but would like to availability to use it on a nice day. Anything else I should consider? Fuel stabilizer? Already have an onboard charging system.

Do you have an I/O? or outboard?
c.j.

BradShaw, put some Stabil in the gas tank then run the motor long enough to get the treated gas up into the motor. It will prevent the gas from varnishing in the fuel system while the boat's not being used. It's good stuff.

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say guys, do yall think i should do the same thing(as in stabilzer). my boat is only going to be put up for two months before it goes back out in janurary.bye the way mine is an outboard. thanks

[This message has been edited by larrywoodson (edited 11-11-2003).]

Most guys I know never winterize their outboards in Texas. I try to be sure to get my boat out at least once a month to run, regardless of the weather, but I still use "Stabil" in the gas if it's going to sit for even 1 month. If your not familiar with it, Stabil is the product name. You can get it at Walmart, and probably at auto parts stores.

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Inboard, this boat happens to be a crownline run about.

Don't be messing around and taking chances with an inboard motor. I tried to stretch my old boat out because I still wanted to use it and I got surprised by an early freeze. I was in Florida at the time and there was nothing I could do. I ended up with a cracked block. (I/O with a 4 cylinder Chevy motor.) Luckily the crack was only on the exterior of the block and I was able to JB Weld it. (I got rid of it 6 months later.) If the block cracks on the interior you are done until you replace the block.

I don't know exactly what setup you have but somewhere there should be some drain plugs to get the water out of the block. There will probably be freeze plugs also but those won't get all of the water out, it has to be the drain plugs. I know on my old boat the drain plugs, one in front and one in back, were fairly easy to get to. Just drain the water then put the plugs back in. You are still ready to go back on the water at that point. (You will get some rust and corrosion in the water canals doing this. You do not want it set too long this way. I'd say 2-3 weeks tops. Any longer then that I would winterize it.)

If you KNOW it is going to freeze go ahead and put the anti-freeze in it. That is basically the only way to protect the water pump. (The drain plugs will NOT drain the water pump.) If you use the new environmentally friendly anti-freeze you can still get the boat out at short notice without flushing.

The post above about the Sta-Bil gas additive is right on the mark, also. I use it during the cold months in my boat, truck, push mower, lawn tractor and Honda generator. It hasn't failed me yet. (I have heard it does not work well with oil-gas pre-mix. I do not have anything that uses pre-mix so I really don't know.)

With OUTBOARDS... You don't have to "winterize" if you fish all year.
Just make sure you have the lower unit lube changed out and inspected for water before the first freeze and when the boat is being stored, lower your engine down so the water will drain out of the hub.

As for your heater...be carfull there are lots of gas fumes back there and you could set something on fire if you use the wrong type of heater. If you have to have a heater, I would recommend this: Go to Home Depo or Lowes and get you some of the heat tape that you can put on your copper plumbing for a pier and beam type home. You can run that stuff on any metal to keep it warm...just plug it in and your in business. You can wrap your lower unit with it if you like, install it on the inside of a compartment, whatever you want.

Also, since you say you have an inboard, you could get a heated blanket and lay it over your engine...set it on low and you should be in business.

F_H

[This message has been edited by foul_hook (edited 11-12-2003).]

BradShaw, I'd do what foul_hook and ksutton suggested. I would not use a heater inside the engine compartment. If you keep your boat in the garage or storage unit you might set a heater on the floor at or near the back of the boat. When I had an I/O I drained it every winter and it sat up until spring. One winter I forgot to open two of the drains on the bottom of the engine and even tho it was in the garage with a small heater on, I still wound up with a cracked exhaust manifold after a hard freeze. It was going to cost so much to fix it I just sold it "as is" for considerably less than what it was worth to someone who wanted to rebuild the engine himself. Then I bought an outboard--no problems now. Sometimes I use fuel stabilizer and sometimes I just keep the gas tanks full.
c.j.

test

All you have to do is make sure no water is in the motor. I put mine down to let it drain when I come in, then check and make sure no water is in the livewells and bait wells and all of the boxes. That is it, but of course, I don't keep mine up for long. I fish all year long, but if it freezes you need to make sure water is out of it. I have done this since the early '80's with no problems. Hope I don't need to knock on wood.

I run Stabil in my outboard Merc. about every other tank to keep things clean. It's a '93 motor.

Is this going to hurt the motor?



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Keep it wet
hasbeen

According to the information I know about it it is for older engines to keep them in good shape. An engine additive so I wouldn't think it would hurt it. Might check with Mercury Motors for sure.

There seems to be a misunderstanding here as to what this product does, it's not for old engines, it for the gas, regardless of the age of your rig. Check out this link for a full description of Sta-Bil and what it does http://www.letsmow.com/sta-bil.html


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Bradshaw - you have to drain the block, manifolds, and be sure the lower unit is free of water too. Your owners manual should have a good desription of how to drain everything. Basically you pull the hoses off the manifolds and open the drains on the block. Then lower the outdrive to empty the hub. Change the lower unit oil to be sure no water has leaked in. Then crank it a few times with the dead-man switch activated (so it won't start) to relieve any water in the lower unit and engine water pumps. My OMC manual also says to use an air hose to blow water from the vent/water relief holes in the lower unit. Also, many of the newer I/O's have a single drain **** for the block and manifolds, it makes life easy, so you need to check your manual. AS for a heater, you can use a couple of light bulbs on a thermostatic switch, or any of the solutions mentioned above.