This is why you winterize/wrap EARLY in Minnesota...

[Daren and Heather]

How long do you think it is safe to have my boat in 30-35 degree weather before I winterize it?

Took my boat out just a week ago down the Mississippi... 70 degree beautiful weather. Went to Phoenix last week for vacation, planned to winterize and shrink wrap my boat right after I got back. Came back to Minnesota the other day and we immediately got 6" of SNOW. As soon as it stopped I went to the storage lot to see THIS. Took me over 40 minutes just to remove all the snow from the cover, which was stretching from all the weight of the snow.

So... lesson learned. And now we have the next 7 days forecast with highs in the mid 30s, soooo not sure when I'm going to be able to winterize it now? Unless I try doing all that freezing in 35 degree weather? (I have no options for bringing it inside) Wondering if it's safe to wait another week till it gets back into the 50's....

 

[captras]

IMO as long as you blew the water out of your engines after your last outing, I think it will be OK. Plenty of time to fog engines, treat fuel, and set up your batteries for a long winter. Good luck.....Glad I live in Texas.....makes me cold just looking at your pics!

 

[Babin Farms]

I wouldn't think it would freeze hard enough to do any damage at those temps IMO

 

[Julian]

The only damage I'd be concerned about is the cover having stretched. Winterizing is really: blow out engines (even this step only removes SOME water from the round water "boxes"), clean out the boat, damp rid, fuel stabilizer, batteries on a tender, ballast and/or shower components fully drained - everything else is bonus peace of mind work.

 

[NeoBrew]

I'm in Minnesota too. I made sure to do that stuff last weekend. I have the luxury of heated storage, but wouldn't you want to put some antifreeze in the cooling system? I'd be worried about moisture in some bend or crevice working against the aluminum engine parts all winter.

I was so freaked out about it dipping below freezing I took the boat to storage last Friday night and then went got it in the morning to work on it.

 

[Canuckjetboater]

How long do you think it is safe to have my boat in 30-35 degree weather before I winterize it?

Took my boat out just a week ago down the Mississippi... 70 degree beautiful weather. Went to Phoenix last week for vacation, planned to winterize and shrink wrap my boat right after I got back. Came back to Minnesota the other day and we immediately got 6" of SNOW. As soon as it stopped I went to the storage lot to see THIS. Took me over 40 minutes just to remove all the snow from the cover, which was stretching from all the weight of the snow.

So... lesson learned. And now we have the next 7 days forecast with highs in the mid 30s, soooo not sure when I'm going to be able to winterize it now? Unless I try doing all that freezing in 35 degree weather? (I have no options for bringing it inside) Wondering if it's safe to wait another week till it gets back into the 50's....

@Daren and Heather ...... are you trying to get adopted by a bunch of Canadians? The picture - at least - qualifies you for an honorary Canadian Citizenship. Geez even I haven't seen "that which may not be mentioned by boaters" yet! That's brutal. Seriously though, if you haven't blown the water out of your engines and removed your drain plugs do that now and the rest as soon as you can.

 

[Stan M]

@Daren and Heather ...... are you trying to get adopted by a bunch of Canadians? The picture - at least - qualifies you for an honorary Canadian Citizenship. Geez even I haven't seen "that which may not be mentioned by boaters" yet! That's brutal. Seriously though, if you haven't blown the water out of your engines and removed your drain plugs do that now and the rest as soon as you can.

When you say blow the water out of the engines what exactly are you talking about? Forgive the naive question... I'll be winterizing soon for the 1st time.

 

[Julian]

When you say blow the water out of the engines what exactly are you talking about? Forgive the naive question... I'll be winterizing soon for the 1st time.

It's actually about blowing some of the water out of the water boxes. Just rev the engine(s) 3-4 times.

 

[Canuckjetboater]

When you say blow the water out of the engines what exactly are you talking about? Forgive the naive question... I'll be winterizing soon for the 1st time.

@Stan M .....as Julian stated most owners hit the throttle(s) a couple of times once on the trailer to blow residual water out of the water boxes and passages. Waaaay up north some guys also blow some compressed air through. If winterizing I run some antifreeze through for a minute or two. If you DIY you get a 5 gallon pail, put a couple of gallons of AF in it and using a pump connected to the water flush port at your transom you run some AF through. The Af may not come out the side "pissers" but it will come out the pump onto the ground. Just remember to start the engines first then pump the AF when shutting off shut off the AF pump first then the engine to avoid flooding the engine. I keep my boat in heated storage but the AF has lubricants and rust inhibitors in it. BTW I do the AF after I have run the engine on hose water to heat it to change the oil and oil filter.

 

[mwalker4]

When I "winterized" this year , I was reminded of why I own a jet boat. No lower unit oil to change and no engine muffs to hook up to try to get antifreeze in the engine. The spark plugs are easy to change and a nice flushing port. I do use antifreeze at the end, its probably not necessary but it is a habit that's cheap insurance.

 

[biffdotorg]

When you say blow the water out of the engines what exactly are you talking about? Forgive the naive question... I'll be winterizing soon for the 1st time.

Since the OP is from Minnesota, it's what is legally required if a LEO is standing at the landing. While asking you questions about plugs, ballast bags, bilge and potential livewell, they notice it's a jet engine and ask you to fire it up to blow out additional water. That literally is all there is to getting any water out that can cause damage.

On my last pull out a couple weeks ago, I pressed the hidden button on the side of my throttles and revved it to put a bit more juice behind it.

Anything else considered for "winterization" you can do at any temp. Fog (if you choose to do so), oil change, stabilize fuel etc. But for sure, pull those cleanout plugs and get that water out of there. It has plenty of room to expand, but why risk damage there.

Good luck!

(see my post in the "why I'm not boating" thread for the first snowmobile rip in MN this week!)

 

[zipper]

I usually do it on the ramp after hauling out while the engine/oil is still warm. But the lake steward lady was taking an interest in our boat, it was busy and I forgot and drove to the parking lot and covered her up. Been waiting for a warm day to start the engines and blow the water out, 70° today.



Warm day, MR-1 HO's, never revved above 4500 during the short run. I turned the blowers on first.

 

[NeoBrew]

Do you all change spark plugs every year? That seems like overkill. Is there something I don't know?

 

[biffdotorg]

Do you all change spark plugs every year? That seems like overkill. Is there something I don't know?

Mixed opinions but it’s a waste on four stroke engines. I changed mine last year as I didn’t have their prior history. It did gain some RPM. But not every season for sure.

 

[ZGhost]

I used to run antifreeze in my prev boat but stopped as most of it ends up on the ground. I know some people clamp some hoses to prevent that, just not sure which ones and didn’t want to risk any damage. I know A-freeze is a debatable subject here so not trying to start another one, just noting what I do. Now, I just been blowing engine dry on an incline over several days to remove any remaining lake water. Seafoam in the tank, go for a ride to mix it, run engine for a few seconds, place damp rid and mothballs bags throughout to fend off unwanted critters, plug the pissers to prevent bugs coming in, bring batteries inside and hookup to my Minn Kota all winter, cover the boat and store it indoors. Oh, and I leave the tower up, remove bimini cover, and cover the speakers with their covers to keep bugs from moving in.
i change plugs every couple years, we don’t put many hours every year (less than 20), and not because they burn out or go bad, just preventative to minimize risk of plugs seizing in and refusing to come out as we see sometimes posted here.

 

[Canuckjetboater]

Do you all change spark plugs every year? That seems like overkill. Is there something I don't know?

@NeoBrew ......every year or 100 hours without fail. Waaaay cheaper than a stuck plug or spun thread. Pay a little now or a lot later! BTW as great as Yamaha engines are, and IMO they are great, they do seem to"eat" plugs.

 

[Mzrecruitment88]

When you say blow the engine out. Does that mean run it dry on land for a minute? I just bought a scarab 165 and it’s shipping from Florida. It’s only got an hour on it from last weeks test drive. The shipper just let me know there’s a winter storm he just hit. It’s a low of 29 but I’m trying to think if there’s anything I can ask him to do. Should I be worried?

 

[haknslash]

BRP engines they advise to NOT run them long out of the water or off the hose. I believe the carbon seal or something gets too hot if ran long. a bit different than the Yamahas they are talking about so I would check the Scarab forum and ask for their advise or read the details on winterizing in your owners manual.