Winter is aproaching me fast and we will be getting the boat hauled in a few weeks. With this being my first inboard how tough is it to winterize it for winter? I understand how to do the fresh water part just empty the fresh water tank and pour in a few gallons or so of antifreze and run the faucits till I get the ant-freeze out the faucits and what about the water heater what's the best thing to do with it? But what about the motor?? Am I able to dump ant-freeze into where the screen is and run the motor till I get antifreeze out the exhaust?? Is ther another way other than having the yard do it????
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Winterizing.
You can do the engine yourself, either right before haulout or on the hard. I usually do it while they are getting the straps around the hull, just takes a minute. I have a short piece of hose with a plastic connector. I disconnect the engine cooling hose from the thru-hull and clamp on this connector. Now I have enough hose to go down into a 2.5 gallon bucket full of pink anti-freeze. I start the engine and when the bucket is empty I shut her off. This is enough to be sure there is no water in the hoses, strainer, heat exchanger, and muffler. Write if you would like an Excel spreadsheet, my winterizing checklist. Ed s/v Ladylove h37skipper@aol.com
You can do the engine yourself, either right before haulout or on the hard. I usually do it while they are getting the straps around the hull, just takes a minute. I have a short piece of hose with a plastic connector. I disconnect the engine cooling hose from the thru-hull and clamp on this connector. Now I have enough hose to go down into a 2.5 gallon bucket full of pink anti-freeze. I start the engine and when the bucket is empty I shut her off. This is enough to be sure there is no water in the hoses, strainer, heat exchanger, and muffler. Write if you would like an Excel spreadsheet, my winterizing checklist. Ed s/v Ladylove h37skipper@aol.com
It's really quite easy
Great boat, isn't it? I've had mine for 7 years..single-hand her a lot. Anyway, thisw is my 2-step process for putting her away for the winter. 1: While still in the water: a. Empty the water tank and Hot water tank. The HW tank is a manual process. There should be a valve/faucet on the tank. I use a milk bottle to empty mine..takes 2 minutes to empty the 5 gal tank. b. WHen the HW tank is empty, I remove the hot and cold water lines from the HW tank anbd join them. Then and only then do I add 1-2 gals of antifreeze to my main tank and open the faucets, hot and cold, head and galley, until I've run out all of the pink stuff. c. Run the engine 10-15 minutes to warm the oil. I run a handpump into the dipstick to suck out all the old oil. d. Change the oil filter and clean the air filter. e. Add 2 qts 3 ozs of SAE 30 CF oil. f. Check/replace transmission oil. Use the same SAE 30 wt. g. I've already emptied/fluched the holding tank so I add 1 gallon of RV antifreeze(pink stuff) and pump it through the system. h. I also put Stabil and Biocide in my topped-off fuel tank. Once I'm on the cradle: a. Mix a 50/50 solution of antifreeze in a bucket. b. Remove the intake hose from the thru-hull under the aft berth and reconnect to a hose that will sit in the bucket. c. Start the engine, make sure the pump is pulling antifreeze, and hang out over the stern to watch for signs that the antifreeze is being expelled. d. Turn the engine off. e. Loosen the 2 drive belts on the engine. f. Change the 2 fuel filters (separator under the aft berth and the filter on the engine). g. Remove the batteries, cover the forward hatch and deckhouse with tarps tied down well (I even run some lines over the top x-style to eliminate lifting in the wind). h. I run my lines up/in the mast with sacrificial 1/4" line to protect my halyards. i. I wrap plastic bags around the furler mechanisms, gooseneck, winches and compass. Done for the year! Hope this helps.
Great boat, isn't it? I've had mine for 7 years..single-hand her a lot. Anyway, thisw is my 2-step process for putting her away for the winter. 1: While still in the water: a. Empty the water tank and Hot water tank. The HW tank is a manual process. There should be a valve/faucet on the tank. I use a milk bottle to empty mine..takes 2 minutes to empty the 5 gal tank. b. WHen the HW tank is empty, I remove the hot and cold water lines from the HW tank anbd join them. Then and only then do I add 1-2 gals of antifreeze to my main tank and open the faucets, hot and cold, head and galley, until I've run out all of the pink stuff. c. Run the engine 10-15 minutes to warm the oil. I run a handpump into the dipstick to suck out all the old oil. d. Change the oil filter and clean the air filter. e. Add 2 qts 3 ozs of SAE 30 CF oil. f. Check/replace transmission oil. Use the same SAE 30 wt. g. I've already emptied/fluched the holding tank so I add 1 gallon of RV antifreeze(pink stuff) and pump it through the system. h. I also put Stabil and Biocide in my topped-off fuel tank. Once I'm on the cradle: a. Mix a 50/50 solution of antifreeze in a bucket. b. Remove the intake hose from the thru-hull under the aft berth and reconnect to a hose that will sit in the bucket. c. Start the engine, make sure the pump is pulling antifreeze, and hang out over the stern to watch for signs that the antifreeze is being expelled. d. Turn the engine off. e. Loosen the 2 drive belts on the engine. f. Change the 2 fuel filters (separator under the aft berth and the filter on the engine). g. Remove the batteries, cover the forward hatch and deckhouse with tarps tied down well (I even run some lines over the top x-style to eliminate lifting in the wind). h. I run my lines up/in the mast with sacrificial 1/4" line to protect my halyards. i. I wrap plastic bags around the furler mechanisms, gooseneck, winches and compass. Done for the year! Hope this helps.
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