First De-Winterization

rmrstlmo

This will be my 4th season owning my 340.  I've always had the winterization and de-winterization performed by my marina.  It doesn't look like the de-winterization will be that difficult so I'm going to give it a shot. As long as the weather still looks good I'll be heading to the lake this Friday.  Wish me luck!

craigswardmtb

Piece of cake.  New anodes, flush your water system (I bleach beginning of season), hook batteries back up, make sure blue engine drain plugs are installed, drop in water and start boat.

craigswardmtb

There are other maintenance items that should be done as I'm sure you know (filters, impellers etc), but not necessary technically.

craigswardmtb

Curious, for you guys that put antifreeze in the raw water side of your engine, do you drain it before you start it up in the spring?  I don't think it matters but I always leave it in there.  One year I had overheating on initial startup but once I cranked the motor in gear and applied a couple bursts of throttle it got the impellers going and it started cooling properly.  I think they must have been airlocked.  I actually drained the antifreeze before starting that year.  It could have been a weird coincidence but now I always leave it in there before spring start up.

06Rinker270

I leave it in there.  2nd time doing this and she fires right up.  I just make sure everything is done properly in the fall before winter lay up and I have no issues come spring.

rasbury

oh, the troubles of the dewinterize process...hopefully this will help!  Done!

sixpacksummer

Rasbury, rather important if not the most important. Last week on Lake Cumberland, the lake Hamdog boats on, a new boat owner launched his 27ft cruiser for the first time. Toward evening the boat began to overheat so he made it to the bank and tied off due to impending darkness to return the next morning. Rope broke and the boat floated away from the bank and sank in 17ft of water. When they raised it, no plug. In his haste to get the boat in the water he forgot the plug.

Michael T

First rule of commissioning, check the transom plug, place in water and check all through hulls and hoses. Warm up engines and check for leaks. In commissioning there's slow and safe or fast and risky, pick one

rmrstlmo

My boat stays in the water year round.  I appreciate any tips with this type of de-winterization.  Should have put that in the original post.

One specific question I have:  will seawater intake for the A/C unit need to be primed?

Michael T

That will depend on how you "winterized" it. Up North we drain them and run antifreeze through them. Under those circumstances sometimes filling the strainer bowl with water in the Spring is all that is needed -  sometimes loosening and tightening the bowl a few times while the pump is running will help with the prime - sometimes a run down the river/lake is all thatn is needed to prime the AC, in other cases back-priming the system using the front discharge hole (not the drain pan hole - DON'T confuse those two!!!!!) using a hose will initiate prime.

In my case with a 360 and its long supply hoses when I lost prime due to winterizing with anti freeze I had to force feed the system water, sometimes even taking the supply lines off the AC unit. that's why I added a pressuring valve to it.

Remember to check for leaks when you open the drain **** valve for your AC and generator (if you have one).

craigswardmtb

My AC always seems to pump water without having to do a prime process.  Hoping I didn't jinx myself this year.

Hamdog

Three seacocks to open on my 342. Open the one for the generator and fire it up making sure you have water exiting the side. Open the one for the toilet and flush it making sure you have water. Open the one for the A/C, turn it on and pray for water to shoot out the side. If not, I have a wet vac that works great to get the prime started. Flush the fresh water system by turning on all valves including the swim platform shower. Fill it back up, add a little bleach and flush again. Turn on the refrigerators. Fire up the engines and let them come to temperature. Work the trim tabs all the way up and down. That's about it. Sit back and enjoy your beverage of choice!!

sixpacksummer

Depending on the mood, the beverage of choice may be first on that list.

jme097

Hahaha. Agree 6 pack!

Michael T

I'm ocd so I changed them often (too often) on older engines but the fogging oil probably have burned-off after the first decent run, anyway.

On newer engines the plugs have a variety of exotic multi-year coatings and it's a waste of money even for an ocd guy like me to replace them every year.

If in doubt we have a great spark plug chart on this forum that matches plug tip colors and deposits to spark plug and engine health or you can google it.....basically after a normal cruise your spark plug tips should be a light gray with few if any deposits.

BTW most marinas where I boat won't properly fog an engine any more for EPA reasons which IMO is a shame as "real" fogging was great for older engines.....AND there is literature that suggests "old style" fogging of engines with catalytic converters can damage the cats $$$$$$....so I respectfully suggest that you be careful!