pulling the boat saturday. what to do?

[boatman37]

so we just finished our first boating season and will be pulling the boat saturday morning. its a 1986 sea ray sundancer 250 with a merc 260 (5.7) thunderbolt. i had the engine oil changed, new bellows, impeller and water intake house replaced before i put it in the water and might have about 7 hours on it since. i can see the bottom needs cleaned (no bottom paint yet). also, it is supposed to get down to about 33* saturday night and 29* sunday night. i was planning to have it professionally winterized but can't get it there until late next week. what should i do to be safe? i have the factory manuals that came with it. just follow those? anything extra or special? also, i have heard that pressure washing the hull while its still 'wet' will pretty much remove all the buildup? can i make it about 20 miles to home (about 45 minutes) before pressure washing or will it dry before that?

if i am able to be comfortable with my winterizing job then i may just do it myself. the PO did it himself (he was the original owner). i also though about storing it in underground storage close by. it is not climate controlled but maintains about 55* temps all year but have heard it has pretty high humidity

 

[Maclin]

For this weekend just drain the block and the exhaust manifolds, lower the drive all the way one more time to make sure all the water is drained from there. Be sure to stick a coat hanger sized wire into the drain holes and move around to get sediment out of the way for a good drain. Lots of water should come rushing out of the block.

 

[Maclin]

To be more clear, Block has drain plug down low towards the middle, one on each side.

 

[Starcraft5834]

What Maclin said.................. "professionally winterized" means you have given someone else your money to do exactly was Maclin said to do, draining the block and manifold will take few minutes.. change the drive gear oil yourself too... that's about $10. that's essentially it......as for gas treatment...dump some stable in too. your mostly done.. if its inside, its inside.. cover it outside, your good

 

[boatman37]

thanks guys. i read through the manuals. think i will be ok. i know my way around a toolbox and engines, but this is a new game here for me

 

[keith2k455]

You will be fine. Last year I paid to have mine done, questioned that it was and did it myself again. I don't know how people pay to have someone else winterize their boats, it's that easy.

 

[Lou C]

It's easy if you have access to the drain plugs and they come out. Keep in mind that some engines have p/s coolers engine oil coolers and fuel module coolers that have to be drained. Bravo and Volvo engines also have engine mounted raw water impellers whose housings need to be drained.

 

[boatman37]

Mine is a merc with alpha one

 

[GasCan II]

boatman37;
I agree with what has been said so far. As for cleaning the bottom, don't worry about the short drive before cleaning it,just wet her down good a let sit for 15 min. than hit it with the power washer . It will clean up good. I drag mine 100 miles before power washing and this works good for me.

 

[boatman37]

well got it home and pulled the 2 lower block drain plugs, the 2 manifold plugs, the lower t-stat hose that goes into the starboard side manifold, the same one for the port side of the block, and the p/s cooler hose along the port side. those were all that the manual showed. i didn't do anything with the outdrive yet. i also pulled the outlet hose off my fresh water tank to drain it.

that should get me through tonight? i haven't poked the drain holes yet. forgot that. will get that tomorrow. news is saying low of 32* tonight. i also plan to blow air through my fresh water lines to clear them out.

as for the hull, i pressure washed it and it only got about half of it. my wife grabbed some cleaning stuff and sprayed it on and let it set about 10 minutes then pressure washed again and it came right off.

there were little clam or snail looking things all around the outdrive and tabs. stubborn things. had to put the pressure washed about 1" away from them to blow them off. any better way to get them off? i don't want to spray around the outdrive too close like that

 

[Lou C]

When you pulled the plugs did water come out of each one? If not poke em as soon as you can...

 

[boatman37]

my son actually pulled them. not sure i could fit...lol. i will be working on it again tomorrow though. i left all the plugs out for now and hoses disconnected. i just talked to the PO and told him what all i did and he said thats all he ever did when he winterized it. just want to be sure. i know water poured out of each hose he pulled. i was helping my wife scrub the hull too so i didn't see him pull all the plugs. i do have to get the bilge emptied. my driveway is uphill so i have the front of the trailer jacked up pretty high but it still isn't all draining. gonna have to raise it more tomorrow.

how about the outdrive. anything there? i have it in trailer mode now, raised all the way. i will store it in the down position but i still may take it to underground storage or shrink wrap. i am going to try to stop this week and get the pump and new outdrive oil and drain and refill it. its supposed to warm back up a little after tomorrow so i have next weekend to finish whatever i don't get done tomorrow
if i have to take it to get it shrink wrapped then i need the outdrive up. but can't put it back down after its wrapped...lol.

 

[JoLin]

if i have to take it to get it shrink wrapped then i need the outdrive up. but can't put it back down after its wrapped...lol.

Check with your shrinkwrap guy on that. I've had 3 boats shrinkwrapped and nobody ever wrapped the outdrive. I could always raise, lower, remove and install them while the boat was wrapped.

 

[boatman37]

how can you lower it if you can't get to the switches on the dash?. he wouldn't wrap the drive. just can't access any power after that

 

[JimS123]

A friend of mine had his boat winterized and then shrinkwrapped by the another guy. The OD was never lowered, but it WAS also wrapped. Come Spring thaw the lower unit was spewing oil because it was not drained. No one would assume liability.