still freezing here

[lucky7]

hi all, from the great frozen north.
a have a new {to me} boat waiting for me to pick up at the dealer. this will be my first sterndrive. my question is is there more to draining out the water than poping open a few drain valves? should i wait till the danger of frost is past before i splash her? its a 5.o /305 220hp carb, fresh water cooled alpha, 2006.
thanks!

 

[cbavier]

Re: still freezing here

Lucky where you from?

 

[Haut Medoc]

Re: still freezing here

If it is closed cooling system, you should only need to drain the raw water side of the heat exchanger & the raw water supply hose from the power steering cooler.....​

 

[rndn]

Re: still freezing here

You state in your post it is a fresh water cooled setup, so yes you should wait unti the danger of frost is over. You could always drain everything and I always added some anti-freeze into the system, it's a lot of work and if I were you, I would wait. The cost of the damage is just too great to take chances.

 

[lucky7]

Re: still freezing here

thanks, guess i will have to be patient.....

 

[ziggy]

Re: still freezing here

i don't know where yer drain points are, but at the very least, the oem service manual would spell out exactly what ya need to drain to be hip. once yer sure you know what needs draining. i'm for useing it. just be sure to drain it after use in case it freezes..... i've used my boat 2 times now. possible freezes in the near forcast. i'm drained....so let it freeze.... sure was fun gettin out.......

 

[cbear34]

Re: still freezing here

lucky7
Where in the North are you? The lakes around here have finally thawed out. I had a mound of snow in my front yard that finally melted this past Saturday. I also am itching to get the boat out but with temps still dropping to the 30s at night I am going to wait. I did see a few boats out on Lake Elizabeth on Sunday.