Winterized...Now What?

[tfjrc2]

All:<br />Have had my 7.4 B 1 winterized and in storage in Lake County IL, chain-of-lakes region.<br />Am in process of negotiating a job offer in Lake County FL, chain-of-lakes region. (who knew there were 2?) <br />Appreciate your thoughts on de-winterizing, where, when, etc. My initial thought would be that since they do not winterize in FL, finding a marina/mechanic skilled at this would be futile. But having it done in IL may put the boat at risk short term.<br />I'd try it myself, but my mechanical skills are pretty much limited to basic auto care. I do the air, oil, gas filters, plugs and oil changes. Could I summerize it?<br />Also, the closest lakes in question, in order of mileage away from potential office are: Griffin, Harris, Eustis, Dora, and Apopka.<br />What is the local boating word on those? Time and money can fix human housing, but a single family has very little chance of changing a lake! Therefore, the water is more important than the housing! Waterfront would be great, if I can swing it, a canal, or water access would be a necessity. What's the word on those lakes?<br />I hope to hear they are all great, but suspect there may be a shallow, weed & gator infected one in there somewhere. (no insult intended to those living there. I simply do not know, and am asking respectively for information and the opinions of those already local to the area)<br />It would be a big move for the wife, three kids, two dogs, fish and gerbals, but to think of no more winter...... <br />Appreciate all your thoughts!<br />Happy Holidays!<br />Jim

 

[Doug Durako]

Re: Winterized...Now What?

Ask your marina what they used for anti-freeze. If it is the non-toxic stuff, you can haul it to Florida, start it on the muffs and run it out on the ground.<br /><br />No opinion on Florida lakes, except they have all got to be better than where we are right now!!

 

[Doug Durako]

Re: Winterized...Now What?

PS---check and/or repack your trailer wheel bearings if you are hauling your boat 1200 miles!

 

[Don S]

Re: Winterized...Now What?

De-Winterizing is nothing more than a tuneup and running the engine and checking all the systems. I think any marine mechanic should be able to do that.

 

[tfjrc2]

Re: Winterized...Now What?

ddboater & Don S:<br />Thanx for the heads-up on the trailer & tune-up comment(s).<br />You were right on with the 1200 miles also. I had run a Mapquest and got 1202.3 actual!

 

[John_S]

Re: Winterized...Now What?

I have visited that area (MT. Dora), but didn't get out on any of those lakes. From what I saw, from the highway, they look like "typical" Florida bass lakes you see on the tube. I saw many bass boats and trailers at the ramps. Yes, there are gators in those lakes, and probably many other critters that get us northerners nervous I am sure it is just a conditioning thing

 

[MH9371B]

Re: Winterized...Now What?

Yep, I grew up in that area, watch out for the gators! Don't let your dog or small child near the water! Check out the Eustis area for good boating. Good luck!

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: Winterized...Now What?

Jimbo, are you on TBM page? If so, there is someone there who has been boating on all those lakes you mentioned. If you can post your question there, mrbill should be a huge source of knowledge. <br /><br />I will tell you what I know. <br />First, house on those lakes will be PRICEY. At least in comparison to what you are getting. Being from Chi-town, it won't be too bad for you. Property taxes should be miniscule compared to what you pay now. Go to realtor.com and search, you'll see. (oh, no state income tax! but groceries are very expensive, seriously!)<br />Second, those lakes are very boatable. Plenty of water depth( 8 feet deep on average I think), nowadays, very much water. They can go down quite a bit, though, if they have a drought.<br />Third, if it's freshwater in FL, there are gators. Sorry, fact of life. Didn't stop me from boatinG/swimming/waterskiing, though.<br />Fourth, I went from the public ramp on Little Lake Harris, all the way to Silver Springs on the boat in the fall of 1997. It was one of the coolest boat trips I have ever been on. Big lakes, a winding-fun "river", two locks, a "river" through a forest, rhesus monkeys all around, and then the Silver River, which is a spring feed, constant 70 degree, fast moving narrow river, with a white sand bottom. <br />If you can make "Chicago" type money and live in FL, you will be in the top 10% of wage earners. And from where you are looking, you have access to the best boating in the country, in my opinion.<br /><br />By the way, there is also a the Chain of Lakes in Winter Haven, FL too, just an hour & a half south of the "Harris Chain". And a boat club operates out of Winter Haven, they trailer boat all over Central FL, coast to coast.

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: Winterized...Now What?

Oh, as far as winterizing, definately wait til you get there to "de-winterize" it. The marina's will know how to do it. It's not hard, and they have good manuals to show them, even if they don't know how.

 

[tfjrc2]

Re: Winterized...Now What?

TilliamWe:<br />I'll go and check out Trailer Boats Magazine's board. I think that is what your TBM means....<br />We mostly do the tubing, skiing, wake board stuff, so the fishing, though nice, is not the main attraction.<br />Foxy is sitting here and wants to know how you felt confortable getting in the water with the gators around? Kids also?<br />My thought is that FL boaters must be armed!! What is the best, as I only have a 12 gauge or a 357 to take boating....(slugs, fleshettes, or hollow point?)<br />Seriously though, and to adress the better half's concerns, does one just get to the middle of the lake to throw the kids and ropes out? Do the gators stay in the weeds near the shore?<br />I'm not very concerned about the dogs, because they are whippets, i.e. racing hounds, but do the gators come up on the lawn?<br />I have been on realtor.com and found what looks "doable" on Lake Griffin. A little smaller, but about $50K less than my appraisal.<br />I do not think I'll get much peace until I find out more about gators! My only real experience is on a golf course. Pretty much if you hit a ball by them, drop another and get on with it. Simply put, just don't go near them. Howerver, I do have to say that the gators did not seem real interested in strolling over to see us either!<br />Much Thanx

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: Winterized...Now What?

First let me say, gators are protected, so you can't kill them. <br /><br />

I'll go and check out Trailer Boats Magazine's board. I think that is what your TBM means....

Yes. Look up "mrbill". Send him an e-mail if he has it set up that you can. He is in his 60's, so he's not real computer savvy, and he doesn't visit that site every day, but I do, and if you post a question to him, I will call him and tell him to log on & reply. (mrbill happens to be my father )<br /><br /><br />

Foxy is sitting here and wants to know how you felt confortable getting in the water with the gators around? Kids also?

I guess I am too dumb to be afraid! And my father could barely swim before he moved to FL 10 years ago, and now he gets in all the time, and he's not worried about gators either.<br /><br />But really, do some research on them, they are cold blooded reptiles. Too cold, they are sluggish. Too hot, they are sluggish. And that is the KEY . Make no mistake about this, it gets HOT in FL. Yeah, yeah, it's hot here in IL too in the summer. But for how long? A month? In FL, the HOT days start in March, and don't stop until December. Then it is usually just warm. So, gators aren't out swimming around during the day when it's 95 degrees with 95% humidity (it rains everyday in the "summer" at 2-3pm... for about 20 mins), and the water temp is 80 degrees. They do exactly what you think, they stay in the weeds and near the bank, and sleep & sun themselves.<br />The only gator I ever saw out swimming in a lake during the hot daytime did just happen to be on Little Lake Harris, about 100 yards from the ramp, but hey we were in the boat and a lot faster than him!.<br />Now, that being said, I personally would not get in the water anywhere near dusk, and absolutely not at night.<br />Wild gators do not attack people. And I believe it is also illegal to feed them, so they are wild. They will come into yards, yes. The real problem with that is they re-trace the same route to go breed every year (spring, I think). If your house is on their path, they'll walk right into the side wall of it, before they think to go around it. And they can rip up a screened in pool cage in a hurry!<br />They will eat dogs. So, keep the doggies away from the water's edge (especially at night), cause gators are great ambush predators.<br /> <br />I say all this, and it sounds scary, but I can say that I never even thought about the gators when I went swimming and skiing & stuff. I just jumped in the water and went. If you have a good job, find a house that you like, I am telling you, you will love central FL.<br />And if the "local" lake get boring for you, join a club, and go on weekend cruises. Check out winterhavennauticalclub.com

 

[djvan]

Re: Winterized...Now What?

Maybe you could contact the marina that did it and see if they did anything out of the ordinary. They maybe could advise you if you could just fire it up yourself or if they have left things disconnected or undone until you brought it back for summerizing. I don't know a whole lot about this stuff, just some ideas I had.<br /><br />DougV>

 

[lakelivin]

Re: Winterized...Now What?

Originally posted by Don S:<br /> De-Winterizing is nothing more than a tuneup and running the engine and checking all the systems. I think any marine mechanic should be able to do that.

You may want to double check what your local mechanic did to winterize before you dewinterize. No sense paying for another oil change or drive fluid change if your mechanic just did it a month ago....

 

[tfjrc2]

Re: Winterized...Now What?

TilliamWe & Others:<br />Thanx for pointing out about the oil and fluids. Just another thing to remember. The boat finally cracked the 100 hour barrier, and that is when the manual says to start replacing belts, hoses, etc. Plus it is 7-8 years old, so I'm thinking it would be a good idea anyway to replace anything flexible, and really fine-tooth comb every componant. <br />As far as the lakes go, there is no real need to bother your father. I think I have what I need already, and should this work out, I'll be there 3 months ahead of the family. Plenty of time on the week-ends to check out the lakes, marinas, and housing.<br />Much thanx iboats forum!<br />You are the best! Happy Holidays!<br />Jim

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: Winterized...Now What?

Jimbo, yeah 3 months will be plenty of time to get to know the area.<br />If you are around Mt. Dora in early April, they have the Catfish Festival. I have never been to it, but it's supposed to be a nice little party.<br /><br />Best of luck. Merry Christmas.

 

[MrBill]

Re: Winterized...Now What?

Hey MrBill here...and I'm not Jimbo or Foxy's dad, but I can tell you about lakes in FL. My brother just a picture of a gator with a 90 lb deer in its mouth...caught it at lake's edge and this gator was huge. My friends and father in FL boat in salt water...they'd rather take their chances with sharks than tangle with gators because they like being in the water a lot for sport. Good luck with the move...Merry Christmas

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: Winterized...Now What?

MrBill, I see there are two of you out there... or is that three? Counting the Playdo guy from SNL! <br />As I stated above, gators like dogs. A 90lb deer is dog sized.<br />MrBill, sorry to hear your dad & friends only saltwater boat in FL. They are missing out on a lot of neat places in the interior of FL. <br />Oh well, to each his own.

 

[paulrfrancisco]

Re: Winterized...Now What?

I dont know about your particular setup, but my 7.4 MC FWC w/ Bravo 1 has a Through Hull water pickup with a belt driven raw water pickup pump. The manual says to disconnect one end of the hose and drain it, so you may want to double check ALL of your hose connections... If this is your setup, then you cannot use the muffs on the drive leg, you'll need to connect your hose to the hull fitting somehow...