Winterizing a 1973 Mercruiser Inline 6- STAYS IN THE SLIP

[theck4291]

I have found NUMEROUS tips and information on how to wintertize our boat while it is out of the water, but since the water doesn't freeze around here, we are keeping it in the water, and I am wondering how I go about winterizing? Any advice for a first time boat owner is greatly appreciated!

 

[Bt Doctur]

Being in Arizona, you don't have to winterize

 

[Scott Danforth]

You do need to perform annual maintenance such as gear oil change, engine oil change and u-joint inspections. However no need to winterize as BtDoctor indicated

 

[theck4291]

I am not in Arizona, I am in Tennessee, and it gets below zero for a week stretch or more usually during the winter, and regularly below freezing... Like tomorrow night it is supposed to be 28 degrees.

Also I JUST replaced the gear oil and did an oil change in October, with maybe only 1 or 2 hours of use since the oil changes

 

[Bt Doctur]

Thought that ip address was wrong. . To keep the motor and manifold safe you will need to pull the plugs and drain it if there is a threat of a freeze. remove the plugs and probe the holes to make sure it does drain.
It is a lot safer to be on the hard when the water does get hard.
Depending......................... the raw water hose can burst from a prolonged freeze and there really is no way to drain it while in the water

 

[Ike-110722]

It depends on whether you have raw water cooling or a heat exchanger. If you have raw water cooling then all you need to do is pull the boat and let the water drain from the system. I have the same engine with raw water and it rarely freezes where I live. I just fog the engine (engine fogging oil) put the boat on the trailer, tilt it up so the system drains, If you have a heat exchanger then you need to either drain the heat exchanger system or put an antifreeze in it.

 

[stonyloam]

If it is in the water and IF the water around the boat does not freeze, then everything under the water should be OK. Inside of the boat, treat it exactly as you would on land. Drain everything, and pump it as dry as you can with the bilge pump. If you have power to the slip it would be wise to add a automatic bilge pump (if you do not have one) and battery maintainer (battery power will be reduced in the cold ) if the boat will be left unattended for an extended time. It would probably be wise to trim the outdrive all the way down to reduce the strain on the bellows which could conceivably loosen or crack in the cold. If you have a few days of 0F weather I am betting the water around the boat WILL FREEZE. If you have power at the slip, you might consider installing a bubbler that you could turn on in extreme cold weather to prevent the water from freezing around the boat. Good luck!