Winterize in TX

D

dfish

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Mar 19, 2006
RO Number
20554
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This will be the first year we have our '95 Four Winns I/O in a wet slip through the winter (it was always on a trailer before). In Dallas you can get both warm & freezing weather Nov-March so we've always had the boat winterized and didn't use it Nov-March. With it in the wet slip I could see wanting to use it on warmer days but can't if it's been winterized. I had a friend suggest wrapping the engine in an electric blanket to keep it from freezing during cold weather, this sounds good because we'd be able to use it but I wonder if that would provide adequate heat to protect the engine or cause some other problem. Lakes in Dallas don't freeze during the winter so I'm not concerned about the outdrive. Has anyone done this or have any other good ideas? Please share.
 
Put a 150-200 watt light in the bilge. I use a drop light and hang it somewhere it won't get next to something flammable.
 
If the water will not freeze, your engine will be safe.....unless you keep it on a lift. It will be protected by the temperature of the water if it sits in it. Having access to your boat year round is really great!!!
 
Flutterby- i thought like you, until I had an engine freeze & bust the block. Don't take the chance, put some kind of heat in the bilge. It don't take much.

dfish-
If the $300 bucks for a heater sounds cheap, go for it. I'd go to Wally World, buya ceramic heater fo $20 bucks, spend the rest for beer.
 
Welcome to Texas where you can boat year round.
Buy ceramic snowflake heaters with a "freeze" setting put one in the bilge with a couple of flood lights on each side of the motor.
Run extension cords for two circuits to make sure you don't pot a circuit breaker.
Put the other heater in the head.
Shut off your water pump and open valves on sinks. Plug sink drains with a sponge. Tape any outside vents.
Your done.
We go out in January by just removing the tape, unplugging the extension cords, takes five minutes.
Enjoy
Abouttime
 
About Time - Thanks for mentioning the vents. We have an open bow so no sinks or heads but I hadn't thought about the engine vents in the back. So no one thinks the electric blanket is a good idea? Sounds safer than lightbulbs and cheaper than a bilge heater.
 
We're in the DFW area, the cruiser has a bilge heater that comes on at 45°F and it HEATS very nicely. We also have reverse-cycle A/C (ie - heat), so we keep that on as well. Truly year-round boating without the hassle. When I had a Malibu (inboard V-drive), it was kept in a slip on the lift...winterizing was easy as pulling 2 plugs and a few hoses...let 'em drain and then put everything back (10 minutes or so at most)...that's piece of mind...the boat is winterized and ready to go at a moment's notice. Talk to Bruce (service mgr) at Phil Dill, tell him your situation and ask what needs to be done (regarding plugs/hoses).
 
quote:
Originally posted by Harlan

Flutterby- i thought like you, until I had an engine freeze & bust the block. Don't take the chance, put some kind of heat in the bilge. It don't take much.
Click to expand...


I put a Golden Rod in there every winter to keep everything nice and dry. Back in 1990 we had a bad freeze on the island. Almost everyone's water pipes froze, etc. 1500 cracked blocks, but none of them were in the water. They were all in dry storage without being winterized!

Also I never shut off the water pump and open the sink valves and I've never had a problem there either. However, I do all that for my RV which spends the winter in the mountains behind my house [^]
 
Sorry, didn't know your type of boat.
In that case I would mount ceramic base sockets on a two x four and put outside flood lights in the sockets
Set entire assembly close to the manifols.
Easy to remove anytime you go out in winter and take out entirely in the spring.
 
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