[tclark]

I'm new to the boating world in Idaho where you have to winterize your water toys. I'm thinking about winterizing my boat myself. Whats the best may to make sure all the water is out of the engine? Should I put antifreeze in? I'm told all the other fluids should be fine including the gas.

[Z 202]

Welcome aboard.

You can winterize it yourself, with all the common tools. A good start would be a service manual, then just follow the winterization instructions make sure you pull all the apropriate plugs and hoses to get ALL the water out. I've never used A/F and it gets damn cold where my boat is stored. Never had a problem.

Mercruiser seems to favor using the antifreeze: http://www.mercurymarine.com/service...ation.php#1143

I fill mine with fuel and stabilizer, fog the engine, and change out the oils.

[WetWilly]

Originally Posted by tclark

I'm new to the boating world in Idaho where you have to winterize your water toys. I'm thinking about winterizing my boat myself. Whats the best may to make sure all the water is out of the engine? Should I put antifreeze in? I'm told all the other fluids should be fine including the gas.

Hi tclark and welcome to the club!

Since your new to the winter side of boat ownership, I recommend you check out these links to several threads here on the forums with links and advice from fellow members that cover just about everything you need to know about Winterizing your Mariah (click on the numbers):

# 1
# 2
# 3

These are probably mentioned in one of the links, but I thought I would repeat them anyway - I would advise you remove any batteries you have on board and store them in the garage on a maintenance charger during the winter hibernation. The water inside of them could freeze and crack the case, you wouldn't want battery acid in the bilge come next spring. As Z202 said, add a gas stabilized to the tank if there is any gas still in it and if you can, run the motor a little to get the treated gas into the carb or injector system because of the possible ethanol content in the gas in your area nowadays.

Good luck,
WetWilly