[Z210Shabah]

Hi everyone!!! I'm sure like me, alot of you are sick of the high prices for winterization of your Mariah-I'd like to ask if any of you know of a basic manual you can buy to get the tools needed to do it yourself.Most of what you pay is labor and I'm sick of paying a doctors fees for something I'm sure I could do on my own-Any suggestions? Thanx-Larry J.

[Z 202]

While there are plenty of writeups on the internet on what to do to winterize your boat, all the nitty gritty can be found in the Mercruiser engine manuals, which as a contributing member, you have full access to.

You don't need any special tools for basic winterization: changing the drive and engine oils, oil and water separating filters, fogging the motor, adding fuel stabilizer, draining the cooling system and greasing the joints. All of these require only basic hand tools.

[VernB63]

Hi Guys, found this link while searching for winterization tips. The video was very helpful...

NAIT's techlife magazine brings you stories of people, technology and innovation from one of the country's leading institutes of technology.

http://www.nait.ca/31549.htm


Hope other DIY backyard boat mechanic find it helpful.

[il_Mio]

Very helpfull video, thanks !

[WetWilly]

Great find VernB63!

I enjoyed it, it was a straight forward and easy to follow video.

This should definitly help ease the anxiety of anyone, especially first timers wanting to try this on their own.

Thanks,
WetWilly

[Bolo913]

Thanks for that video, I was glad to see the use of RV anti-freeze instead of regular auto anti-freeze. I've always used the auto stuff and had to recycle every spring but now there's a cheaper and safer way to winterize !! Thanks, again, Bolo

[300sflyer]

I agree, excellent video! It confirms I did mine correctly.

[Douglas Alderman]

Did you leave the stern drive up or down? Leaving it up would take pressure off the rubber boot.

[300sflyer]

It should be left down for winter. That way any rain that may accumulate in it, will drain out instead of freezing inside the outdrive.

If you want to go one step further, remove it entirely, and store it in a garage or shed. That way you can check the u-joints and gimble bearing at the same time, and confirm the bellows is nice and dry.

[WetWilly]

Hi Douglas,

300sflyer is right. It's stated in the Mercruiser manual to leave the drive down as it relieves stress on the bellows in this position. Another bonus is, being down, the trim inner ram rods are retracted protecting them from the possible corrosion from the elements.

One last thing, depending on how secure the area you store your Mariah is, you may want to consider installing a set of stern and/or prop locks (or removing the outdrive or prop altogether) so your don't have a big surprise come next summer. The same goes for the batteries, besides, they can freeze and crack too so they should be kept in a temperature controlled environment with some kind of maintenance charger attached.

WetWilly