First winter with my Yamaha

[dansshin]

Just wondering what I should be doing to prepare for winter storage with Yamaha jet boat.

Thanks for any input in advance.

 

[Ziess21]

You should not be posting this in August, too soon bro, too soon!!!

We had a customer winterized and put their boat in our storage today makes me sad!!! #endless summer

PS: I'll post some helpful info in September.

 

[dansshin]

LOL, don't worry as I will be trying to use it as long as I can before putting it in storage. But since it's my first winter with the Yamaha, I just wanted to know what to expect. Hopefully I can do most of the maintenance it needs but if not I would like to know what that may be.

 

[bobbie]

@Ziess21 Are you kidding?? the water temp is still 77 degrees?? let me guess....they put 20 hours a season on their boat??

 

[txav8r]

Yamaha is the worlds simplest winterization. You should be losing the water out every time you remove order the lake by revving rhe engines. And that in a nutshell, has you winterized. Now there is a host of other stuff to do, but it isn't winterization. Such as removing carpets and anything in the boat. Then opening compartments, so that they breath, covering and keeping dry. Cleaning thoroughly is a good idea before storage too. But adding marine grade Stabil to your fuel will keep it fresh snap recent phase separation of ethanol fuels ad reduce condensation too. I also ass ring free and run both through before storage. Now back to the summer!

 

[twentiesforever]

So to remove the water from the system just run it dry for a couple of seconds?

 

[jetboater4life]

So to remove the water from the system just run it dry for a couple of seconds?

Yep just give it two or three good revs and you will have blown out all the water from the exhaust system. I try to do this while my truck/trailer driver pulls up the ramp.

 

[txav8r]

Just to clarify...the manual says not to run the engines more than 15 seconds without cooling water flow either in the lake or via the hose flush port. So you need to rev the engines rapidly but not full power when you pull out of the water on the ramp. That gets the water out of the engine and out of the exhaust section back to the water box under the swim platform. Those water boxes will still have water in them. BUT, they are stainless steel cylinders with convex ends. Any water that freezes, and it will, WILL NOT HARM them, as they are convex ended tubes basically, and the two inches of water that remains has expansion room upward without restriction. But it is important to remove most of the moisture and vapor from the forward exhaust and engine. And the reason for the Yamaha Ring Free, is to lubricate the areas that can be affected by water vapor climbing back into the engine after shutdown. It is just ancestor worship to add anti-freeze into the cooling system, and doing so leaves water vapor...a bad thing. Some guys are so anal about removing this water vapor, that they will rev 4 or 5 times leaving the ramp, then when they get the boat home they will rev again, and then even again at some point. There will ALWAYS be water left in the water boxes no matter how many times you rev the engines. I seem to always find remaining water even at the beginning of the next season. This water will not harm the water boxes or the engines if you follow the Yamaha manual and use Yamaha Ring Free. I personally add both Yamaha Ring Free and marine grade Stabil to every tank of gas that I put in the boat. Because I never know how long the gas will remain. This year was a perfect example. We had late spring and summer rain in Texas and shut our lakes down for the bulk of the season. My boat has been used only once this season and had fuel in the boat since June. Summer heat and humidity can easily build up moisture in a partially full tank, so keep it full with just enough room for expansion in the filler hose. And use Stabil for phase separation. The good news is I get to use my boat next month on Lake Powell!

Mildew and mold is a killer too. Keep the boat clean and dry during storage. If you store outside, keep it covered when dry and if water gets into the boat through the cover, air it out and recover...and get the cover fixed or replaced to keep water out. By fixed, I mean never let water stand on the cover. It should always shed water. The covers will not hold snow and you MUST keep snow off the cover. The best thing you can do for value and longevity is to store the boat covered...INDOORS! And I am a believer in whatever you spend for storage will be returned in value you get back in terms of longevity and/or resale.

Also keep your batteries maintained. Do not let them set over the winter without being on a smart charger or they will drain. Don't use old non smart chargers, they will boil your battery(s). If you store indoors and keep them charged on a smart charger, you can keep them hooked up 24/7. Some just remove the batteries. That is a "whole 'nother discussion". But if you have standard flooded lead acid batteries (vs AGM sealed batteries), they off gas as they charge. That is water vapor in your boat. So charging all winter with them in the boat covered isn't a good idea unless it is vented better than the stock cover provides.

Some do annual maintenance with winterization, others do it when they de-winterize. Your choice but don't neglect your annual maintenance. These are boats and not cars/trucks. They hold moisture in the engines no matter what you do to dry them. So things can rust without using protectants. Annual maintenance removes oils that can absorb moisture, as well as spark plugs that can rust. Always use anti-seize on the spark plugs...no matter what your dealer or spark plug manufacturer says...and do not torque them to spec if you use anti-seize...just hand tighten and then 1/4 to 1/2 turn more.

I am getting in to more than winterization so I will stop. But learning to do your own maintenance is simple on these boats and provides you with a much more reliable winterization and maintenance than anything else. And the knowledge and help is here on jetboaters.net!

 

[RightStuff]

What everyone else said is pretty spot on. Kinda glad you brought it up I was just thinking about some supplies I needed to pick up before shutting it down (hate even thinking about it!).

Since I'm also in MN here's some other things to think about.

• Is your storage covered? I put on my shipping cover for winter storage, where I store is just a dirt floor barn, so it can get kinda dusty. Plus the shipping cover breathes a bit more than the premium deluxe cover.
• Is there rodents/pests where you will be letting it sit over the winter? I put dryer sheets everywhere in the boat to prevent mice, I also shave Irish Spring soap and put it into some dishes to prevent some pests, heard that it helps keep mice away (cheap insurance). Last year I also taped up the engine pee holes and the anchor locker drain hole, might help keep some bugs out I guess, doesn't hurt I guess.
• I have used a few things of Damprid around the boat the last couple years. I usually store it bone dry, so I might skip this step this year, or just put one in the engine compartment and leave it at that. Never had a problem with mold with as dry as our winters are.
• Some people have jacked up their trailer on jack stands for the winter to reduce flat spots in the tires and reducing general wear on them.
• Fog the engines, this is a somewhat debated topic (and how to fog), so do some research and come up with what you think is best. In my opinion it's easy to do and good protection for an engine that will be sitting for 6 mo., so why not?