No antifreeze for winterization

[MillsyMO]

I know this is an old thread but I found it while looking for info on winterizing a Yamaha jet boat. My old boat was an I/O and I used antifreeze on it to fill the engine block so not to freeze and break. Can someone explain to me how the inboard Yamaha engine is different, does it not have a cooling jacket around the engine that fills full of water? Thanks for any info.

 

[Julian]

Hey there boaters. I just watched a you tube video with a jet boat admiral not using antifreeze for winterization on Yamaha jet boat. What is your opinions on this ?I have an sx 240 2013

Never ever ever wasted my time or money pouring or pumping anti freeze onto the ground through an engine that self drains. (And yes....lived in N. Illinois and stored in WI....so my boats froze solid in an unheated horse barn in the winter).
But like placebos....it makes some people feel good.

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

I know this is an old thread but I found it while looking for info on winterizing a Yamaha jet boat. My old boat was an I/O and I used antifreeze on it to fill the engine block so not to freeze and break. Can someone explain to me how the inboard Yamaha engine is different, does it not have a cooling jacket around the engine that fills full of water? Thanks for any info.

The engines in the Yamaha’s are self draining, the water does not stay in the engine block like your old I/O engine did. Now what is important is to rev the engine several times over 15 seconds with the boat out of the water and no hose feeing it water. The mufflers on the Yamaha’s are called water locks, basically a big cylinder that fills with the cooling water that is pumped into the exhaust system to cool it while the engine is running.

If you did not do that when you took the boat out last time, and want to do it, you will need to put your boat on the hose and warm up the engine(s) before revving it hard to blow out the mufflers.

BE SURE AND GET THE ENGINE RUNNING BEFORE YOU TURN THE WATER ON TO THE ENGINE.
AFTER YOU ARE DONE RUNNING THE ENGINE, TURN THE WATER OFF FIRST, THEN TURN OFF THE ENGINE. This so you don’t force water up into one of the cylinders who’s exhaust valve is open which would lead to you hydraulicing said cylinder and destroying your engine. Also, if you happen to get towed, or are moving the boat faster than 5mph with an engine off you need to get a hose pinching device to be sure the engine that is off will not get any water from the cooling line while getting towed or running on a single engine.

Once you have warmed up the motors for 10 mins or so on the hose, turn off the water then rev the engine several times over 15 seconds to blow the majority of the water out of the mufflers, what little remains has more than enough space to freeze and expand without hurting anything.

There are other discussions about whether or not to fog the cylinders with engine storage oil spray or not, it depends on where you are storing your boat as well. I don’t know what model you have, but, if you have one with ballast tanks and or fresh water tanks, you may want to be sure and drain those tanks, and blow out the lines.

All I have done when storing my boat in some pretty cold temps outside is to blow out the mufflers as I mentioned above and make sure my live well is empty-thats it. Yamaha actually recommends that you blow the mufflers out each time you pull the boat out of the water.

If you need any help with this, let us know and someone will jump in and answer your questions.

 

[MillsyMO]

The engines in the Yamaha’s are self draining, the water does not stay in the engine block like your old I/O engine did. Now what is important is to rev the engine several times over 15 seconds with the boat out of the water and no hose feeing it water. The mufflers on the Yamaha’s are called water locks, basically a big cylinder that fills with the cooling water that is pumped into the exhaust system to cool it while the engine is running.

If you did not do that when you took the boat out last time, and want to do it, you will need to put your boat on the hose and warm up the engine(s) before revving it hard to blow out the mufflers.

BE SURE AND GET THE ENGINE RUNNING BEFORE YOU TURN THE WATER ON TO THE ENGINE.
AFTER YOU ARE DONE RUNNING THE ENGINE, TURN THE WATER OFF FIRST, THEN TURN OFF THE ENGINE. This so you don’t force water up into one of the cylinders who’s exhaust valve is open which would lead to you hydraulicing said cylinder and destroying your engine. Also, if you happen to get towed, or are moving the boat faster than 5mph with an engine off you need to get a hose pinching device to be sure the engine that is off will not get any water from the cooling line while getting towed or running on a single engine.

Once you have warmed up the motors for 10 mins or so on the hose, turn off the water then rev the engine several times over 15 seconds to blow the majority of the water out of the mufflers, what little remains has more than enough space to freeze and expand without hurting anything.

There are other discussions about whether or not to fog the cylinders with engine storage oil spray or not, it depends on where you are storing your boat as well. I don’t know what model you have, but, if you have one with ballast tanks and or fresh water tanks, you may want to be sure and drain those tanks, and blow out the lines.

All I have done when storing my boat in some pretty cold temps outside is to blow out the mufflers as I mentioned above and make sure my live well is empty-thats it. Yamaha actually recommends that you blow the mufflers out each time you pull the boat out of the water.

If you need any help with this, let us know and someone will jump in and answer your questions.

I appreciate that explanation. I have not taken delivery on my ‘22 AR250 so I don’t need to worry about it for awhile. I’m just reading forums and watching videos to learn as much about this boat before I take delivery next month. I’m new to the jet world but am very excited with everything I’m reading on it. Thanks again!

 

[MillsyMO]

The engines in the Yamaha’s are self draining, the water does not stay in the engine block like your old I/O engine did. Now what is important is to rev the engine several times over 15 seconds with the boat out of the water and no hose feeing it water. The mufflers on the Yamaha’s are called water locks, basically a big cylinder that fills with the cooling water that is pumped into the exhaust system to cool it while the engine is running.

If you did not do that when you took the boat out last time, and want to do it, you will need to put your boat on the hose and warm up the engine(s) before revving it hard to blow out the mufflers.

BE SURE AND GET THE ENGINE RUNNING BEFORE YOU TURN THE WATER ON TO THE ENGINE.
AFTER YOU ARE DONE RUNNING THE ENGINE, TURN THE WATER OFF FIRST, THEN TURN OFF THE ENGINE. This so you don’t force water up into one of the cylinders who’s exhaust valve is open which would lead to you hydraulicing said cylinder and destroying your engine. Also, if you happen to get towed, or are moving the boat faster than 5mph with an engine off you need to get a hose pinching device to be sure the engine that is off will not get any water from the cooling line while getting towed or running on a single engine.

Once you have warmed up the motors for 10 mins or so on the hose, turn off the water then rev the engine several times over 15 seconds to blow the majority of the water out of the mufflers, what little remains has more than enough space to freeze and expand without hurting anything.

There are other discussions about whether or not to fog the cylinders with engine storage oil spray or not, it depends on where you are storing your boat as well. I don’t know what model you have, but, if you have one with ballast tanks and or fresh water tanks, you may want to be sure and drain those tanks, and blow out the lines.

All I have done when storing my boat in some pretty cold temps outside is to blow out the mufflers as I mentioned above and make sure my live well is empty-thats it. Yamaha actually recommends that you blow the mufflers out each time you pull the boat out of the water.

If you need any help with this, let us know and someone will jump in and answer your questions.

Also, I forgot, thanks for the info on the water coming into the engine while running one engine. I did not know that. I had read not to run hose while engine is off and not to run engine longer than 15 secs with water off, but had no idea running one engine is bad if coolant line on dead engine isn’t clamped. I specifically watched a video of a guy running 1 engine bc he was having over heating problems with the other one and he did not mention anything about that. I’m guessing he didn’t know it was dangerous to do.

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

Also, I forgot, thanks for the info on the water coming into the engine while running one engine. I did not know that. I had read not to run hose while engine is off and not to run engine longer than 15 secs with water off, but had no idea running one engine is bad if coolant line on dead engine isn’t clamped. I specifically watched a video of a guy running 1 engine bc he was having over heating problems with the other one and he did not mention anything about that. I’m guessing he didn’t know it was dangerous to do.

Right on! Welcome aboard ! This web page is very helpful with tips and tricks, and plenty of folks who will help out. Be sure and read through the FAQ page, lots of stuff there. And there is a specific section on buying a new boat / used boat and what to look for. When you go to pick your boat up take your time and go over it with a fine tooth comb. Also, see you can get them to take you out for a test drive in your boat and make sure everything works properly. There is a break in period on the engines so be sure and read up on that. I did not know that when I test drove my boat… while I did give a short full throttle blast on the river, the boat and been running for 45 mins or so as the sales person and I were going through all the electronics making sure everything worked.

 

[Txbred]

A few weeks ago I was parked on the water with the engines off and the wind was pushing me toward the rocks. I go to turn the engines on and the starboard cranks but dosen't start. Port side no problem. I sit for a minute and it did the same thing and I see I'm getting closer to the rocks. I turn the port side on for maybe 3mins and head way from the rocks, enough to feel comfortable. Turned off the port side engine and grilled up some hot dogs and had lunch. While doing so I went back to the pull out plugs opened the cover that's in there and saw that I forgot to take out a small blanket that I put in there because we had a hard freeze a week prior, probaly not nessary but did it anyways. After lunch, engines started right up. Not sure if that had anything to do with it or just a coincidence. I DID NOT pinch the hose.

 

[MillsyMO]

Right on! Welcome aboard ! This web page is very helpful with tips and tricks, and plenty of folks who will help out. Be sure and read through the FAQ page, lots of stuff there. And there is a specific section on buying a new boat / used boat and what to look for. When you go to pick your boat up take your time and go over it with a fine tooth comb. Also, see you can get them to take you out for a test drive in your boat and make sure everything works properly. There is a break in period on the engines so be sure and read up on that. I did not know that when I test drove my boat… while I did give a short full throttle blast on the river, the boat and been running for 45 mins or so as the sales person and I were going through all the electronics making sure everything worked.

Yes, I plan on going through it with a fine tooth comb. I have owned several boats in the past but this is our first Yamaha, jet, and new boat that we will have owned. The dealership we are buying from is on the lake of the Ozarks and they told me we will go out on the water to do my walk through and show me how everything works and make sure it’s working properly. Yes, I actually just got done watching a video on break in. 5 mins idle, 30 mins below 5k RPM’s and then drive it like normal.

 

[212s]

There's no need to pinch off the non-running engine if you stay at idle or no-wake speeds. Do not try to speed up past 4-5mph and you will not have any issues without a clamp. Using one engine to move 50 yards at idle is not an issue at all.

The problem is one of pressure - if you speed up beyond no-wake speeds with one engine running, there's the potential for pressure to build up in the other jetpump and force water up into the exhaust system which could push back into an open cylinder head causing hydro-lock. This can damage your engine when you attempt to start it because it has sea water in the cylinder - not good.

Keep it low and slow, and you won't have a problem. The owner's manual covers all this by the way.

 

[212s]

I appreciate that explanation. I have not taken delivery on my ‘22 AR250 so I don’t need to worry about it for awhile. I’m just reading forums and watching videos to learn as much about this boat before I take delivery next month. I’m new to the jet world but am very excited with everything I’m reading on it. Thanks again!

Our older boats had Mercruiser engines and 4 plugs to help drain and allow expansion in the blocks...these Yamaha motors were designed with drainage in mind are much easier to deal with for winter storage.

Read all you can on here, lots of good info for new or experienced boaters alike.

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

A few weeks ago I was parked on the water with the engines off and the wind was pushing me toward the rocks. I go to turn the engines on and the starboard cranks but dosen't start. Port side no problem. I sit for a minute and it did the same thing and I see I'm getting closer to the rocks. I turn the port side on for maybe 3mins and head way from the rocks, enough to feel comfortable. Turned off the port side engine and grilled up some hot dogs and had lunch. While doing so I went back to the pull out plugs opened the cover that's in there and saw that I forgot to take out a small blanket that I put in there because we had a hard freeze a week prior, probaly not nessary but did it anyways. After lunch, engines started right up. Not sure if that had anything to do with it or just a coincidence. I DID NOT pinch the hose.

Sounds like that blanket was pushing up on that hatch cover over the clean out plugs just enough to disable the one engine from starting. Or it could have been the mystery no start several folks have experienced.