What to do about freezing temps at night.

[troy henrie]

I am planning on buying a 2012 sx190 tonight. Going down to do a lake test. Problem is that I am not sure what will happen if I do this and then the weather gets below freezing at night like it's supposed to for the next week.

How do I keep something horrible from happening? Is there a simple way to drain out the water after use? I'm in central Michigan and have a few weeks left of freezing temps at night I bet.

Troy

 

[DBamaC]

Are you leaving her in the water? If not, just crank the engine once you are on the trailer and give it a couple of hits to the throttle to blow out the water. If you are leaving it in the water, I think what you do is clamp off the coolant hose and do the same thing...but don't hold me to that until someone else confirms.

 

[troy henrie]

I am taking it out of the water. I was wondering about doing just that. But didn't know if it would be enough... I'm a total newbie to jetboats.

 

[Coheeba]

Let dogs sleep in the bed, three dog night

 

[troy henrie]

lol... I could let the barn cats into the engine compartment. I'm sure a little fur and straw would to wonders for it.

 

[DBamaC]

I am taking it out of the water. I was wondering about doing just that. But didn't know if it would be enough... I'm a total newbie to jetboats.

That’s all you have to do. Doing that (blowing out the water while out of the water) is pretty much how your”winterize” a jet from a freezing standpoint.

 

[Scottintexas]

it's self draining, just run the engine for 30 seconds out of the water and make sure you pull your drain plugs, I went through a week of below freezing weather and we have members in Canada that do the same with no problems

check out the FAQ tab at the top of the page and watch a video on how the cooling water flows,

Welcome to the benefits of owning a Yamaha!

 

[bumpy]

The boat will self drain; crank the trailer jack to raise the bow and most of the water will drain out. If you want extra reassurance, you can put a small heat source (like a work light) in the engine bay to add some extra freeze protection. I don't think that there are many hard freezes left in this endless winter, or at least I hope not!

 

[troy henrie]

Cool, thanks guys. This is what I had gathered by reading posts on the forum. But I am a guy who asks " just to make sure...". Didn't want to ruin my big purchase the without being able to ever use it.

 

[112Vulcan]

Move south to warm weather

 

[MidnightRider]

So hard for us Northerners new to jet boats to accept this. I believe it, but so hard to trust it - not cause it isn't true but because "antifreezing" boats has been so drilled into us by our Dads/mentors/etc for our whole lives (40 years of winterizing MN boats here). If we could only trust it, our lives would be that much easier. I asked my dealer hoping they would be the last straw to push me into trusting that I can just let it drain, instead: "....that is what they say, but we still pump antifreeze in just to be sure...." DOH!

 

[Julian]

but we still pump antifreeze in just to be sure...."

That is because they are so used to doing it for their I/Os. Stop wasting good anti freeze and just:

1) Raise the bow to drain the bilge
2) Rev the engine lightly 3-4 times to blow out some water from the water boxes

These engines are self draining. The waterboxes are large and curved and as such, if the water in them freezes, it has room to expand.

Relax, and welcome to the nearly maintenance free life of being a Yamaha Jet Boat owner! No more lower units to drain!!!!!!

(and in case you are wondering...I used to live in IL and store my boat in an unheated barn in Wisconsin all winter....so I do know all about Fing cold weather....and I don't miss it!!!)

 

[buckbuck]

My boat stays in an heated barn in Northern IL all winter. I don't waste antifreeze on it. You are good to go with just letting the engine run for 30 seconds out of the water.

 

[swatski]

Good info here!
Raise the bow on the trailer as much as possible, I use a cinder block under the jack for extra few inches, that way no water accumulates, all drips out the back.
I like to drain the pumps and bilge while still on the steep part of the ramp when pulling out - if there is no traffic. Let it all drain and drip, pull out the clean out plugs, bilge plug.

--

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

Just a simple running of the engine will get the water out of the block . I personally never rev the engines out of the water , doing that with 2 strokes is fine but all those valves in a 4 stroke engine plus the timing chain backlash worries me.
A heating pad or a small light in the engine compartment will help keep it warm. Heating pad is probably safer than a light bulb

 

[Hawksr30]

Michigan boat life be like...

 

[Bluewater272]

My dealer winterized our boat before we bought it, and used antifreeze. Ran it on the hose for the first time today, and it shot the pink stuff for a good 5 seconds before it turned clear. I'll probably winterize it with antifreeze again at the end of the season "just in case". For $10, I'm good with a little unnecessary maintenance.

 

[buckbuck]

Help me understand. Did this come out the exhaust or a pee hole?

 

[Drift Away]

How did i handel the freezing temps....i moved to FL lol

 

[Zonie]

I use the "Just in case method too." I just buy the inexpensive pink stuff from Walmart for $3.00. Had about 1/2 gallon left over and my wife mistook it for windshield washer fluid and dumped into the WS washer reservoir in her car. DOH!