wakeformer
Jet Boat Addict
- Messages
- 84
- Reaction score
- 29
- Points
- 117
- Location
- Cincinnati Ohio
- Boat Make
- Yamaha
- Year
- 2008
- Boat Model
- AR
- Boat Length
- 23
Thought I would post this here. It is not my write up but its a good one to share
WINTERIZATION OF YAMAHA JETBOATS- by Steve Price
If you live in an area where you can’t use your boat year-round, you may need to winterize it. If you have a lay-up period of perhaps 3 months or less, you probably don’t need to worry about fuel treatment or fogging oil. If storage temperatures won’t get down to freezing levels, the cooling system doesn’t demand as much attention. This article will assume that you need protection for long-term storage in a cold climate.
Preparing for winter actually begins before you take your boat out of the water. It is very important to treat your fuel to prevent the formation of gum in the lines, filters, pumps, and carburetors. Do this by adding a fuel treatment, such as StaBil, to your fuel during your last outing. Run the engines for a considerable amount of time to get the fuel treatment thoroughly distributed throughout the system. Simply pouring it in the tank before you put the cover on the boat isn’t enough. Top off the fuel tank on your way home from your last outing to prevent condensation from forming in the tank during storage. Don’t forget to add fuel stabilizer for the fuel used for topping the tank.
You’ll need a can of Fogging Oil to get your engines ready for storage. Your dealer should be able to supply this. Fogging oil is a spray oil that protects the internal parts of your engines from corrosion. If you run in salt water, you’ll want to flush the cooling systems as you normally would. You may also want a gallon or two of RV / Marine Antrifreeze. This is less toxic to animals than ethylene glycol that is used in automobiles. You’ll be losing most of your antifreeze on the ground.
If you’re not familiar with using the flush hose, make sure that you DO NOT RUN WATER INTO THE ENGINE UNLESS THE ENGINE IS RUNNING. That means: turn on the water hose and let the hose fill up with water BEFORE attaching it to the boat; turn the water OFF; attach the hose adaptor to the engine cooling system; start the engine; turn on the water. Let the engine run for a few minutes at low power. Make sure you start the engine that you have the water hose hooked up to! When you are finished flushing, turn the water off FIRST, then turn off the engine. Rev the engine a couple of times to blow the excess water out. If you were to leave the water hose turned on while the engine was shut off, you risk the possibility of getting water into the cylinders through the exhaust system.
There are two philosophies regarding winter storage of the cooling system. You can remove all the water, or treat it with antifreeze. To get ALL the water out will require blowing compressed air into the system, forcing out the water. I would start the engine and let it idle while doing this to prevent water from entering the engine. It should only take about 5 to 10 seconds to remove the water. The other option is to do a final flush of the engines with antifreeze rather than water. If you do this, it won’t be necessary to get all the water out of the engines. You will have to rig up a tool to attach your flush hose to your antifreeze bottle. My boat came with two flush adaptors. I modified one of mine to fit a gallon jug of antifreeze.
The next item that needs to be addressed is to ‘fog’ the engine. To do this, remove the covers from the flame arrestors on top of each engine. Below them, you’ll find screens, which are the actual flame arrestors. Remove the screens and set them aside. Next, start one engine and spray fogging oil into each carburetor while the engine is idling. It will run poorly and smoke heavily. Try to keep the engine running by not spraying in too much fogging oil at one time. Make sure you spray oil into each carburetor before killing the engine. Kill the engine by spraying a large amount of oil into the carbs. Repeat the process on the second engine. You should be able to complete this operation in about 15 seconds of run time, so you don’t need the flush hose attached. Also, the engine will be barely running, so it won’t get very hot.
Next, let the engine cool down and remove the spark plugs. Insert the plastic tube that came with your fogging oil into the nozzle. Put a piece of tape on the tube so that the tube won’t fall into the spark plug holes if it falls off the nozzle. Spray a generous amount of oil in each spark plug hole. REMOVE THE LANYARD from the kill switch to protect the ignition system, place a rag over the engine, then crank the engine over a couple of revolutions to distribute the oil in the cylinders. Finally, re-install the spark plugs.
If you’re a fanatic, you can install desiccant plugs in the spark plug holes. These are made of plastic, so make sure you let the engine cool completely before doing this so the plugs don’t melt. You might also want to plug the exhaust with a desiccant plug to keep moisture from entering the engine. Re-install the flame arrestors and their covers.
Drain all the water you can from the hull of the boat. Don’t forget to check for water in the engine compartment. You should also put some antifreeze in the bilge by going through the access port in the rear bulkhead of the engine compartment. Run the bilge pump briefly to circulate antifreeze in the pump.
Pull the cleanout plugs and service them. You may want to clean and lubricate them and re-install them, or simply leave them out.
Remove the battery(ies) before winter storage. Keep them in a cool dry place and charge them periodically. I think the best idea is to put a trickle charger on them and use a timer to turn the charger on for a few minutes every day or so. Don’t leave the charger on all the time, and don’t forget to charge the batteries.
Remove the seat cushions and store them so that they can dry thoroughly. Clean your boat as you normally would. You might consider waxing the finish and treating the upholstery with ArmorAll or similar product. Apply lubricant to the control cables where they connect to the jet nozzles and lubricate the nozzle pivot points.
Prop open any doors and hatches if possible to allow air to circulate and reduce mildew buildup. Cover the boat. Do not put an impermeable tarp over the boat because it will trap moisture and may damage the vinyl upholstery. The boat needs to breathe to reduce the buildup of mildew. Prop up the cover so it doesn’t collect water if the boat is stored outdoors. Tape over the pee holes and speedometer pickup to keep bugs out.
Don’t forget to winterize your trailer. Jack up the wheels, flush fresh grease through the bearings, and spin the wheels. Flush more grease through the bearings. If possible, store the trailer with the wheels off the ground. Inflate the tires to their maximum pressure and cover them to prevent damage from UV radiation. It’s also a good idea to spray some lubricant on the trailer hitch coupler. If you install a lock on your trailer, protect it from dirt, too.
During the winter, lift the cover every couple of weeks and rotate the steering wheel and move the shifter.
When spring arrives, pull the spark plugs and dry them. REMOVE THE LANYARD to prevent damage to the CDI box, cover the spark plug holes with a rag, and crank the engines. This will blow fogging oil out of the cylinders, as well as helping to prime the fuel pumps. Re-install the plugs and wires. No point in putting in new plugs at this point and fouling them. Re-install the battery(ies) and cleanout plugs. Re-attach the lanyard and start the engines. They may start on the old plugs. If not, you might have to install the new plugs now. Make sure your boat will start before heading to the boat ramp. Remove the tape from the pee holes and speedometer pickup. Don’t forget to attach the flush hose if you run the engines any length of time. Check that the steering and shifter work properly. If the cables were to freeze up, it would most likely happen during winter storage. Top off the oil reservoir. When putting the boat into the water, don’t forget to install the drain plug. Also, check for cooling water flow at the pee holes before leaving the boat ramp area. You should be ready for a full season of boating fun!
WINTERIZATION OF YAMAHA JETBOATS- by Steve Price
If you live in an area where you can’t use your boat year-round, you may need to winterize it. If you have a lay-up period of perhaps 3 months or less, you probably don’t need to worry about fuel treatment or fogging oil. If storage temperatures won’t get down to freezing levels, the cooling system doesn’t demand as much attention. This article will assume that you need protection for long-term storage in a cold climate.
Preparing for winter actually begins before you take your boat out of the water. It is very important to treat your fuel to prevent the formation of gum in the lines, filters, pumps, and carburetors. Do this by adding a fuel treatment, such as StaBil, to your fuel during your last outing. Run the engines for a considerable amount of time to get the fuel treatment thoroughly distributed throughout the system. Simply pouring it in the tank before you put the cover on the boat isn’t enough. Top off the fuel tank on your way home from your last outing to prevent condensation from forming in the tank during storage. Don’t forget to add fuel stabilizer for the fuel used for topping the tank.
You’ll need a can of Fogging Oil to get your engines ready for storage. Your dealer should be able to supply this. Fogging oil is a spray oil that protects the internal parts of your engines from corrosion. If you run in salt water, you’ll want to flush the cooling systems as you normally would. You may also want a gallon or two of RV / Marine Antrifreeze. This is less toxic to animals than ethylene glycol that is used in automobiles. You’ll be losing most of your antifreeze on the ground.
If you’re not familiar with using the flush hose, make sure that you DO NOT RUN WATER INTO THE ENGINE UNLESS THE ENGINE IS RUNNING. That means: turn on the water hose and let the hose fill up with water BEFORE attaching it to the boat; turn the water OFF; attach the hose adaptor to the engine cooling system; start the engine; turn on the water. Let the engine run for a few minutes at low power. Make sure you start the engine that you have the water hose hooked up to! When you are finished flushing, turn the water off FIRST, then turn off the engine. Rev the engine a couple of times to blow the excess water out. If you were to leave the water hose turned on while the engine was shut off, you risk the possibility of getting water into the cylinders through the exhaust system.
There are two philosophies regarding winter storage of the cooling system. You can remove all the water, or treat it with antifreeze. To get ALL the water out will require blowing compressed air into the system, forcing out the water. I would start the engine and let it idle while doing this to prevent water from entering the engine. It should only take about 5 to 10 seconds to remove the water. The other option is to do a final flush of the engines with antifreeze rather than water. If you do this, it won’t be necessary to get all the water out of the engines. You will have to rig up a tool to attach your flush hose to your antifreeze bottle. My boat came with two flush adaptors. I modified one of mine to fit a gallon jug of antifreeze.
The next item that needs to be addressed is to ‘fog’ the engine. To do this, remove the covers from the flame arrestors on top of each engine. Below them, you’ll find screens, which are the actual flame arrestors. Remove the screens and set them aside. Next, start one engine and spray fogging oil into each carburetor while the engine is idling. It will run poorly and smoke heavily. Try to keep the engine running by not spraying in too much fogging oil at one time. Make sure you spray oil into each carburetor before killing the engine. Kill the engine by spraying a large amount of oil into the carbs. Repeat the process on the second engine. You should be able to complete this operation in about 15 seconds of run time, so you don’t need the flush hose attached. Also, the engine will be barely running, so it won’t get very hot.
Next, let the engine cool down and remove the spark plugs. Insert the plastic tube that came with your fogging oil into the nozzle. Put a piece of tape on the tube so that the tube won’t fall into the spark plug holes if it falls off the nozzle. Spray a generous amount of oil in each spark plug hole. REMOVE THE LANYARD from the kill switch to protect the ignition system, place a rag over the engine, then crank the engine over a couple of revolutions to distribute the oil in the cylinders. Finally, re-install the spark plugs.
If you’re a fanatic, you can install desiccant plugs in the spark plug holes. These are made of plastic, so make sure you let the engine cool completely before doing this so the plugs don’t melt. You might also want to plug the exhaust with a desiccant plug to keep moisture from entering the engine. Re-install the flame arrestors and their covers.
Drain all the water you can from the hull of the boat. Don’t forget to check for water in the engine compartment. You should also put some antifreeze in the bilge by going through the access port in the rear bulkhead of the engine compartment. Run the bilge pump briefly to circulate antifreeze in the pump.
Pull the cleanout plugs and service them. You may want to clean and lubricate them and re-install them, or simply leave them out.
Remove the battery(ies) before winter storage. Keep them in a cool dry place and charge them periodically. I think the best idea is to put a trickle charger on them and use a timer to turn the charger on for a few minutes every day or so. Don’t leave the charger on all the time, and don’t forget to charge the batteries.
Remove the seat cushions and store them so that they can dry thoroughly. Clean your boat as you normally would. You might consider waxing the finish and treating the upholstery with ArmorAll or similar product. Apply lubricant to the control cables where they connect to the jet nozzles and lubricate the nozzle pivot points.
Prop open any doors and hatches if possible to allow air to circulate and reduce mildew buildup. Cover the boat. Do not put an impermeable tarp over the boat because it will trap moisture and may damage the vinyl upholstery. The boat needs to breathe to reduce the buildup of mildew. Prop up the cover so it doesn’t collect water if the boat is stored outdoors. Tape over the pee holes and speedometer pickup to keep bugs out.
Don’t forget to winterize your trailer. Jack up the wheels, flush fresh grease through the bearings, and spin the wheels. Flush more grease through the bearings. If possible, store the trailer with the wheels off the ground. Inflate the tires to their maximum pressure and cover them to prevent damage from UV radiation. It’s also a good idea to spray some lubricant on the trailer hitch coupler. If you install a lock on your trailer, protect it from dirt, too.
During the winter, lift the cover every couple of weeks and rotate the steering wheel and move the shifter.
When spring arrives, pull the spark plugs and dry them. REMOVE THE LANYARD to prevent damage to the CDI box, cover the spark plug holes with a rag, and crank the engines. This will blow fogging oil out of the cylinders, as well as helping to prime the fuel pumps. Re-install the plugs and wires. No point in putting in new plugs at this point and fouling them. Re-install the battery(ies) and cleanout plugs. Re-attach the lanyard and start the engines. They may start on the old plugs. If not, you might have to install the new plugs now. Make sure your boat will start before heading to the boat ramp. Remove the tape from the pee holes and speedometer pickup. Don’t forget to attach the flush hose if you run the engines any length of time. Check that the steering and shifter work properly. If the cables were to freeze up, it would most likely happen during winter storage. Top off the oil reservoir. When putting the boat into the water, don’t forget to install the drain plug. Also, check for cooling water flow at the pee holes before leaving the boat ramp area. You should be ready for a full season of boating fun!
