Winterize 2008 Speedster 200 IN WATER

[Dieselpatton]

Hello all. I bought a 2008 Speedster 150 this year and I need some help. I don’t have a trailer to pull it out yet but it sits in a boat slip at my local marina. I want to winterize it while it sits in the water. I can’t find any threads on winterizing in the water, only out of the water. What is the best way to do it while in the slip? Can I reach the inlet port from the deck and manually pour the antifreeze in or start the engine to suck the antifreeze in under its own power?
Hate to sound uneducated here, but I’ve only ever owned mercruiser inboards. The dumbest question is the one you never ask, right? Thanks.

 

[biffdotorg]

Your boat is in the water, and not on a lift? if that is the case, then you will not be running antifreeze through the engine. It will suck water out of the water it is sitting in. Thus negating any effect AF has on the process.

That all in mind, if you are worried about freezing water in your engine, you may want to worry more about the body of water freezing that the boat is sitting in. Priority one should be getting it out of the water as you will have bigger things to worry about.

If the water the boat is sitting in will not freeze, then water in the engine wont either. Make sense?

This is not a silly question, as here in MN, some folks actually have moving water that will not freeze and some will winterize their boat on a lift and leave it there till spring. (I would never do this) but to each there own. They do winterize and even wrap their boat on the lift where it sits under a canopy. It literally has better protection than sitting on an uncovered trailer in the yard. But the boat itself is up in the air out of the water. As at the right temp, our moving water will freeze as well potentially causing serious damage to the boat and lift.

 

[Dieselpatton]

Your boat is in the water, and not on a lift? if that is the case, then you will not be running antifreeze through the engine. It will suck water out of the water it is sitting in. Thus negating any effect AF has on the process.

That all in mind, if you are worried about freezing water in your engine, you may want to worry more about the body of water freezing that the boat is sitting in. Priority one should be getting it out of the water as you will have bigger things to worry about.

If the water the boat is sitting in will not freeze, then water in the engine wont either. Make sense?

This is not a silly question, as here in MN, some folks actually have moving water that will not freeze and some will winterize their boat on a lift and leave it there till spring. (I would never do this) but to each there own. They do winterize and even wrap their boat on the lift where it sits under a canopy. It literally has better protection than sitting on an uncovered trailer in the yard. But the boat itself is up in the air out of the water. As at the right temp, our moving water will freeze as well potentially causing serious damage to the boat and lift.

Getting a lift is definitely a priority. I am on a Lake in NC and have zero worries about the lake freezing. However, I have seen countless times over the years the block on an engine bust because it wasn’t winterized even though it is in the water. The problem is the water that is inside the engine is much more susceptible to lower temperatures because it is not submerged.

With that being said a lift is out of the question right now and I need to get the water out of the engines. Is there a way of doing so on these Rotax engines? Like I said I’m unfamiliar with these systems.
Thanks for the response!

 

[biffdotorg]

Getting a lift is definitely a priority. I am on a Lake in NC and have zero worries about the lake freezing. However, I have seen countless times over the years the block on an engine bust because it wasn’t winterized even though it is in the water. The problem is the water that is inside the engine is much more susceptible to lower temperatures because it is not submerged.

With that being said a lift is out of the question right now and I need to get the water out of the engines. Is there a way of doing so on these Rotax engines? Like I said I’m unfamiliar with these systems.
Thanks for the response!

First thing is to understand where the water intake is. Unless it is up on a lift or trailer, there is no way to stop it from pulling water in from the lake. So once you fire up the engine to circulate the AF, it will start sucking up lake water.

Like a Yamaha, the answer would be to cut off the water source with a valve or pinch point. They are considered tow valves to keep water from pushing into the engine while being towed. On a Rotax powered seadoo, I am unsure if you can find a pinch point. Your best bet would be to rent a trailer, do your flush with AF. And if you have to get it back to the slip, float it over without firing up the engines. One you turn them over, you will have water back in there.

So all that being said, no there really is no way to do it in the water.

 

[Dieselpatton]

First thing is to understand where the water intake is. Unless it is up on a lift or trailer, there is no way to stop it from pulling water in from the lake. So once you fire up the engine to circulate the AF, it will start sucking up lake water.

Like a Yamaha, the answer would be to cut off the water source with a valve or pinch point. They are considered tow valves to keep water from pushing into the engine while being towed. On a Rotax powered seadoo, I am unsure if you can find a pinch point. Your best bet would be to rent a trailer, do your flush with AF. And if you have to get it back to the slip, float it over without firing up the engines. One you turn them over, you will have water back in there.

So all that being said, no there really is no way to do it in the water.

That pretty well sums it up. Thanks. I’ll get it out sometime this week!