Winterize

[Willbvt]

Hey guys this is my first year winterizing my Yamaha I live in the north east so any tips would be appreciated. Thanks

 

[InmyElement]

Start here and follow up with any specific questions or concerns..good luck.

https://jetboaters.net/faq/#faq-28

https://jetboaters.net/threads/first-experience-winterizing.30340/

 

[Rooster585]

Will-
I'm new to jet boating also, but have owned many outboards and inboards. It can get really cold here in North Texas. As far as water is concerned, my main take away is to blow compressed air in the water intake port (the one used to run the engines out of the water) to get any excess water out of the engine ports. Some folks say this is not even necessary and I would tend to agree. If a few ounces of water settles in the bottom of a cavity and then freezes it is no big deal since it has room to expand. The goal is to keep water from encompassing a cavity, then freezing and busting the casing, block....etc. However an after run when pulled out of the water for a few seconds accomplishes this. Blowing out using compressed air just gives an extra measure of security.
Many suggest fogging the engine. This is good but not necessary. Mix a "cocktail" of gasoline with 4 gallons of gas, 16 oz. of Sta-bil, 1 quart of Marvel Mystery Oil and 16 oz. of Sea-Foam. Mix in with whatever gas you have in the tank and then get a good enough run in to be sure the mixture is run into the engine. Double the amount of additives if you plan on keeping the tank full (50 gal or so.) throughout the winter Marvel is great stuff and will not hurt the engine or foul the spark plugs. It provides good top end lubrication for the engine to last through the winter. I have owned a carbureted V-6 engine in a Tahoe boat for over 10 years and did this every year with our crap ethanol gas and never had a problem with the carb or starting the following year. I have also used in fuel injected outboards with no issues.
Batteries - Float the batteries with a good charger. Just for a day or two. DO NOT leave the charger on all winter, even the chargers that maintain. No battery manufacture will recommend this. I personally have done this, only to have a battery explode in the compartment. Charge a couple of times throughout the winter to top off the batteries and then once again before you take it out in the spring and you will be good to go!
My .02
Rick

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

Captain Leon put up this great video ... I like his RV antifreeze engine flush.

Before the last outing of the season I put Amsoil fuel stabilizer and Amsoil top end (I run the top end additive at every fill up) additives in the tank and filled with non ethanol fuel. We went out fishing for a full day so that ensured that the fuel and additives were thoroughly mixed and run through the engines. We burned about 5% of a tank which leaves just a little room for expansion.

After bringing it home I made sure I followed the owners manual on flushing, turned off the water when the flushing was completed and revved the engines a couple of times to clear the water out of the engine and mufflers. Since I keep my boat inside a heated shop I didn’t add the RV anti freeze, but I did run RV antifreeze through earlier in the year when the first couple of snow storms came through and it got down to -5°. The only place I have any concerns about water settling and freezing is where the jet pump outlet is for the cooling water, it’s clocked at roughly 8’O clock, I’m going to pull the covers and check the screens so I’ll find out if there is any water in there. I also raise the nose on the trailer to promote draining of the deck, compartment, Rod & Cup holder drains, I’d thought about pouring a little of the RV anti freeze down those drains but didn’t. As a side note, I have a couple of electric battery blankets that throw under the engines to keep things warm for those early and late season cold nights, and with the full boat cover on things stay much warmer than without it.

 

[anmut]

Winterizing in WI for my Yamaha this year:
1) Clean the boat
2) Pull the batteries
3) Add Stabil
4) Store

One of the reasons I went with a boat with jetski engines.

 

[212s]

Winterizing in WI for my Yamaha this year:
1) Clean the boat
2) Pull the batteries
3) Add Stabil
4) Store

One of the reasons I went with a boat with jetski engines.

Same here basically with some differences:

1 - clean the boat
2 - add stabilizer
3 - part i - run the engines for 10 mins+ to distribute the stabilizer in the fuel lines
3 - part ii - start the engines for 15 seconds and blow water out the exhaust
4 - use charger and leave batteries in boat
5 - store
6 - wait for spring...

 

[anmut]

Same here basically with some differences:

1 - clean the boat
2 - add stabilizer
3 - part i - run the engines for 10 mins+ to distribute the stabilizer in the fuel lines
3 - part ii - start the engines for 15 seconds and blow water out the exhaust
4 - use charger and leave batteries in boat
5 - store
6 - wait for spring...

As Tom Petty once sang... the waiting is the hardest part.

 

[HangOutdoors]

I follow the same as @212s

It just sits there looking at me as I stare at it. Wondering when spring will come.

 

[Sean R]

I don't miss the longer winters but I do miss my Motor City drinking buddies. My wife doesn't miss them as much

 

[marcham]

In regards to fogging, it's especially important with any engine that has a wet exhaust system. An open exhaust valve can let residual moisture into the cylinder.

 

[traderfjp]

I

Many suggest fogging the engine. This is good but not necessary. Mix a "cocktail" of gasoline with 4 gallons of gas, 16 oz. of Sta-bil, 1 quart of Marvel Mystery Oil and 16 oz. of Sea-Foam. Mix in with whatever gas you have in the tank and then get a good enough run in to be sure the mixture is run into the engine. Double the amount of additives if you plan on keeping the tank full (50 gal or so.) throughout the winter Marvel is great stuff and will not hurt the engine or foul the spark plugs. It provides good top end lubrication for the engine to last through the winter. I have owned a carbureted V-6 engine in a Tahoe boat for over 10 years and did this every year with our crap ethanol gas and never had a problem with the carb or starting the following year. I have also used in fuel injected outboards with no issues.

I like the idea of using Sta-bil and Marvel mystery oil to winterize a boat's engine. I'm not sure about the Sea-foam. Isn't sea-foam used to clean injectors. It might dilute the Marvel Mystery oil. I'm storing my boat in my garage which is heated so thinking I'll just crank the engine ever so often, blow out the water with a compressor, and used the stabil and Marvel. Thanks

 

[Rooster585]

Trader-
Heated garage? That's not fair! (Jealous) Sounds like a nice setup!