www.iFourWinns.com

I know there has been some posts about this, but I wanted to preface mine with a couple specifics.

I am planning to store my boat in a heated warehouse. It has a sprinkler fire system, so it will not fall below 45 degrees all winter. Someone will be checking on this daily. With this being the case, I want to make sure my plan to prep the boat for storage covers everything. I plan to...

- Remove the Battery (put in my garage at home and charge it intermittently throughout the winter)
- Put Stabil in the Gas
- Put the Outdrive in the Down Position (to relieve stress on the stern)
- Remove all Valuables
- Snap on Covers
- Replace Outdrive Oil (In The Spring)

I know that a lot of you will say to winterize it anyway to be safe, but I have yet to learn the process and am too busy at work to take the time to do so. If winterizing is a must, please let me know and I will have to pay to have it done. My plan is to pay every other season to have the boat fully winterized and have the Outdrive & Trailer Serviced fully. With all that being the case, what else should I do before storing?

Thanks!!!!

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2001 Four Winns 180 Horizon
4.3L Volvo Penta

Storing with the drive down isn't for the stern, but rather for the sake of the rubber bellows.

Stabil - 1 oz. per gallon of fuel (the "long term storage" formula).

I'd vote for changing the drive oil now, if for no other reason than if you discover water in it you've got the off-season to get it fixed. You didn't mention the engine oil, but I would definitely get that done now, as having used oil sitting in an engine for months isn't good.

As to your question about safety of not winterizing, only you can decide how safe it is to assume that nothing can go wrong in the building that would subject the boat to extended freezing temps.

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Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

Howdy,

I'm going to jump on that train too....

Do you REALLY want that water in the drive to sit there all winter? (Or the engine for that matter.)

ALWAYS drain the oils and replace them when storing the boat. I would also drain out all the gas too....(but that might be harder to do for some boats....)

It's far better to have clean fresh oil in the drive and engine.



Regards,


Rick

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1987 Four Winns Liberator 211, formerly OMC 460 King Kobra powered, replaced in 2006 by a 1997 Mercruiser 454/Bravo III

I'm in agreement with those who said to do it now...if you don't as noted the motor oil starts to become acidic and if there is any water in the drive oil it can cause problems over the winter....You also need to put stabil in the gas so it doesn't go bad over the winter...I do the complete winterization on mine every fall and it's ready to go in the spring...If you don't have time to do it consider getting a good shop to do it for yo. I drain all the water and then backfill with -100 antifreeze. That's after running it to flush out the salt water...changing the motor oii, filter and drive oil...and fogging the motor. I also pull off the drive and check the bellows for water...gimble and ujoints are checked too...if all is well I store the drive in the garage for the winter..then reinstall with a new impeller and anodes in the spring...I also check the engine alignment at the same time...

I'd want to make sure you know where the drain plugs on the motor are just in case there is a power outage and you can't get it winterized before that...the 4.3 will have 2 drains on the engine (one each side of the block ...one in front of the starter and one near the oil dipstick)...you have to pull off the big hose on the front of the engine...on some there is a drain on the front of the intake manifold (square plug)...and there are drains on each exhaust manifold. Finally the Volvo had a raw water pump on the engine that has to be draine...You might be able to down load a manual for your engine off of the Volvo Penta website and in the iboats I/O forums there are manuals in the 'adults only' section....

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88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II

I'd really consider adding- fogging the engine, changing the drive and engine oil, and pulling the drains to drain the block (you never know -the building could have an extended power outage and get below freezing) or go ahead and have a full winterization done on it (then you are ready to go in the spring). Also something no one has mentioned is to place a couple of mouse poison boxes in the boat to elimate any mice nest from developing over the winter.

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'90 Horizon 220 5.8

I appreciate everyone's responses. The more I read this, the more I think I will just have it winterized by a professional this year and look into learning how to winterize it myself next year. I called my service guy and he said he can do the base level winterization for $160 (includes Fogging, Stabil, Antifreeze Flush, & Drive Oil Change). Thanks for the great tips!

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2001 Four Winns 180 Horizon
4.3L Volvo Penta

Winterizing the boat, fogging oil $8.99(one can will do a couple seasons), draining block - Free, drive oil and pump $20, and 1 hour of your time. Oh ya, because you have not done it before, add 5-10 min to read the owner manual on cold storage.

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2000 248 5.7L DP
'92, '94 SXI 750, '08 STX 15F, '12 Ultra LX 300
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