www.iFourWinns.com

The time has come to start thinking about pulling boat up here in the great white north. They start drawing down the lake come the begining of October so I am pulling before that. Couple of questions.

What are you guys paying for winterizing, shrink wrap and storage.

I have that green-yellow stain on the hull from being in the lake all summer. My dealer says they can acid wash it off for $15 a foot OUCH! Can I buff it out with cleaner polish? Any thoughts?

Canvas - leave it on under the shrink or take it home?

Battery - leave it in or take it home after they finish the winterizing?

Trailer - cover the wheels to protect against UV jack stand off the ground?

If i had my 20 hour service in August do i really need a complete system flush and new fluids for the winter? It sure would make the winterize cheaper.

What are you guys paying for shrink? Im looking at 500 for the package not including the acid wash.

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Guns kill people like spoons make people fat.
2007 Horizon 190 Gxi
97 Pathfinder SE 4x4
73 International Scout II

A couple tips for you:

Do the hull cleaning yourself. A bottle of hull cleaner costs less than $20 and it's a joke how easy it is and it works. Boat will look like new.
http://www.ifourwinns.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1201

Take the canvas out. Leave as little in the boat as possibe. This of course includes life jackets and I even plan on taking the carpet out to avoid and odours over the winter.

Take the battery in the house and put it in the basement. Make sure you don't leave it on the concrete. Put a couple 2x4's under it to elevate it off the cold floor.

Cover the wheels on the trailer to avoid any unneeded UV exposure. and even then, take a good stiff wheel brush to then and apply some 303 or other tire shine to protect over the winter. Also definately lift the trailer. This way the springs aren't under any load and you won't flat spot the tires. (Very bad)

And definately replace all the fluids. This will ensure you have no water in anywhere which again will be very bad come freezing.

AS for the shrink, I plan on covering the boat from top to bottom with a tarp and wrapping it tight that way. This will allow me to cover the trailer as well. AS with everything, there are some down sides to this but, costs alot less.

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Rob
2007 Four Winns 180 Horizon

We only paid $400 to have our 348 Vista shrink wrapped. I don't recall the other winterizing costs, but since the dealer completely eff'ed them up I've developed a mental block about it.

I'll be winterizing it myself this season. It's not like I could get it done any worse than the nitwits at the dealer.

Bear in mind anything you use to get a scum line off the boat will probably also remove the wax. It's a very good idea to thoroughly clean and re-wax the boat before putting it up for the winter. If only to help keep anything else from getting stuck on it while it's out of sight all season.

Whatever you cover it with you want to make sure it's securely attached and properly supported. Water/snow/ice are VERY HEAVY. You want the cover setup such that it allows the precipitation to slide off it. But even with the best of covers you want to visit the boat periodically to make SURE the cover hasn't collapsed. Tarps are cheaper but make sure they're not going to cause problems of their own. A tarp/grommet flapping against the gelcoat will leave marks that'll cost a LOT more to repair than a decent cover/shrink ever would.

I'm going to buy a whole boat cover (probably from Fisher). They're around $2k for a boat our size and four seasons of shrink will pay that back.

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-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista

I'd do the hull cleaning myself but be careful, those cleaners are pretty caustic, acid based substances. As far as winterizing, I've always done my old OMC 4.3/Cobra and it usually takes about 5 gallons of -100 no tox antifreeze, 5 qts of Chevron Delo 400, 2 qts of lower unit oil, oil & fuel filter, probably about 100 bucks worth of materials right there. Usually takes me 2-3 hrs. I use AF because it cuts down on corrosion, salt water cooled motors need all the help they can get. Many in freshwater areas just drain the engine. I'd still change the fluids, and have the drive removed to check the bellows and gimble bearing. As far as the cover, remove the canvas and use a good mooring cover, with support to deal with snow loads. In heavy snow areas shrink wrap is really the best because the snow will slide off, canvas covers need a frame made of PVC underneath. The Fisher covers do have provision for support poles and vents. Ventilation is very important, otherwise you can get a lot of mold everywhere.

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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

wkearney99 We just order our cover from Fisher's last week. Should get it next month. Now we can do everything ourselves.

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348 Vista ( Last Call )
Raystown PA

This will be my first season storing the vista and I'm leaning towards shrink wrapping. my marina is getting 11/ft if I don't do the swim platform. So that's 265. Do you guys have a link to these Fisher covers? Like Bill said I wouldn't trust anyone but myself to winterize the rest of the boat. Sorry you have to pull her out already. I'm hoping to keep mine in through Oct. The only other thing is that I'm thinking of working on a dredging project during the winter in Miami - which would be tempting to haul the 248 down there and get a slip. So hopefully I figure that out before the freezing temps arrive.

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V475
Chris Craft Catalina 23 w/ 300 G2
Previously-V338, 248 Vista, H210

Here you go http://www.fishercanvas.com/ Here is our old 268.

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348 Vista ( Last Call )
Raystown PA

Im thinking of like this. If ANYTHING happens when the dealer who sold it to me winterizes it I will be 0% responsible for the repairs and taht will easily surpass the intial cost to have them do it.

Its been a cold summer It was 90 on Friday and 55 on saturday, plus the sun is getting lower, you can really see it when you are on the lake.

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Guns kill people like spoons make people fat.
2007 Horizon 190 Gxi
97 Pathfinder SE 4x4
73 International Scout II

Concerning the picture of the 268 with the cover, are those wheels on the trailer off the ground?

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Alexj



1995 Four Winns Horizon 190
OMC 5.0 RL

Oh yeah? Well the trouble with that is if the dealer was incompetent enough to screw it up in the first place what gives you the impression they'll be able to get it right the second (and third, and fourth) times? That and you'll also be without your boat while they continue to make MORE MISTAKES with it.

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-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista

Is there a certain procedure to winterize the pressurized water system? I can do the water tank and heater and sanitary tank and their associated lines, but not clear on the pressure system.

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Alexj



1995 Four Winns Horizon 190
OMC 5.0 RL

There are kits that help deal with winterizing the water system. I've installed two of them. One sets up a bypass on the water heater. This re-routes the water so it never goes into the hot water heater. You then only have to drain the hot water heater. This instead of pumping 10 gallons of pink antifreeze into it.



This kit uses only one Tee. Some kits use two tees. On the 348 with inboards the water heater isn't easy to access. Using just one tee makes it less hassle. You just turn that one tee and now no water gets pumped into the heater. You then open the drain valve (likewise tough to reach with inboards) and pop the pressure relief valve to drain the existing water from the tank. Otherwise you'd have to pump antifreeze back into it and at $2-$3/gallon that's just a waste of money.

The other is a tee that allows using your fresh water pump to pull water from antifreeze jugs and pump it throughout the system.



Then you can use a blow-out plug fitting for compressed air to push any existing water out of the system:



Once you've got all the water out you can then pump the pink antifreeze into the system. You'd just open each tap and wait for pink to run out of it.

I also picked up a Camco hand pump. This will, supposedly, let me pump anti-freeze into other fittings. I'm guessing it'll be useful for pumping the pink stuff into the through-hulls for the AC and stuff. But I'm open to suggestions on how to deal with them.

I don't know the "right" way to deal with the ice maker (yet). It feeds off the cold water line to the cockpit sink. That tap has a shut-off valve to it. I'll have to ask U-Line about how to properly winterize it.

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-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista

What is winterizing???

Sorry guys just rubbing it in but we don't have a winter here in Miami. We get a whole combined two weeks of it maybe going below 50 which is "freezing" for us.

I feel for you guys though, it looks like it is quite a bit of work to get prepared for the winter. It also looks like its quite a hit on your pocket as well. I guess gambling with hurricanes down here is not so bad.

If any of you make it down to Miami during the winter look me up. I'll put you back on the water.

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Walter

2003 248 Vista - VP 5.0 GXi
2009 Toyota Tundra SR5 5.7L 4x4

True and on that note I trust myself to do it also but there is always that slim chance that something could happen. Our dealer is AMAZING so i like the added insurance I get and zero responsibility for it. Plus I would never want to jepordize my 6 year warranty..

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Guns kill people like spoons make people fat.
2007 Horizon 190 Gxi
97 Pathfinder SE 4x4
73 International Scout II

Thanks for the invite. BTW hows that annual algea growth? I remember my dad paying a couple grand every 4 months to pull wash paint and put back his boat in Houston. Besides snow doesn't pick up my boat and fling it to Alabama once ina while....lol

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Guns kill people like spoons make people fat.
2007 Horizon 190 Gxi
97 Pathfinder SE 4x4
73 International Scout II