www.iFourWinns.com

Hey guys, I live in Oceanside, Ca North San diego county. It doesn't generally get below freezing here, but in the coming weeks it is supposed to dip down a couple of nights. This is my first winter owning a boat, and I have absolutely no idea how to go about "winterizing", I didn't think it would be a necessity here. I have a 2002 H200 with a mercury 5.0. I would be much obliged if someone could walk me through (barney style) on how to go about getting the water out of it, so that I don't ruin the boat. Thank you for your time.
Adam

Here is a thread going on right now with a similar topic (with pictures):
http://www.smwebhead.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=13687&start=0

_________________

"Knot Easy" 2000 Horizon 240 Volvo 5.7GS /SX
tow: 2017 Honda PILOT EXL-AWD
prev. boats:
'87 Chaparral 198CXL 4.3 OMC Cobra
'69 Jetstar 16ft Ski Boat, 115hp Yamaha
'68 Aluminum Jon Boat, 3hp Sears
'64 Water Wings

I saw that thread, I wasn't really able to follow it, or understand where what i'm looking for is

The basic idea is you need to get all the water out of the engine, exhaust manifolds and hoses. The problem with us telling you what to do is that each installation is a little different, while there are certain basic similarities. So you can take it to a marine mechanic, or you can look in a Merc owners manual or shop manual for instructions. If you look in your owners manual or shop manual and the instructions do not make sense to you then the best plan is to take it to a mechanic because if you make a mistake it will cost you thousands in an engine replacement.

_________________
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 threw in a lot of freshwater system stuff. Minus that it's fairly easy. Just print LouC's post from my thread and follow it.

2 Plugs on the block
1 Hose to the water pump
1 Hose to Port manifold
1 Hose to Starboard manifold
2 hoses to the impeller

2 Bolts and 5 hose clamps later it's done.

Good Luck, this was my first time doing it myself and I wouldn't hesitate to do it again thanks to the people on this forum.

_________________


Chris and Alicia
Las Vegas, NV
ALTIVA
1996 Four Winns 238 Vista Dlx 5.8Fi

See here's the thing, the Merc system on that boat, can be different than ours, with a single point drain, instead of multiple drain plugs. This is why without knowing exactly what you have, its hard to help. Some detailed pix will help. Its not hard if you have clear instructions that are relevant to exactly your installation.

_________________
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

Alternatively you can just run an antifreeze through the system and be done with it. In the past I used to drain all the water from the engine but found out that its easier on my boat to just run antifreeze, plus as an
added bonus antifreeze prevents your impeller from drying out. Not trying to start another discussion which method is better, everybody has there own preference. No right or wrong here. Good luck.

_________________
2004 Four Winns H250

You were lucky...because with raw water cooling, if the thermostat does not open up all the way, what happens is the water in the block cannot exit. So you can have manifolds full of AF and the block with all water or a weak AF/water mix. If you drain the block first then this is not a concern. None of the I/O manufacturers ever recommended this method, this was something marinas did to winterize hundreds of boats fast, but they have running troughs that re-circulate the AF to keep it hot enough to make sure the stat opens. This method does work fine if the engine has closed cooling.
Anyone who has an I/O really should learn to drain the engine. Just like you learn to dock a boat and how to launch and load it. BTW, you will learn the draining part much faster than the docking part. Its not hard but if you miss a drain plug its going to cost you if you do have a hard freeze.

_________________
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

Sorry. I Forgot to mention that before running antifreeze I run my engine for about 10-15min. For me its just easier than trying to be a contortionist in the engine bay removing those two water pump hoses.

_________________
2004 Four Winns H250

My father-in-law never winterizes his boat. He keeps a tiny oil filled heater (no sparks) in his engine bay. The heater turns ON when it gets close to freezing, but he keeps his boat in the unheated garage. Obviously if the boat is kept outside it's not an option.

_________________
2004 Four Winns H250

So I looked up the procedure in the shop manual i have (albeit for a fuel injected engine and mine is carbureted the drain system appears to be the same) there are 3 blue drain plugs that come out by hand. these are the instructions in the manual, does this seem right? or is there more i should be doing?

3 POINT MANUAL DRAIN SYSTEM
NOTE: Use this procedure if your engine is not equipped with an air actuated single point
drain system or if the single point drain system fails.
1. Remove three blue drain plugs: One from the distribution housing (lower front, port side)
and two from the seawater pickup pump (front, starboard side).
2. Verify that water is draining from each opening.
3. Allow the system to drain for a minimum of 5 minutes. Mercury MerCruiser recommends
leaving the plugs out while transporting the boat or while performing other maintenance
to ensure that all water is drained.
4. Crank engine over slightly with starter motor to purge any water trapped in seawater
pickup pump. Do NOT allow engine to start.
5. Prior to launching boat or starting the engine, close the drain system by re-installing the
three blue drain plugs.

All Models
1. For additional assurance against freezing and corrosion, fill the cooling system with a
mixture of propylene glycol antifreeze and tap water mixed to manufacturer’s
recommendation to protect engine to the lowest temperature to which it will be exposed
during cold weather or extended storage.
a. Remove thermostat housing or hose and fill with propylene glycol coolant until
engine block is full. If thermostat housing was removed, reinstall and tighten cover
bolts securely.
Store boat with drive unit in full DOWN/IN position.

That should do it. See your system is different than what I and Chris have, we have the older systems where you had to remove all the individual plugs (1 on each side of the engine block, one on each exhaust manifold, the big hose on the bottom of the circulating pump, and the raw water intake hoses).
I've been doing this for years but the first time I did it back in 2002 I just followed the OMC owners manual. I added antifreeze as Merc says, by pouring in -100 Marine Antifreeze NOT by sucking it up the drive which is a risky procedure, unless you drain the block first. Keep in mind if you are in fresh water the addition of antifreeze is optional, here in salt water I do it because it does reduce corrosion to a point.

To Merc's instructions I'd add, make sure water comes out of every drain you open, if not poke it with a stiff wire and make sure it drains.
In salt water the single point drain would never work. The rust flakes you always get will clog all those lines up. If I had a Merc engine with that system I'd have to take it all off and use regular plugs.

_________________
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

Thanks for the help man, it is greatly appreciated.