www.iFourWinns.com

I have a 2002 Sundowner 205 with a 5.0 GL VP drive train. I put together this checklist to help me winterize my boat each year. I do store it inside so I don't have to shrink wrap it. I take my time and this takes me about four hours. I did buy an oil extractor and an antifreeze winterization kit from Westmarine. You also need a set of muffs for the stern-drive. Beyond that no other special tools are required. Paste this into Word so you can take it to the boat and mark things off as you go through the process.

□ Uncover the boat, open the hatch and remove the flooring over the ski locker. Let it sit in the sun. This may take a couple of days to get the carpet dry
□ Remove the rear seating area back rest
□ Add Stabil to a full tank of fuel
□ Warm up the engine
□ Change engine oil
o 6 qts. 20W 50 (w/ filter)
o Oil filter – Fram PH30, VP 3850559, Purolator L20049 or goto http://www.oilfilter-crossreference.com ... /Fram/PH30
□ Change fuel filter
o Sierra 187789, OMC 502906, Volvo 3862228, Volvo 3852413, Volvo 3851218, Baldwin BF7969,
□ Check power steering fluid
□ Check belts
□ Drain engine block
□ Start the engine and fill engine with antifreeze
o Six gallons of marine -50 to -100 antifreeze
o Fog engine at the end of the antifreeze filling
□ Change lower unit oil GL-5 Synthetic
o 2.1 qts. 75W 90 gear oil
□ Grease all fittings
□ Replace rear seat backrest
□ Several dryer sheets strewn about the boat
□ Bucket of charcoal placed in middle of boat to absorb moisture
o One bag of charcoal and a bucket
□ Disconnect battery
□ Cover the boat for winter
□ Grease trailer hubs and inspect

Very nice list. Some people might find it easier to drain the engine and manifolds after fogging and just manually back fill the engine, manifolds and raw water intake hose/impeller housing (if a Volvo or Bravo engine) with marine AF since some engines (those with engine mounted impellers such as Bravo and Volvo) might have trouble sucking in the af. I like to put OMC gasket sealer on the threads of the drain plugs if they are the metal kind and spray the oil pan at least with Boeshield T9 or Corrosion X.
Also keep in mind if you want to use the winterizing tank method on a raw water cooled engine you must drain the block first because if the thermostat does not open all the way you may have a diluted af mix in the block which could lead to freeze ups.
Personally I find it easier and safer to just drain it poke the holes, disconnect the hoses, and manually back fill after fogging the engine. If I had a closed cooled engine then yes I'd use the tank method and pressurize the flow with a live well pump or similar.

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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 purchased the same kit to winterize my 1990 FourWinns, my thought was to run the motor till the thermostat opened up, then drain the water out then add the antifreeze with the kit... Do you know how long the thermostat will stay opened, and will I be able to get to the drain plugs with the motor hot?

There in lies the problem, unless you know how to check carefully you're not going to know if it's fully open, you need an IR Temp gun to tell. And the water that comes out if you try to drain it when its hot will be hot as h@ll (150*+) and you can burn your fingers doing that. I'd return that kit and do it the right way, ie the way every marine engine company tells you do it it. Manually drain.
If we tell you that its fine if the intake manifold right under the thermostat is at normal temp, and then the stat starts to close as soon as the cold AF hits it, you may have a ruined engine because of what you read on here. Information that is against the manufacturer's recommendations. We don't want to hear you have a cracked block in April. Find all the drains, remove the plugs, poke the holes so that they are not blocked by rust, disconnect the big hose at the the bottom end, the raw water intake hose at the thermo housing end, point it down in the bilge to drain. If a Volvo or Bravo you may have to disconnect the hose that goes from the thermo housing to the impeller housing at the impeller to drain that housing. That's the way you should do it.
Is this an OMC Cobra, or Merc Alpha and what engine?

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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

Thanks for the feedback. I will have to look into manually filling my block for next year. Diluting the antifreeze is an issue with the residual water that might be in the block. Using the -100 AF can help lessen that risk.

It's very easy, no need to remove thermostat.
Remove block drains, rod out drain holes. Disconnect big hose that goes from the thermo housing to the front circulating pump at the bottom end, that drains a lot of water. After it all drains, if your drain plugs are the metal kind put some gasket sealer on the threads (so they come out easily next time) and re-install them. Re-connect the bottom end of that hose. Disconnect it at the top end (thermo housing). Then put a funnel in the neck of the hose. Fill it with -100 marine AF till it comes out the thermo housing neck. Re-connect hose. Done. Now do the same with the exhaust manifolds, fill them through the feed hoses that connect to the thermo housing. Fill till the AF runs out on the ground (why its so important to use non toxic marine AF). This way you can fog it first without worrying that the AF tank might run out, or the impeller might have trouble sucking in the AF. Very easy and you know its done right.

The only time I would use a winterizing tank is if the engine has closed cooling, and even then, I would use a livewell pump or similar to pressurize the AF flow so you are not just depending on gravity and suction from the impeller. And as an additional precaution, I'd hook up the muffs first, then disconnect the raw water intake hose at either the impeller (Bravo, Volvo) or the heat exchanger (Alpha, Cobra) and fill that hose with AF, to make it easier for the impeller to prime. Then re-connect the hose. This way there is no chance of the impeller running dry if you have an engine mounted impeller (Bravo, Volvo); these systems suck the water or AF up through the drive to the impeller. Not such a big issue deal on a drive mounted impeller (Alpha, Cobra) because these systems push the water or AF forward from the drive. They just need to suck it from the water intakes to the impeller.

The problem that people have with those tanks, in addition to the dilution problem in the block, is that if the engine mounted impeller is a bit worn its going to have a hard time sucking the AF all that way up and forward. Those systems are really designed to operate with the drive and the raw water intake hose full of water due to hydrostatic pressure.

_________________
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