There is often stress of how to winterize correctly, a large amount of time, and expense of some methods that turn people off to winterizing their own boat. I thought I’d share a method that I have used on a number of boats that is quick, easy, and from what I see 100% effective.

The good thing is that this takes around 10 minutes, works with most if not any engine, requires no component disassembly, and uses only 2 or 3 gallons of anti freeze. As you fill the RV AF you will see the water pushed out and the pink color flow out.

This is how I do it on my 7.4 bravo and have also done it on a 5.0 Merc and a 5.7 Volvo.

1--run engine and do oil changes, fogging, etc.

2--drain water from exhaust manifolds and engine block. Leave drain cocks open.

3--Remove hoses off of t-stat housing and sea water pump. You DO NOT have to remove the t-stat or housing. Too many people do this and it is not necessary.

4--Start by filling the oil/power steering cooler line at the t-stat end with AF until it runs pink at the sea water pump end. This is the medium size hose on the t-start that goes to the output on the sea water pump. The AF pushes out the water as it flows down and will begin to flow out pink when the water is gone.

5--Next fill each hose going to the exhaust manifolds with AF until it runs out the drain cock on the manifold. When the AF runs out the drain replace the plugs and continue to fill with AF until it runs out the prop.

6--Next pour some down the intake hose on the sea water pump. This is the stiffer of the two hoses and the AF flushes out the lower unit. At this point you should have used about 1-1.5 gallons of AF. I also remove the coil wire and bump the starter at this point to make sure that the sea water pump is dry.

7--Last step is to fill the water pump hose (the biggest one on the t-stat housing) until AF comes out the block drains. When it does, replace the plugs and continue to fill until the block is full or you run out of AF. I usually put the last gallon or so in this hose.

That’s it! You will spend 10-15 minutes tops and use 3 gallons of AF. There is no need to remove parts or second guess as to whether or not you removed all of the water.

On drives with the water pump in the lower unit you can add AF in step four until it runs out the prop and winterize the cooler, water pump, and lower unit in one easy step.

Hope this helps!

Great write up! Winterizing is very simple to do and no need for any of the 'de-winterizing' that most marina's try to charge you in the spring time if you do it the way Nauti has described. Just charge the battery and go.

What I do since I have moved to AL is just use the wet vac on the hoses and drains. Sucks all the water out so I don't have to constantly buy antifreeze as we could be boating almost year round but never sure if temps will dip to danger zone in the evening.

I've eventually done the same thing, but I will say it takes more than 1.5 gallons. Our 5.0GXI would take about 3.5 gallons after completely draining everything.

I also do not remove the thermo housing.

For the last couple of years I just pumped the antifreeze in through the one point flush. Verified results one year by removing hoses and plugs to see what level the a/f got to. All looked good.

This year it will be drained since the boat is stored indoors where it rarely gets much below 32 outside.

How did you hook it up to pump it through the one point flush?

Is this the procedure for a Mercrusier? My VP has things plumbed a bit different.

Simply hooked up a drill powered pump to the inlet on the one point flush and the other end to a container with a hose bib to hold the a/f. Used the drill pump to pump it until it came out of the outdrive.

It should be no different, but my VP had the flush that you could not run the motor off of.

On the Volvo 5.7 EFI (1997) that I winterized this way, things were very similiar to the Mercrusier setup. This should work with any engine since the AF going in follows the natural path to push the water out. I only use 2-2.5 gallons and the block is probably only 2/3 full when I am done.

The AF in the block does not keep the engine from freezing- the removal of all water does. The AF that is added is intended to mix with any residual water and keep it from reaching burst temp. If you drain everything and then add some AF there is no need to fill the block completely and leave it full. If you choose to drain the AF you would also be fine.

If you have a manual for your engine you can look at the path the water takes through the engine and putting AF in one place will push the water out another.

Good luck! I hope this was helpful to someone.

10 - 15 minutes??? Let me add this up, based on my experience . . .

1--run engine (10 mins) and do oil changes (75 mins), fogging, etc. (5 mins)

2--drain water from exhaust manifolds and engine block. Leave drain cocks open. (5 mins)

3--Remove hoses off of t-stat housing and sea water pump. You DO NOT have to remove the t-stat or housing. Too many people do this and it is not necessary. (5 mins)

4--Start by filling the oil/power steering cooler line at the t-stat end with AF until it runs pink at the sea water pump end. This is the medium size hose on the t-start that goes to the output on the sea water pump. The AF pushes out the water as it flows down and will begin to flow out pink when the water is gone. (5 mins)

5--Next fill each hose going to the exhaust manifolds with AF until it runs out the drain cock on the manifold. When the AF runs out the drain replace the plugs and continue to fill with AF until it runs out the prop. (5 mins)

6--Next pour some down the intake hose on the sea water pump. This is the stiffer of the two hoses and the AF flushes out the lower unit. At this point you should have used about 1-1.5 gallons of AF. I also remove the coil wire and bump the starter at this point to make sure that the sea water pump is dry. (5 mins)

7--Last step is to fill the water pump hose (the biggest one on the t-stat housing) until AF comes out the block drains. When it does, replace the plugs and continue to fill until the block is full or you run out of AF. I usually put the last gallon or so in this hose. (5 mins)

OK, I get 120 minutes.

what gives ?? I know I might be a little more 'methodical' that others, but it is not even close to 15 minutes.

I think I'll just do the anti-freeze bucket on the muff adapter thing, like always.

TP-

I was talking about winterizing (ie: removing water & adding AF) to ensure that your block is not going to freeze and crack. Oil changes and others procedures were not included in the 10 minutes. Like other info on the net, the post is worth what you paid for it!

FWIW, I ran the boat around the marina for 10 minutes, put it on the trailer, and pulled it home. Not including the 3 hours this piece of the winterization process took steps followed something like this:

1- Pull up to house and drain oil with drill pump while engine is hot. (10 minutes)

2- Powerwash bottom of boat (10 more)

3- Back trailer in driveway, pull prop, drain oil overnight from drive (10 more)

From the time I pulled up to my house and started steps 1-4 to the time the trailer was backed in and I was in the house was just around 40 minutes.

Day 2:

1- Fill drive and engine with fresh oil (30 minutes)

2- Follow previously posted winterization steps (20 minutes tops!)

Day 3: Wax, hose out, wash down interior ( a few more hours )

Day 4: Rain

Day 5: Tow to storage

TP, sorry that I lied about winterizing only taking only 10 minutes. I should have really titled this "Winterize the easy way in only 5 Days!"