Rob
That’s a good explanation of the winterization process. The difference between the enclose engine coolant, and and the seawater or lake water cooling closed system should be understood by anyone doing winterization. The close system should always be winterized even in the boating season the seawater system at my yard at my yard. They expect to be done before they haul the boat so people don’t try to do it on hard they hip the boat to the lift and don’t use the engine for power. but that’s the process at pilots point Marina. The same place where you bought Soave.
It seems there are many different ways to winterize the seawater system, but I prefer using the cap. I think it’s easier and not as messy.
Hi Brian,
Yes, now that you mention it, I remember the boat they used at Pilots Point to shuttle boats to and from the lift. I remember how precisely they could maneuver. I guess they had lots of practice.
I keep Soave at a club that doesn’t have a large enough hoist on site, so I bring Soave to Norwalk Cove Marina for winter storage.
I guess we have about a month to go and 2025 will be a wrap. Time to start making my winter project list.
My process for the Beta 35 in my N33 and the 370 HP Yanmar in my powerboat is:
Run the boat 15 miles up the Connecticut River to my boatyard. This provides the freshwater flush.
Drain the water from the raw water/seawater side: open raw water pump, and disconnect hoses to drain. Leave the raw water/Seawater side dry for the winter.
No need to buy the pink stuff.
I do a similar process (drain and blowout) on the domestic water system.
Hi Ward,
I’m still in my monkey-see-monkey-do phase of my marine maintenance training. Hearing how others winterize is helpful.
The two approaches ( flood with antifreeze VS drain ) highlight a trend in maintenance. Reduce labor. Replace components rather than parts. Reduce skill required to perform maintenance.
Seems to me both approaches work if done properly, but ( I think ) subtleties may make one approach more attractive depending on the individual.
Opening the pump requires time, knowledge, and some continuity between decommissioning and commissioning. ( where’d I stash the parts ? )
Pulling the hoses gets tricky if they are old and hard or the clamps are corroded. ( if you touch them every year you don’t let them get that way )
Blowing out the lines assumes you have a portable compressor or an air tank to take aboard.
Some knowledge of the system is helpful ( filters or seals that shouldn’t go dry ? )
Any beneficial anti-corrosion or cleansing properties in the pink stuff ?
Soave is the first boat I’ve had that has a diesel or plumbing, but it seems similar to winterizing a summer cabin… maybe I can draw on past experience ?
My experience with winterizing other stuff is that draining back is the preferred method, but flooding with antifreeze is sometimes the easier method.
I’ve enjoyed learning by doing on Soave, and will readily admit to making some mistakes. Soave has a salt water foot pump for the galley sink that I thought would drain back once on the hard. Last winter the filter housing cracked because saltwater was airlocked in the filter. The only reason I noticed it was it was next to the keel bolts that I inspected over the winter… would have been a mess if the boat was splashed with the cracked filter housing. I probably should have actuated the pump a couple times to break the airlock.
I may give your approach a try this season this season… except the part about motoring up the Connecticut River… a garden hose flush will have to do.
I am not aware of seals that should not go dry. I welcome comments from anyone with knowledge on that.
The “pink stuff” is watered down propylene glycol with a corrosion inhibitor added. The propylene glycol by itself mixed with water is corrosive.
I was at the hardware store yesterday and there was a big display of “pink stuff” at the entry. It was labeled as burst proof to -50 F.
Here is what I understand burst proof means. If the system contains the exact concentration as in the jug from the store, at -50F there will be a slush of ice in the system. The slush at that concentration will be able to move if there is room in the system. It is unlikely that our boats will experience -50F so, some additional water laying in the system could be mixed in. That additional water would raise the burst proof temperature of the system.
One could measure the concentration of the solution in the system with a hydrometer. There is likely to be some error with that as there may be areas of differing concentration due to pockets of water not thoroughly mixing.