What are WINTERIZING costs in your area?

Jacādie

Jacādie

Member
Aug 26, 2021
31
Barnegat Bay
Boat Info
300slx Bravo III, axius
Engines
Twin 350 Mercruiser w/Bravo III Drives
Cost per foot- to put things on scale.
Thought it would vary, depending on where you live.
 
Twin Diesels: $2700-$3000 (Oil, filters, Racors, Fuel Filters, anti-freeze, service/disconnect batteries)

Freshwater System: $150 + Antifreeze
Marine Head: $150 + Antifreeze
2nd Head: $75 + Antifreeze
ACs: $150 + Antifreeze (per unit)
Diesel Generator: $285
Windshield Washer: $75
Washer/Dryer: $75

If my math is right, that's an estimated $4,260 + Antifreeze.
 
That’s just crazy, same price here though. I can do my AC’s (2) for $15 in antifreeze and 5 mins, total…. Freshwater system, I blow out in 15 mins, max…. Take out the oil change on the gas engines, I can do both mains and the genny in 30 mins and $35 in AF…. Toilet, sinks, shower sump, and bilge pumps another 15 mins and $30 in AF… I never winterized my run abouts, paid the shop. This is a lot simpler IMO than outdrives

I know labor isn’t cheap, but as far as winterizing, I may have 90 mins in it and less than $75 in AF….

I have fresh water cooled engines, so that helps

Jaybeaux said:
Twin Diesels: $2700-$3000 (Oil, filters, Racors, Fuel Filters, anti-freeze, service/disconnect batteries)

Freshwater System: $150 + Antifreeze
Marine Head: $150 + Antifreeze
2nd Head: $75 + Antifreeze
ACs: $150 + Antifreeze (per unit)
Diesel Generator: $285
Windshield Washer: $75
Washer/Dryer: $75

If my math is right, that's an estimated $4,260 + Antifreeze.
Click to expand...
 
I agree. I bought, if memory serves, 30 gallons on AF. That leaves me several left over for miscellaneous things. I use my compressor to blow out the water lines, too.

The line item that has always given me a chuckle is the AC winterization. The cooling water for the AC units runs off of the same pump. But you get charged on a per unit basis. :confused:
 
I walked by my Laguna yesterday and threw a long sleeve t-shirt on the helm. The shirt cost $30 and I have been using it for 5 years and my boat is 23 feet long. The math....30 divided by 23 = 1.3, divided by 5 = .26, so to answer the OPs question, my costs to winterize here in Florida are 26 cents per year.:p........ Sorry, couldn't help myself.
 
Answers are going to vary quite a bit since there are so many variables. Not even taking into account labor differences, but... what does "winterizing" mean to you?

-- Simply protecting the engines for the winter?
-- Changing engine oil?
-- Changing drive oil?
-- Changing F/W sep's and filters?
-- Winterizing other systems?
-- Bottom cleaning?
-- Touching up anti-foul?
-- Shrink wrapping?
-- Storage?
-- etc

You probably see where I'm going with this. "Winterizing" can mean different things to different people and can also mean different things depending on the boat and the systems.
 
Those costs sure discourage a guy from moving into a larger boat with more complex systems from our simple one. Winter for us up here in the north on our 245 is just backing the trailer into the shop rather than leaving it along side the house. Other than not using the freshwater system on the boat in the winter, we just pull the 3 blue plugs on the manifolds and oil cooler and disconnect the hoses on the raw water pump. Hoses are all routed to completely drain out from those points. An extra 5 mins or so in and out of it's parking spot. No additional costs. It is usually only parked for the 3 coldest months (Nov-Jan) as well.
 
Thornton69 said:
Those costs sure discourage a guy from moving into a larger boat with more complex systems from our simple one. Winter for us up here in the north on our 245 is just backing the trailer into the shop rather than leaving it along side the house. Other than not using the freshwater system on the boat in the winter, we just pull the 3 blue plugs on the manifolds and oil cooler and disconnect the hoses on the raw water pump. Hoses are all routed to completely drain out from those points. An extra 5 mins or so in and out of it's parking spot. No additional costs. It is usually only parked for the 3 coldest months (Nov-Jan) as well.
Click to expand...

Sticking with gas engines can make a pretty dramatic impact on the costs you see above. I'm sub $200 to winterize (indoor heated). Maybe another $100 if I needed to buy antifreeze?
 
Halfhitch said:
I walked by my Laguna yesterday and threw a long sleeve t-shirt on the helm. The shirt cost $30 and I have been using it for 5 years and my boat is 23 feet long. The math....30 divided by 23 = 1.3, divided by 5 = .26, so to answer the OPs question, my costs to winterize here in Florida are 26 cents per year.:p........ Sorry, couldn't help myself.
Click to expand...
Larry Fine.jpg
 
Here are our current pricing for a big block (all in CAD $ - take about 75% to get to USD)
Oil and filter change $185 each
vDrive oil change $98 each
Stern drive service - remove, u-joint and gimbal inspect and grease, oil change, reinstall and pressure test (not what I have though) $295 per
Engine winterization (drain and flush with antifreeze) $185 each
Battery service (water and disconnect) $34 per bank
Water systems:
Main tank and plumbing $103
Head - $44 each
Hot water tank - $61
AC - $81
Icemaker $66
Shower sump $39

You can see that the water systems prices are "goofy" high. I do all that myself. I should do the oil changes, but I don't. I will after I retire when the time/money ratio shifts. I change the v-drive oil every 100hrs or so, not always now.
 
The cost to have a shop winterize my single engine boat with a small 10 gallon fresh water system with 4 spigots and a pump out porta-potty is $300 plus antifreeze. The shops charge $5-$7 per gallon for antifreeze and my raw water side takes 7 gallons, plus another 1-2 for the fresh water system. So somewhere around $350 to winterize and that does not include an enigine or outdrive oil change. The 9ish gallons of antifreeze (pink stuff) costs me $27 dollars. The winterization process takes me about 15 minutes start to finish. With fresh water cooling, if I completely screw up and the cooling system freezes (has not happened in 13 years including last year when the temperatures outside our high and dry reached record low temperatures approaching -10), all I am out is the cost of a heat exchanger and some plumbing. I also almost always change the engine and drive oil when I winterize (time permitting).
 
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Thornton69 said:
Those costs sure discourage a guy from moving into a larger boat with more complex systems from our simple one. Winter for us up here in the north on our 245 is just backing the trailer into the shop rather than leaving it along side the house. Other than not using the freshwater system on the boat in the winter, we just pull the 3 blue plugs on the manifolds and oil cooler and disconnect the hoses on the raw water pump. Hoses are all routed to completely drain out from those points. An extra 5 mins or so in and out of it's parking spot. No additional costs. It is usually only parked for the 3 coldest months (Nov-Jan) as well.
Click to expand...
Just a heads up, Thornton, with a '97 V8, there are also drain plugs on each side of the engine block. The block will not drain w/o removing those plugs. It also wouldn't be a bad idea to "bump" the engine a couple times after removing the sea water pump hoses - just to ensure that no water remains in the housing. And, of course, it's NEVER a bad idea to get some fogging fluid into the cylinders for extended layups to better protect against corrosion.

Non-Tox AF is another "best practice" thing to add to the engine/manifolds to help protect against interior corrosion and fully ensure there's no trapped water anywhere. It's by no means imperative to do that as the corrosion would be minimal -- but it certainly can't hurt to do it, either.
 
When you get into larger boats if you don’t take care of winterizing most if not all systems and engines on your own then you don’t ask how much. It’s all part of going bigger and it is what it is.
 
Stee6043 said:
Sticking with gas engines can make a pretty dramatic impact on the costs you see above. I'm sub $200 to winterize (indoor heated). Maybe another $100 if I needed to buy antifreeze?
Click to expand...


Why would you say it is dramatically more to winterize a diesel boat vs a gasser?
 
Jaybeaux said:
Twin Diesels: $2700-$3000 (Oil, filters, Racors, Fuel Filters, anti-freeze, service/disconnect batteries)

Freshwater System: $150 + Antifreeze
Marine Head: $150 + Antifreeze
2nd Head: $75 + Antifreeze
ACs: $150 + Antifreeze (per unit)
Diesel Generator: $285
Windshield Washer: $75
Washer/Dryer: $75

If my math is right, that's an estimated $4,260 + Antifreeze.
Click to expand...
Holy crap !! :eek:
 
Great lakes pirate said:
Why would you say it is dramatically more to winterize a diesel boat vs a gasser?
Click to expand...

Because of post # 3 above.

I'm $80 in for 14 quarts oil, $20 for 2 oil filters, $80 for 4 fuel filters. Sub $200 to fully winterize twin gassers for inside heated storage. If I were outside would I add another $100 for antifreeze? I honestly have no idea, I've always done inside heated.
 
Stee6043 said:
Because of post # 3 above.

I'm $80 in for 14 quarts oil, $20 for 2 oil filters, $80 for 4 fuel filters. Sub $200 to fully winterize twin gassers for inside heated storage. If I were outside would I add another $100 for antifreeze? I honestly have no idea, I've always done inside heated.
Click to expand...

Costs me $10 more to change oil and filters on my boat.


but the winterization cost of either of our boats should be the same inside or outside regardless of diesel/gas.
 
Great lakes pirate said:
Costs me $10 more to change oil and filters on my boat.


but the winterization cost of either of our boats should be the same inside or outside regardless of diesel/gas.
Click to expand...

Again, I was responding to post #3 above which is not consistent with your experience...not even remotely :)

That said, when I see my diesel boat neighbors hauling their oil in/out of the boat in multiple 5 gallon pails I find it hard to believe they'd be within $10 of my total cost. But I have no data to back that up...
 
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