Do I Need to Re-Winterize???

[JeffM]

We were not able to put the boat in the water this year. She was winterized last fall, and spent the season on blocks. I replaced the moisture absorbers regularly, and except for some shrink-wrap repair, she seems ready for another winter. The batteries are two years old, were fully charged when we laid her up, and have been disconnected -- although still in the boat -- since.

Do I need to replace/refresh anything before winter? Does the pink antifreeze break down? The gas was stabilized at the end of last season; does that need more stabilizer? Anything else I need to worry about?

Thanks!

 

[Sundancer]

I'd charge the batteries and at least key the starter a little bit just to expose a different set of open valves. That would put a little coating of oil on everything as well. The fuel might be OK, I just hope it was as empty as possible so you can add fresh fuel next year. Next season, I'd probably change the oil. It's probably OK, but it's a piece of mind thing and I don't have many pieces left!

 

[rcknecht]

I did not put my 190 SD in this summer either, but I charged the battery, started it and ran it twice on muffs... I rewinterized it with 3 gallons of pink. For $12 for pink and some spray fog, I would run her until the thermostat opens, and then run pink through again... You should be able to run it with the shrink wrap on. It is good to know that she still runs and then you can pull the batteries out. It should help not to leave the same intake and exhaust valve open for two years...

 

[JeffM]

Thanks, guys! I was hoping not to do any mechanical work, since I'm not comfortable doing it myself and would need to pay a mechanic. Think I can handle bumping the starter a bit, though!

I don't remember exactly how much gas is in the tank -- as I recall it was somewhere near a half tank. We weren't planning to leave her on the hard this year when we winterized last year, so I didn't run the tank down.

 

[Sundancer]

Bump the starter, charge the battery and you'll be fine. I'd add some additional Sta-bil to help the gas you have and next year start it and see if it will run. I'm sure it will. You can either run through the gas that's there or add a half tank of fresh gas, but plan on running it a bit to get through as much of that as possible. I'd also grab a spare fuel/water filter just incase you develop water in the gas. Might be worth putting in something next spring, like Heet, to absorb and move that through the carb easier.

Stuff happens!