What would you do re: winterizing

[smeagol]

Our '05 VLX sits on a lift in Georgia/South Carolina (Lake Hartwell) during the boating season. In the past, we pull it about this time of year and go through the process of changing out fluids and putting it away. We have to put it away in a very tight space that requires us to pull off the tower and take off two of the trailer tires. It usually ends up taking us about 1.5 - 2 hours to get it put away and then about 1 hour to get it out each season.

This year, I'm thinking about leaving the boat on the lift and either:

1. draining the lines/engine (I have no idea what I'm doing when it comes to this, but I'm sure there is plenty of material on this site that can help me... if you have a link to an article with pictures that would be great... I struggle with big words like manifold)

2. installing a bilge heater so that i don't have to do item #1. I believe that I will still need to drain the lines to my heater if I do this option, right?

What would you do?

[srab]

This year, I'm thinking about leaving the boat on the lift and either:

1. draining the lines/engine (I have no idea what I'm doing when it comes to this, but I'm sure there is plenty of material on this site that can help me... if you have a link to an article with pictures that would be great... I struggle with big words like manifold)

2. installing a bilge heater so that i don't have to do item #1. I believe that I will still need to drain the lines to my heater if I do this option, right?

What would you do?

FWIW, my boat lives on a lift year round. Winterizing is really pretty simple here (central Texas), and Pistol Pete

has a link to the pdf. The winterization guide has words and pictures, so it's easy to understand, even for

the mechanically-challenged. It doesn't include the ballast tanks/lines, heater, and/or shower, though.

The bilge heater is a little more iffy, at least as far as I'm concerned. Those rare cold fronts that blow through

here tend to bring high winds and rain/sleet with them, just the conditions that could lead to a complete power

outage, or maybe just simply a tripped circuit breaker, at the marina. So, I'm not sure that I could sleep well

at night, since I live about an hour and a half away, wondering if my bilge heater was working when I needed

for it to work.

And, yes, even with a functioning bilge heater, the boat's heater would still be susceptible to freezing (However,

there is a modification for the heater in the DIY section.).

[Pistol Pete]

I have done a lot of editing to the original winterization guide that is linked in my signature.

Check it out. It now has links to indmar's site, and the heater mods. on this site.

[Baddog]

It's not that hard, really. Follow Pete's doc and enjoy.

Add dessicants to the interior.