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Winterize or not? Stored indoors


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Thank you in advance for reading this.

I purchased new Malibu MLX earlier this year. I keep in at storage facility indoors. Will I need to winterize it?

The dealer moved a few cities away and now it's a 2 hour drive. Ideally i'd like to not have to worry about it. The storage facility shouldn't get too cold i'd imagine.

Any input would be appreciated.

Thank you,

Josh

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Much of typical winterization - oil changes, impeller change, etc. should be done regardless. Since you are asking, I assume you are referring to draining the water out? If it were me, I would. Just in case. It is very easy to diy.

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If you are planning on laying your boat up for months without any use then winterizing is something I recommend you do.   I have mine in a 50F garage for the winter and winterize every year.   Long off season in Oregon.  Boat sits for 6+ months.  

My suggestions at a minimum

1) Drain water from fresh water side of cooling system.  Water should not sit in the fresh water side of the cooling system for long periods for reasons other than freezing.  Drain water to avoid rust in the heat exchanger and exhaust manifolds.  Follow the easy procedure to remove the blue wing nuts and if equipped exhaust manifold crossover hose.   

2) Change the engine oil to remove contaminates sitting in the engine.   No fogging the engine required thru the intake anymore.  Some would recommend pulling each spark plug to fog each cylinder individually. 

3) Fuel stabilizer is needed as well for gas that sits for long periods.   Otherwise it goes bad.  Good time to change fuel filter as well if needed.  

4) Trailer tires - For storage I recommend filling to max pressure and watching over the winter. 

5) One last suggestion is to place a trickle charger on the batteries to avoid them dropping too low on voltage.  Batteries will last longer.  

Now if you are going to use your boat every month then maybe you do not need to winterize. Follow the regular maintenance schedule.  My two cents.  :)  

 

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Good list @ORMailbuboater!

I would jack up the trailer and put it on stands so that the tires are just above the ground. Takes stress out of the torsion axles and relieves the tires.

And I personally would fill the engine with antifreeze to protect from corrosion. But I’m aware that there are two opinions on that matter. Dry vs antifreeze.

Place some damprite somewhere in the boat to keep the moisture to a minimum.

And make sure it’s cover is tight on to keep critters like mice out of the boat.

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I’m sure I’m in the minority with what I do. I have a heated garage at my house. I stabilize fuel and change oil but leave the water in the engine. 
 

I also have a bilge heater and a sensor attached to my home alarm that will alert me if the temp drops below 45*. 
 

If my boat was anywhere but home I’d drain the water as well. 

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In Las Vegas, I leave my boat in a covered slip at the marina. We rarely drop below freezing, so I have never winterized, and I have not had a problem. I also use my boat year around though. This week is the parade of lights.  

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10 hours ago, Pnwrider said:

The raptor is so easy to drain, spend the 10 minutes and have the peace of mind. There’s really no excuse not to. 

4 Blue finger tight plugs and pull impeller cover, Done!

 

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Slightly different question.  I am in Midwest and I do have dealer winterize everything.  I then have boat put in heated  (50 degrees F) indoor storage instead of unheated indoor storage which costs twice as much.  Am I wasting my money on the indoor heated storage????

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3 minutes ago, chrisnorem said:

Slightly different question.  I am in Midwest and I do have dealer winterize everything.  I then have boat put in heated  (50 degrees F) indoor storage instead of unheated indoor storage which costs twice as much.  Am I wasting my money on the indoor heated storage????

I would say yes.  For a while I had heated storage and then it tripled in price so cold storage it was to be after that.  No issues at all.

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6 minutes ago, chrisnorem said:

Slightly different question.  I am in Midwest and I do have dealer winterize everything.  I then have boat put in heated  (50 degrees F) indoor storage instead of unheated indoor storage which costs twice as much.  Am I wasting my money on the indoor heated storage????

I will say that over many years, I think the freeze/thaw cycles can be rough on the vinyl.   But, that is a very long term issue and perhaps not worth the extra storage costs and I don't know that it accelerates vinyl replacement that much faster than normal wear and tear.   

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46 minutes ago, chrisnorem said:

Slightly different question.  I am in Midwest and I do have dealer winterize everything.  I then have boat put in heated  (50 degrees F) indoor storage instead of unheated indoor storage which costs twice as much.  Am I wasting my money on the indoor heated storage????

Yes

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As long as your not climbing around in it during winter the vinyl should not be an issue,  if you crawled all over it during layup, that might have some detrimental effects 

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5 hours ago, Eagleboy99 said:

Vinyl upholstery in cars does not seem to mind freeze/thaw.

Good point.   I think I made the mistake of crawling on mine years ago when it was still cold out and it was sort of brittle.  

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I used to keep mine in heated had non heated for the last few years with no problems. I would recommend giving the seats a good condition before putting away for winter. 
 

Look at all the boat dealers up here in Canada, majority of the boats are kept outside or in the cold. 

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On 12/7/2019 at 9:45 AM, chrisnorem said:

Slightly different question.  I am in Midwest and I do have dealer winterize everything.  I then have boat put in heated  (50 degrees F) indoor storage instead of unheated indoor storage which costs twice as much.  Am I wasting my money on the indoor heated storage????

You are wasting on heated storage and paying a dealer to winterize.  

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