Dewinterize : what the dealership exactly do ?

[lee]

The block is full of antifreeze, however you still have raw water cooling system i.e.- headers, heat exchanger, impeller, transmission cooler, v-drive and/or heater and shower plus ballast system with water in them.... you HAVE to winterize the raw water side no matter which engine is installed... unless your 100% positive your boat won't be below freezing for any length of time.


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Heater will be full of antifreeze also.

[Bakes5]

I had a buddy have the dealer winterize and then they dropped it off at his house in the fall. So spring comes around and he calls the dealer up and they told him it was good to go. So he drops it in the lake and it starts smoking pretty quickly. Turns out it was not quite ready to go. The dealer split the costs half and half for repairs but his boat did not go on the lift until late July

Anyways, moral of the story is know the basics of how your boat works, even if someone else is doing everything.

[Mike88]

I'm a carpenter and I always do things by myself. My entire life turns around tools and mechanic haha either for my cars, houses.
But I don't know, playing with 89k boat got me feeling touchy and stressed a little bit haha.
But you are all right, when you want something done right you got to do it yourself!
After all it's the pretty the same block in my Chevy when you think about that.

I had no trouble replacing my 2 front tower lights with LEDs, installing my Bimini and all wired up my dual zone controller knob. I'm gettting pretty familiar with my new toy haha.
Like I know myself when the temperature will permit it. I will clean it entirely and in the same time inspect everything to know my boat like I should haha. Like I do with all other things

Thanks guys!

[lee]

After all it's the pretty the same block in my Chevy when you think about that.

I hope not, your boat has a Ford Raptor engine if it is an 2016.

[IDBoating]

I had a buddy have the dealer winterize and then they dropped it off at his house in the fall. So spring comes around and he calls the dealer up and they told him it was good to go. So he drops it in the lake and it starts smoking pretty quickly. Turns out it was not quite ready to go. The dealer split the costs half and half for repairs...

WTF? Why should the owner have to pay anything in that specific case? "Good to go" after he SPECIFICALLY asked them what needed to be done seems cut-and-dried.

Sometimes it seems like the bad boat dealers give the other 1% a bad reputation.

[freeheel4life]

As was stated earlier, dealers will vary. That being said, we offer a basic winterization package, a wint with oil change, and a winterization with oil change and what we call a spring check included.

Things we do if a customer purchases a spring check:
Load test all batteries and record open circuit voltage
Check all fluid levels/condition/ top up if needed
Test all lights, horn, blower, bilge(float/auto if equipped) heaters, etc
Function test all audio systems
Function test all ballast pumps
Check tightness of tower, cleats, grab handles, & windshield, swimdeck
Check all gas shocks, hatches, hinges
Check condition of prop, strut, skegs, gelcoat, vinyl
Check steering feel
Start boat on water and run long enough to verify thermostat opens. While running check shower function
Check alternator output voltage
Check that boat shifts forward and reverse
Check neutral safety switch and kill lanyards
Check all trailer lights, reverse solenoid, tire pressure, and bearings
Bag bilge plug(s), keys and lanyards and hang on throttle, cover boat and call you with results

Probably forgetting something off the checklist still

If you are mechanically inclined you can do all this in driveway on a fake a lake. If not I think it's worth the $ to have peace of mind when you head to the lake, especially if you keep your boat in a marina. My two cents...