One And... Not Done

Winterization, 11/11/2007

We set out today to winterize the boat, hoping to finish in one day. Things didn't quite work out that way.

The fuel dock was first up. We filled the tank with diesel, and added biocide plus 32 oz. of Stabil. One interesting point here: our deck fitting for the fuel tank is narrow, and we usually look for fuel docks with a narrow nozzle to fit. Our normal fuel dock had only the wider high-capacity nozzle working this time, so we gave it a try. I just held it tightly against the opening, and it worked fine. Good to know. We then pumped out the holding tank, and returned to the dock.

While Michele put the final coat of Cetol on the toe rail and hand rails, I started winterizing the systems. We have a Jabsco Flat Tank 12-volt oil pump (see picture) for changing the engine oil. It has a nice 3.5 gallon tank, perfect for our 11 quart engine capacity, plus 2 quart transmission oil capacity. I set the oil pump running so that it could extract the warmed-up motor oil while I worked on other tasks. While it was pumping, I drained the water tank, bypassed the water heater, and ran pink RV antifreeze through the water system, the head, and the A/C.

When I returned to the oil pump, I was dismayed to find it nearly empty. It has worked ok (albeit slowly) in the past, but this time it failed. The oil just came through at a drip, and after more than an hour, it had extracted only about 1 quart of oil. Unfortunately, I'll need to return next weekend with another pump to finish the job. The good news: the unit is just a year old, and has a 3-year warranty. Kudos to Jabsco: I called them, and they're sending a new pump, no questions asked. Outstanding! I hope they follow through; I'll be sure to post an update.

Next weekend: Finish the oil change, drain the raw water from the engine, change the engine zincs, and run pink antifreeze through.