Will my Motor Freeze?

[Muskieguy]

Usually my boat sits in my heated garage and gets used on days above freezing. This weekend I am headed to a frieds cabin and Saturday nights low is 26. (hard freeze) I have a I/O 190 Merc cruiser (uses water from lake to cool the block) Will I need to drain all the water from the block and maybe add some anti-freeze before the Saturday nights freeze? Or will the block/hull be enough insulation to keep water from freezing and cracking the block?????

Thanks,

Muskieguy...

[Muskieguy]

Usually my boat sits in my heated garage and gets used on days above freezing. This weekend I am headed to a frieds cabin and Saturday nights low is 26. (hard freeze) I have a I/O 190 Merc cruiser (uses water from lake to cool the block) Will I need to drain all the water from the block and maybe add some anti-freeze before the Saturday nights freeze? Or will the block/hull be enough insulation to keep water from freezing and cracking the block?????

Thanks,

Muskieguy...

[Surface Tension]

Your garage may stay above freezing. The block has no insulation but does have a lot of mass. Might be enough to get you by.
You are taking a small chance and a light bulb in the engine compartment at night would make me sleep better till I got her winterized. The sooner the better.

[can it be luck?]

I plan on haveing my boat on the water for a few times till ice up. I drive about 175 miles to Bay De Noc, Michigan. What kind of precautions can I do to prevent any damage from freezing water? I stay in a hotel or cabin, and will have the boat in and out during the weekend, and I'm also thinking about the cold drive home. My friend's Grandma used to live there, but now she's gone and we dont have access to the boat that was kept there, so now I'll be hauling mine. I'm not the greatest when it comes to mechanics, but I know a lot of you guys are. My motors are a Mercury 60 hp oil injected two stroke, I think a year 96 or 97. Also a year 2000, 6 hp, 4 stroke evinrude. Thanks alot for any help. Mark

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[This message has been edited by can it be luck? (edited 10-03-2003).]

[upnorth]

cibl,

Outboards are easy. Just make sure that after you pull it out of the water to let them sit in the down position to drain all the water and you will be good to go. The don't have all the manifolds etc that IOs have to worry about.

[Valv]

Yes, outboards have no problem, I fish Mississippi in January and February, and it's enough to tilt them down completely, but most newer motors have speedometer pickup tube coming from motor, you might want to have a dealer disconnect it, or it might freeze and break line, which is not much money to replace, but a nuisance to do it.
Inboard are motors like cars, they will hold water inside motor and manifolds, they will "survive" this small freezes, but they need winterized soon, during winter time they are practically useless, unless they have a closed circuit, where you can use antifreeze in them.

[can it be luck?]

Sigh....Thanks guys!!