WARNING: Winterize!!!
We hate to see cracked engine blocks. The average freeze damage engine replacement job costs $7,000-10,000+ and some high performance or late model engines cost more than $10,000 before any labor or additional parts are factored in!
Also prone to freeze damage are: exhaust manifolds, intake manifolds, heat exchangers, oil coolers, steering coolers, transmission coolers, fuel coolers, raw water pumps, lower units, ballast pumps, foot heaters, water heaters, water strainers, and more. The potential cost for failing to winterize your boat is hard to quantify. The components themselves cost hundreds or thousands of dollars. In certain cases these damages can lead to engine failure or even causing your boat to sink!
The true cost of not winterizing will often snowball into a monstrous repair bill that often cost more than the value of the boat. You can find many examples of these boats listed for sale on craigslist or Facebook marketplace "water in oil, cracked engine block" the owner often unable to sell it even listed at a fraction of it's working condition value.
Bilge heaters don't work when the power goes out, if a circuit breaker trips, if the extension cord has an issue, etc.
There is too much variety in cooling water systems for generic advice such as "just pull 4 plugs and drain the water". We have seen too many cracked engines from individuals who have tried to winterize by running antifreeze thru their flush muffs, we do not recommend the use of these kits they leave too much room for error.
4 Stroke Jet Skis & Jet Boats: Avoid catastrophic engine damage from long term storage!
While the engine block usually drains itself of water, the design of the exhaust system and waterbox ensures water will always be present in the exhaust system. This causes condensation to form and at least one cylinder always has an exhaust valve open when shut off, given enough time in storage (multiple years) the exhaust valve stem will rust and fail to close, the piston hits the valve and usually breaks a connecting rod.
If you decide to winterize your 4 stroke jet ski or jet boat, be sure to run the engine and spray fogging oil thru the intake before storage! You never know what circumstances may cause it to stay unused in storage longer than anticipated!
