Never trust what the tech says they did

For the first time in decades I let someone else do the water winterizing on our boat last Winter. And I suspect they did it the stupid way dumping pink into the water tanks.

And we I talked to them after recommissioning last month I was told they prepped the water system and it was 'ready to go'.

Yeah, right.

Must've not done anything other than just topped up the water tanks.

I made the mistake of letting my kid go back to the boat to take a shower, telling him to just flip the water heater breaker and wait a bit for it to heat up. I got back to the boat just about the time the shower started and OH THE STINK. Yep, water heater must still have had pink in it.

Two hours and 300 gallons later I think I've flushed the system reasonably well, using a bit of bleach every so often.

Suspect I'll have to check the element in the water heater too.

But hey, boating is FUN, right?

I’m doing the same thing right now.

It's pretty standard unless you specified some other process that may have cost plenty more.

I would always put the heater in bypass during the winterizing and until all the antifreeze had been flushed out of the system. It would take 4 to 6 fills and draining the water tanks. This winter we went in heated storage and it was wonderful.

My preference has always been to blow out the system with compressed air, and only use antifreeze in drain traps.

I could make an argument to NEVER winterize..... just get the boat south far enough to avoid that. Winterizing is a real PITA and puts the boat out of commission for many months, often a half year. Why would someone be without their boat for HALF the time?? Not me. There are plenty of places south to avoid the winterizing process and still enjoy the boat.



Now you poor folks in the northern New England parts have more of a challenge unless you plan a much longer trek to the south. Good luck!

We get to live on a river that is about a mile from Lake Huron and keep our boat 75’ behind our house in the summer. During the winter we work on the boat. Works for us.

What one prefers and how marinas winterize a boat for a standard price may be 2 different things. They have been in the many marinas I have worked or stayed in.