Winterizing with R.V. anti freeze through the engine??--Good or Bad??

[rstangel]

I have winterized my 2001 Epic x22 for the last 8 years to prepare for the cold Wisconsin winters
My brother has been winterizing other ski boats-(not Toyota boats) with 5 Gallons of R.V. coolant that he runs through the engine and has had no problems. The difficulty every year to get the plugs resealed and not to leak again has got me questioning whether this would be a wiser soluction?? He takes the raw water filter off and hooks up a line that feeds out of
a 5 gallon bucket of R.V. coolant.
Any thoughts please let me know

[HCollado]

I've done this in the past and have had no problems. The key here is that the engine has to reach operating temperature so that the thermostat opens.

I even put 5 gallon buckets under the exhaust ports to catch the antifreeze and keep recycling it. You'll need help doing that from the wife unit or the son that thinks he will inherit my kingdom and boat when I go 

[Rambling Wreck]

The thermostat is very easy to remove - perhaps take it out for the process?

[blindside]

I use antifreeze each year BUT  My boat is always stored indoors - with a heater in the engine locker when it is below 20.

[tryme]

i havnt used antifreeze at all.  my boat is in a pole barn and i just make sure i drain the water out of the block and mainfolds.  i follow the procedure in maint.  worked for me that last 4 years

[Water Sports]

Winterizing a engine dry is ok unless you run your boat in lakes with hard water.   
The water ports will 'lime' up and harden over winter, and after several years this will eventually plug the water ports.
I had to pull heads on a PCM and clean with acid, since then been using RV antifreeze to keep down the 'lime' buildup.
Try using teflon tape on the plugs.
If you do go for  the dry method-lower your tonge of the trailer to get the engine level.

[cyclone]

I've done it both ways on both direct drive and V drive Epics and other boats. I like the dry block method, I wondered about the lime problem but the lake I'm in is not very reactive. I wondered more about leaving a very corrosive liquid (water) in a block all winter. For that reason and the mess and hassle and expense of antifreeze, I go dry block. I may board at some point during the winter as it doesn't stay below freezing long and we have warm days. If I dry block it I can always drop the boat in and go. I can drain the block later or stick a shop light in the engine compartment until I can drain it.

I still want to make a quick drain system for the boat, I think it wouldn't be too hard. I finally have the V drive drain method worked out, you have to go in from the passenger compartment up the sides of the engine. If you do it that way, you can reach the drain plugs on the block relatively easily. Be careful not to break cooling fittings, etc while leaning over the v drive and trans.

[boneil]

I was skeptical of the anti-freeze option.  I think I even pissed some one off when I asked them questions about it. 

My advice now is to find a way to get 5 to 6 gal's of anti-freeze into the engine and all other accessories such as showers etc. 

I use 5 gal of RV anti-freeze and I have set-up a way to get only the anti-freeze into the water intake.  I collect the first few dumps of "spent" water (the system expels spent (warm/hot) water in batches) in buckets.  I ensure that the last bucket collected before turning off the engine is at the concentration rated to achieve the temperature advertised on the bottle. 

I dropped $40 to purchase an 8 gal container that I connect to a "fake-a-lake" under the boat.  Pouring the anti-freeze directly in the sea strainer (from other posts on this site) sounds like a good option to me as well.