Winterizing your inboard engine

The best checklist (until you find a better one) for winterizing your inboard diesel engine

Canadian summers are a delight, but sailing in the winter is difficult when the lake is covered in ice thick enough to support your boat’s displacement. It’s also cold enough to crack engine blocks and other expensive things if you don’t prepare your boat for it.

This checklist covers inboard diesel engines, both raw water and fresh water cooled. I use this checklist for my sailboat’s Yanmar 2GM20 inboard.

I sail on freshwater, but this checklist should work for saltwater boats, too. It includes items for flushing the raw water cooling with fresh water.

Contents

• Download
• Time
• Before you start

Download

A handy PDF for you to download and print:

Time

I follow this checklist in late October, maybe even November, before things start freezing overnight.

Winterizing the engine is in 2 parts, before and after haul out. I organize the steps to do as much as possible before hauling out, since electricity and running water aren’t as convenient when the boat is on the hard and tucked in a corner of the storage yard.

• Before haul out: 1.5 hours
• After haul out: 3 hours
• Total time: 4.5 hours

Before you start

• Read your engine’s manual. Just read it. Please. It lists the volume, grade, brands, and all that, for your engine’s filters and cooling system.
• Read your engine’s manual again. This time compare the storage and winterizing steps with this checklist. The manual wins.
• Do this during the day. Working in a dark engine room at night is good training for those late night panicked urgencies, but save that for another time.

See also

At your service

Humbly yours,

Marc, Supreme Purser