Winterizing question

[pamacme]

Hi,

I have a 1977 V20. This is my first winter with the boat. The boat seems to hold water in the bow. I have it out of the water with the bow higher than the stern but didn't know if I should put some anti-freeze into the bilge.

Thanks,
Pam

[scook]

I’ve never done that but I usually drive around with the plug out and go up some steep hills to drain it out. This year, it sat out in the rain and I didn’t have a chance to do that, so I used my high lift jack (with the trailer wheels carefully blocked) and jacked the toung up pretty high.

[phatdaddy]

Sounds like the drain holes in the bulkheads are blocked. Does a 77 have a deck tank or gunnel tanks? The drain under the deck tank is usually the first place to check. With the bow higher, Hull should not be holding water.

[pamacme]

The boat has gunnel tanks. I guess I should flush some water down from the bow and see how much comes out the stern. I will wait until we will be having a couple warm days to be sure.

[Striper80]

If your hull is holding water eventually it will soak through the glass and into the wooden stringers. You’ll want to get it out of there ASAP.

[bradford]

An old vhf antennae run up the garboard drain will break loose any thing under the fuel tank if you can find the pvc pipe.

[SkunkBoat]

welcome to V20 land!

Not sure of your layout... Center console, Cuddy? Outboard or I/O?
The fuel tanks were saddle tanks in the gunnels?

Someone will correct me if I'm wrong but...
The 77 I believe was before they raised the deck and made them self-bailing.
All the water that gets in the boat drains to the bilge and must be pumped out by a bilge pump or drain out the garboard drain on a trailer.

There are several bulkheads across the stringers(depending on model) with passages to drain the bilge from fwd to aft. These get blocked by all kinds of crap over 40 years.
What hatches do you have in the deck? Can you see the hull in there or are there liners?

On my 84 I had to cut the fishbox liner to gain access to a passage that was blocked. Clearing it from the stern using a hose or the "antenna trick" didn't work for long because the junk was too big to drain thru the pvc tube. It just blocked up again.

[scook]

My ‘85 I/O isn’t self bailing.

I forgot to mention - if it’s an I/O, and has a heat exchanger, be SURE to drain that. it’s a $1000 part at retail.

You’re getting all kinds of good advice here. If the under deck drain pipe is clogged and the other methods don’t get it, you might try a small,plumbing snake but go gently so you don’t break the PVC pipe.

[cfelton]

My V is a 77 cuddy with a 170 Mercruiser. Like Scook said, be sure to drain the fresh water side of the heat exchanger! I think its the plug towards the rear under the heat exchanger. I put a petcock on mine, makes it easy and I don't confuse it with the coolant plug. Make sure your outdrive pee hole is clear for the shift shaft section and your outdrive is all the way down so it doesn't hold water around the prop shaft section. As for the water in the hull I raise the outdrive up and jack the bow way up for a week to let all the water drain to the plug in the transom then soak up any remaining water under the motor until dry. I also give my batteries a good charge before wrapping it up.

[scook]

It’s the large plug partially around under the front on my heat exchanger and the plug has an anode on it. I installed a bsttery maintainer and leave it plugged in all,the time - slow smart charging that keeps the batteries in good shape.

Definitely jack up the toung then drop the outdrive like cfelton says and if mine weren’t kept in my shop, I’d do what Destroyer says and add some heat and circulation under the cover. I cover mine to keep the sawdust and chips from the lathe from making a complete mess out of it..