A sinking feeling....

[ckohler0529]

Forum mates; I purchased a new to me 1968 Tartan 27 in 2017 and have been restoring it over the last two years. I used the boat in the summer of 2017 and in October of 2017 had the boat yard flush and winterize the engine. The boat has been on the hard since then. I started the engine in August of 2018 with a bucket of water and two hoses to create a closed loop. I did not winterize the engine this year thinking that as I did not put the boat in the water last summer, there should still be plenty of anti freeze in the engine. I understand now that my thinking was wrong. My question is how screwed am I? What should I do now for the rest of the winter and how do I check for cracks and other damage?

[Peter]

Is the boat raw water or fresh water cooled?

Peter

[ckohler0529]

If by raw water you mean salt water then the boat is fresh water Cooled. I am on Lake Erie.

[tenders]

Unfortunately, there are no two ways about this: if last week's cold didn't freeze the water in the block and crack it, it's hard to imagine what will. Perhaps evaporation between August and January removed much of the water from the block?

[ndutton]

Pressure test of the water jacket eliminates the guessing or wonder.

[Peter]

If by raw water you mean salt water then the boat is fresh water Cooled. I am on Lake Erie.

A raw water cooled engine pumps "sea water" (the water the boat is floating in) though the engine and then into the exhaust.

A fresh water cooled boat pumps anti-freeze through the engine and through a heat exchanger. Raw water is pumped through the other side of the heat exchanger and then into the exhaust.

So if your engine is FWC things might not be so bad.

I also note you say you used two hoses to create a closed loop which suggests that you may have diluted the anti-freeze but not flushed it entirely.

Either way, Neil is spot on with his suggestion of a pressure test. There are lots of threads here describing what gear you need (not expensive) and how to do it.

Peter

[sdemore]

Whatever you do, don't try to crank it over! I had to move my boat yesterday to demast it. I fired up the engine and apparently had a few drops of water (now frozen) left in the water pump, even though it was drained for winter. I just ordered the new impeller about an hour ago...

[ckohler0529]

Thanks.

Thanks everyone for your insights.

[Al Schober]

It's unfortunate, but winter freeze is one of the best ways to crack a block and ruin an engine. I was raw water cooled for years and winterized carefully (I thought), but one Spring had a non-start issue - tracked to a cracked block. The replacement engine quickly got glycol cooling with a heat exchanger. I recommend it.