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Spring has Arrived in Northern Michigan ( According to the Calendar )

That's crazy. It should warn up in a couple days
 
Still snowing ,just let the dog out ,came back in with snow on his back .

Glad I got my fertilizer down 
 
Harshest winter ever for us as well Jack.  What do you say we try to make a deal with Cwag & Big Kahuna; you live in one of their backyard sheds and I live in the other
 
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Link said:
Harshest winter ever for us as well Jack.  What do you say we try to make a deal with Cwag & Big Kahuna; you live in one of their backyard sheds and I live in the other
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Sounds Good Mark ,I'll bring the Beer  :p

Budweiser_beverage_delivery_truck_Romulus_Michigan.JPG
 
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Here it is 4/22/15 ( I did not take the pic )

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You must have sent it our way. My wife called me to say there was a dusting on the deck now.
 
Yeah I'm looking out my office window right now and we have flurries....and my boat is in the water....gee sure glad I put that thing in on Friday (as my wife slaps me across the back of the head for doing that).
 
Back in MA, on May 6th, 1977 I think that was the year  I had just put my new sail boat in at the marina 3 days before and we go 6" of the white stuff. That was the latest report of that much snow ever in the area. Monday here we got a coating but this time it was HAIL. Today we take Benny out on the lake for a ride. Nice change from the cold up north.
 
28 and snow flurries outside right now in TC.
 
Been getting a little nervous about the cold nights the next few nights so I called a local parts store and they sell an egine heater that goes down your engine oil dipstick tube....just remove the dipstick and put this one in instead.  $16.11.  I'm getting that so I can sleep tonight.
 
keithkz said:
Been getting a little nervous about the cold nights the next few nights so I called a local parts store and they sell an egine heater that goes down your engine oil dipstick tube....just remove the dipstick and put this one in instead.  $16.11.  I'm getting that so I can sleep tonight.
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Keith, your block should self drain. Not sure that warm oil does anything of value. Probably a 100 watt lightbulb will suffice if you are really worried. I'm not sure, but even keeping your lower unit in the water during this time of year isn't a real problem. If push comes to shove, consult with your dealer.
 
PS: I put my snow plow in the garage for the season last Sunday. So you can blame this sh!t on me!!!!! ;-)
 
Ok just caled the dealer and they said they've been getting a lot of calls about this and they said what I had originally thought....that no way is it getting cold enough to do any damage.  The said it would have to get colder than it's getting for like a week straight before it would do any damage.  They also said that dipstick heater I was thinking about would only heat the oil and would do nothing for the little bit of water still in the manifolds.  They said just make sure the outdrive is all the way down in the water (which it always is) and I'll be fine.
 
Keith, Have you considered just driving the boat around slow all night!! That will keep it warm
 
So much snow now that I can't see across the lake and its sticking in the trees and staying on the ground!
 
Snowing again and sticking up here also .
 
goldnrod24 said:
Keith, your block should self drain. Not sure that warm oil does anything of value. Probably a 100 watt lightbulb will suffice if you are really worried. I'm not sure, but even keeping your lower unit in the water during this time of year isn't a real problem. If push comes to shove, consult with your dealer.
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We've had our ski boat out already this year...so its unwinterized. We go with the 100W lightbulb. We use the chrome metal hood that costs two or three bucks at Home Depot or similar...looks like this...



 

And we just put a 100W incandescent bulb in it and the whole thing in the engine compartment. Done and done. 

If you have trouble sleeping...put a thermometer in there with a min/max needle. With one 100W lightbulb in the engine compartment, your engine compartment will stay a toasty 50+ degrees...at least mine does. No worries at all. Far better than just keeping the oil warm. In fact...don't do that thing you were thinking of doing...keeping the oil warm. You're not worried about the oil. You're worried about the cooling-water passages in the block and the exhaust manifolds.

 

Just my $.02. YMMV.
 
goldnrod24 said:
Keith, your block should self drain. Not sure that warm oil does anything of value. Probably a 100 watt lightbulb will suffice if you are really worried. I'm not sure, but even keeping your lower unit in the water during this time of year isn't a real problem. If push comes to shove, consult with your dealer.
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Just so as not to confuse anyone, I didn't look closely at Keith's sig to see that he has an I/O setup. Of course, these blocks are not "self draining." Outboards, however are self draining.

Outboard or I/O, the lower units should always be down in these unpredictable temps.

Glad to hear you have peace of mind, Keith.
 
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