Merc 74 liter questions for whoever

"recently bought a boat in Mai

"recently bought a boat in Maine that the gentlemen used on Sebago lake for a number of years. The engine looks great and has less than 500 hrs. As far as winterizing the engine, since it has only been used in fresh water, he disconnected all hoses and plugs, let the water flow out, then used an air hose to get the remaining water out. He's used this method for years with no problem. Now that i have this boat and it's going to be used primarily in salt water, should i run anti-freeze through the system anyway to coat the inside to prepare the engine for salt water use? or dont bother?. Another issue, pencil zincs. Should i put them in the manifolds for salt water or can i disregard?. i'm thinking of running the engine, then winterizing it properly to avoid any long term headaches, any suggestion? Thanks, Matt"

"Well,...... It sounds like it

"Well,...... It sounds like it's Already been Winterized to Me.......
Dry Block winter storage is the Normal Thing to do around here,....

Coating anything with Antifreeze,+ then running in the Salt won't accomplish Anything either....

If I didn't already live on a Freshwater Sea,+ Had to go boating in Saltwater,.......
I'd be converting it to a Closed Cooling, Freshwater Cooling system.........

Here on the Freshwater Seas,.....
Exhaust Manifolds,+ Risers last 30 or 40 Years,.....
As long as they're Drained,+ Not allowed to Freeze,..... They Never Rust Out...

Unlike the 3 to 5 years like you Saltwater runners get.....Good Luck..."

the more you can flush the sal

the more you can flush the salt water out of the motor the better if your going to winterizing it i would run it on fresh water then drain all the water out then but antifreeze in it's got to help and it not that much money that's what i do