Didn't winterize ...

Hello all,
I somewhat unexpected became a first time boat owner this fall, just in time to leave it on its own (in the water) as I left home for work. I wasn't able to winterize the engine (Yanmar 3YM30) before leaving, and optimistically hoped that temperatures wouldn't drop too low before my return. Fast forward to now, and the temperature has been below freezing for about two weeks now. The raw water intake hose is frozen solid, so I'm guessing that the rest of the line is as well.

The cold snap should be over now and the temperature for the next two weeks is forecast to be in the 30s to low 40s, which I'm hoping will be enough to thaw out the engine so that I can get it winterized. There's a chance I'll be able to finagle shore power for some additional heat but that's not guaranteed. Either way, how can I best determine whether or not the cooling system is still frozen? Should I assume that starting the engine before it's thawed out is a bad idea?

What motor ?----What boat ?-------There is a chance that engine block is cracked.-----An expensive mistake.

racerone said:

What motor ?----What boat ?-------There is a chance that engine block is cracked.-----An expensive mistake.

Click to expand...

It's a Yanmar 3YM30. The boat is homebuilt, steel hulled with the engine under a cover at deck level and certainly exposed to whatever the ambient air temperature is. You can see the just forward of the wheelhouse in the attached photo. I'm hoping that the early cold spell was the extent of my bad luck/planning but yeah, a crack doesn't seem unlikely.

If there is no ice in the impeller at this time the motor can be started.----Then monitor oil level / look for leaks.

If the water the boat sits in isn't frozen then the engine is probably ok

Put a work light with an incandescent bulb in the engine box.

Most of those little Yanmars are FWC...

Thanks for the advice everyone, I got her started last week after everything had thawed out. The only problem that was apparent after an inspection and about 45 minutes of running was a smallish split in the exhaust hose. I guess I'll know for sure in the spring when I'm running her for longer periods, but if that was the only casualty then I'm counting myself extremely lucky.