Trojan Boat Forum

Hi Aaron, I have been up to my new to me boat over the past few days (1974 Trojan Tri Cabin) Been looking over the engine with regards to winterizing it myself. Have read a lot of yours and others previous posts on this subject. As I mentioned to you in a previous post, I guess I have the original thru hull ftgs on the boat. With a small thumbscrew on one face , and a longer shutoff handle on the other face. I dont want to disturb these thru hulls as they look well bedded in and at present are very dry. I purchased two Perko T-Flush valves, that are installed into the raw-water pickup hose by cutting it in half a short way above the sea-cock and then clamping the T-ftg between both ends. A 3/4" hose for flush or pickup of anti freeze can be plugged into the tee. Question before moving on, regarding the sea-cock. I have never used this type of sea-cock before, and I presume the smaller thumbscrew must be loosened , before the main shutoff lever can be moved ? I would presume with the age of my boat and many others they must be pretty reliable. Any tips of do or dont during an open or close of the valve ? Next question is in regards to the vee drives. They are the Walter vee-drives with an oil circulating pump on the outside face, and from each side of the top there is what I presume is a water cooling line running down to a thru hull with shutoffs on each side. Is this water being forced thru the vee-drive by exterior water scoops as the hull moves thru the water, or is there a water pump in the vee-drive itself ? If the cooling water is being force fed by outside scoops, does the water just drain out by gravity when the boat is lifted ? Is there a drain plug for the water anywhere ? On top of the vee-drive housing I can just make out a faint name that I think says "Walter-Magnatronic Vee drive". I also need some info on the Onan Aqua lift muffler from the Genny. Cant find no drain plug, and question is, how much ruddy antifreeze does it take to fill this to its operating level ? Thats it for now,its pretty darn slow getting this out with my two finger typing. Take care all.

I have a 1973 tri cabin. I do not believe the v drives are pumped, so all I do for winter is take off either hose from the drive or through hull and pour about a quart of 100 % antifreeze through and that has done for the past 11 years here in Ottawa. The onan I drain both heads first, you will find the drain cocks under the head. Then I start the engine and pour 1 gallon of antifreeze into the water intake. This will also winterized your muffler. If in doubt have a buddy tell you when the exhaust turns green and stop the engine. Do not use plumbing antifreeze or you will have to replace the pump impeller next spring.
You are correct about the sea cocks. You have to slacken off the lock screw before turning the cock. Mine do not give any problems.

By the way if you have the 383's I winterized them the same way . Drain all water and with the engine ruining pump 2 gallon jugs of straight Prestone through each engine. I have had my old girl for 11 years and never a problem.
Chris.mckenzie@xplornet.com

I also have a 73 Tri cabin with Walters v drives. A few years ago I had water in my v drive oil, so I had to pull the cover on the drive and repair the problem. There is non pump. Water flows from the movement of the hull. I recall a copper tube bent like an s in the water reservoir that the oil passes thru for cooling. There are drawings and installation maintenance info from a site called Pearson. Just google Walters v drive manuals. Also, mine have a nameplate with ratio and other info. The plate is on the case facing the bulkhead. I think you may need to pull the small 5" sq wood cover along the floor in the rear head and point a flashlight in to see the port one.

There are also 2 1/4 inch npt plugs around the v drive reservoir cover. I remove the one that is accessible and feed some anti freeze in it using a hose and fitting for winterizing.

By the way you can still buy these v drives from Walters. I found that amazing considering how old they are.

I just started my gen for the first time this year, so the info on winterizing it is very helpful. Thank you

Bajan's Gal wrote:.....when the exhaust turns green....Do not use plumbing antifreeze or you will have to replace the pump impeller next spring....

Strongly disagree and I sure hope you're not dumping that green stuff into the lake or river. Pull the exhaust hose off the top of an Onan muffler and pump or vacuum the water out before you winterize the genny. The non-tox does swell rubber a bit over time but if you don't let it sit in non-tox all winter by simply bumping her over to displace the liquid in the pump once you're done, the rubber will last for years. Having said that, don't you replace your impellers every two years as recommended anyway?

If installed right, I'm pretty sure the drives are self-draining but I wouldn't take the chance, too many variables involved. No raw water pump in the drives.

Big D wrote:

Bajan's Gal wrote:.....when the exhaust turns green....Do not use plumbing antifreeze or you will have to replace the pump impeller next spring....

Strongly disagree and I sure hope you're not dumping that green stuff into the lake or river. Pull the exhaust hose off the top of an Onan muffler and pump or vacuum the water out before you winterize the genny. The non-tox does swell rubber a bit over time but if you don't let it sit in non-tox all winter by simply bumping her over to displace the liquid in the pump once you're done, the rubber will last for years. Having said that, don't you replace your impellers every two years as recommended anyway?

If installed right, I'm pretty sure the drives are self-draining but I wouldn't take the chance, too many variables involved. No raw water pump in the drives.

I agree , but will add I hope your not dumping the green stuff in the bay or ocean . Never had one fail that I can say was due the pink stuff . most every one I have seen fail was due to time or running dry . Sitting is not that great for them as the take a set . Some of the sailors a around here pull them out ever winter .

I actually recover most of the antifreeze in the spring as I have pet cocks on all of my drains. I also start the engines on the blocks and use a hose to flush and I catch the residual in a pail. This allows me to reuse it 2 or 3 years or until it gets too weak then I dispose of it at a friends garage. I use Prestone because getting those two twin impellers out are a real pain and for its rust inhibitor capabilities.
I use my genny very little as most places on the Rideau have power outlets, so I get about 4 to 5 years out of an impeller.
I even flush my plumbing and air conditioning on the blocks so that the plumbing antifreeze is not dumped in the water.

If you drain all the water first, you can recover the non-tox too. The green stuff is just nasty, no need for it in winterizing. A block full of non-tox won"t rust either, and if you're using the green stuff as a means to prolong the life of your impellers so you don't have to change them as often as part of a regular maintenance routine, they will fail when you least expect them to.

Hi guys, I was away up to the boat for the weekend, and boy was I surprised to see all the action posted re my query to Aaron, when I got home . Thanks everyone for your input, so much good info here I am going to print all these posts out for reference. I feel like I am getting the feel of things for when she is hauled out for the winter, in approx 3 weeks time. Going back up to boat tomorrow again, my son & I are going to move her from the Marina where I bought the boat, & down to my own marina, so will check back middle of the week. (No wi-fi at either marina I will be at.) By golly, this sure is some network, where a guy can get so much info on a site for just about any problems on Trojans. Thanks again and much appreciated.

Oldtimer