Help ... Impeller Freezing

[Old_Coot]

[font "Comic Sans MS"][#000000][size 4]OK guys, last December I took my boat to Bear Lake to fish the whitefish run. I arrived at the ramp at about 6:30 and backed the boat down the ramp and into the water. When I started the motor (50 hp. Evinrude out-board) no water came out of the pee stream. Apparently, the cold weather had frozen the water around the impeller on the way through the canyon. I let the motor sit in the water hoping that it would thaw out after a while. Several tries and an hour later, it was still froze up. So, I pulled the boat up out of the water and waited for the sun to come up. I positioned the boat so that the sun warmed up the motor and gave it another try … it worked! If the sun had not come out, I would have had to leave for the long drive home.

In the spring, I had the dealer check the impeller and sure enough, it was pretty well shot.

So, I have a couple of questions. What do you experienced boaters recommend I do to keep this from happening again in the future? I there a way to get RV anti-freeze into that system before leaving? Is there a way to blow out the water before leaving so that there is nothing to freeze? Is there a way to heat up that area of the motor once I arrive at the ramp?

I would appreciate any advice you might have. The whitefish run is just around the corner and I really don’t want miss out on the fishing nor do I want to replace another impeller.

Thanks,
--- Coot ---
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