It's supposed to go down to 24 degrees here Tuesday night. It will probably be below freezing for about 6 hours. I haven't winterized the motor or outdrive yet. Is that cold long enough to do any damage?

sure is...

You'll know in the spring!!!

My guess is you'll test the bilge pumps this spring if you don't take care of it now.

You might want to put one or two light bulbs under your engine hatch if you can't winterize now. Preferably light bulbs that are turned on...

There was a cold snap here one time. A good freind had not winterized his boat. The temps dropped well below 32 for over 4 days. he went down as soon as he could, the bilge water wasn't even frozen.

100w drop light will get you by.

You should be OK as long as the day warms up.

Take an empty ice cream bucket and fill it with water and set it outside (not on the concrete) and when you wake up in the morning I bet the water will nto be frozen solid. Usually a good way of setting your mind at ease.

Can you at least open your block drains and take the hoses off your exhaust manifolds? That will let most (not all) the water out and give you a little peace of mind.

You will be ok if you are only below freezing for 6 hours, especially if it is getting back up around 40 during the day. You need it to get down around 20 for a couple days straight to get that water freezing and expanding enough to crack anything. But the trouble light will ease your mind if you can get it in there.

I concur!

depends on whether the boat sees any sun during the day. Depends on if the boat is covered. Depends on the color (light vs dark) of the cover. Depends on if the bilge vents are stuffed with rags or taped. Depends on a lot.

It really doesn't take long to pull the water pump hose and suck a bucket of RV antifreeze into the motor and out the exhaust risers. Then open the TStat housing and pour in another couple of gallons. That's a quickie way if you're not ready to do a full on winterization.