Putting away the boat for winter

[Double Barrel]

How to Winterize Your Boat - CLICK HERE

Putting away the boat for its first winter.What are the things I need to do before I put it away? Or is it something I need to take to a shop and have done? I'm thinking new oil and filter what about the gas? Any help would be appreciated.

How to Winterize Your Boat - CLICK HERE

[This message has been edited by Rick (edited 09-04-2004).]

[mnrstrider]

Already??? make sure you add some staible to the gas in proper amounts, more is not better follow the instructions, and you'll want to look into changeing your lower unit's oil to make sure there is not water in it.

My boat isn't going into storage until hard water, and maybe not even then....

[76k20]

Winterize? whats that? j/k as long as theres open water in redwing I wouldnt want the boat to be tucked away too deep. lower unit oil change fill the tank and add a fuel stabilizer. and mint extract on some cotten balls in the boat to keep the rodents away. Must be about time to fire up the auger and respool a few ice rods.

[joshb]

if it isn't gonna be in a heated garage i take the deep cycles out and put them somewhere that will stay above freezing for the winter. charging them with a float charger or just charging them a few times in the off season is a good idea to.

i bring the finders in where its warm to, i don't know if it is neccisary but it can't hurt.

[outdoor ran]

yep, bring in the graphs, the cold will destroy the screens.

[snowfighter]

Doublebarrel run your tilt on you motor up and down a couple of times to make sure all the water is drained out , sometimes air will trap water up above, marine mech. told me this, he's seen a couple motors damaged because of this.

[delmuts]

i have to agree that it is early, but. as said, you want to put stabil or seafoam in the gas and run the engine to get the stabilized fuel in and through the motor.( if a 2 cycle)( a 4 cycle , i don't know!) run the engine so it can warm up, then either spray some fogging oil into the carbs and engine, or shut it off and spray the fogging oil into the cylinders through the spark plug holes. rotate the engine a few times to spread it over the walls. change the lower unit oil. pull the prop off to clean and put a little grease on the prop shaft.i also spray the engine area with WD40 as a drying agent . grease the pivots on the motor,trailer jack, and wheel bearings.be sure that all storage compartments are dry. i leave the batt. in the boat, but plug my onboard chrg. in atleast once a month during the winter.take the prop off of the trolling motor if you have one to check for fishing line on the shaft. if you think you may have a problem with mice where you store it, put some moth balls in it to keep them out.store the motor in the down position to allow all water to drain out. del

[Surface Tension]

Fill the gas tank and treat the gas with Stabil. Hook the motor up to a set of muffs and and run the outboard till the stabilizer has made its way to the carb.
Look at your outboard manufacturers recommended proceeder for fogging.
Use guys with older 2 strokes just follow the instructions on the can of the fogging agent.
If you have a 4 stroke change the oil and filter now while the engine is warm.

Lower the outboard, drain and refill the lower gear case. If you had water or the lube was milky refill and get the seals replaced before next season. I store my outboard tilted down so melted snow or rain doesn't go through the prop and into the lower unit. If you have an I/O store in the down position for the same reason and so the bellow doesn't take the memory of being tilted up..
Start out that long term storage with your batteries fully charged. I take mine into the house and maintain them though out the winter. This is also my backup power supply if the power should go out again.

Mouse pruff the boat. Its pretty hard to keep them out but you don't want them to find the Mother Load of food or nesting material once they get in either. I use moth balls in every compartment, every nock and cranny thats looks like a good place for a mouse to hole up in.
Heres a thread with some Mouse Talk.
http://fishingminnesota.com/ubb/Forum9/HTML/002711.html

I take all the electronics into the house. I believe Minn Kota recommends storing their motors in a warm place as well.

[Rick]

Here is some good information:

http://fishingminnesota.com/fishinfo4.html

[pikerliker]

Thank you Double Barrel!! I was just asking somebody what I needed to do. I have my first boat and am getting ready to store it at my dads farm for the winter. Great information. Thanks again!

~piker

[Dan Thiem]

I don't know if it was mentioned or not, but my boat is stored outside also and I like to put jack stands under the trailer.That way my trailer tires don't get froze down during the winter.

[LaVoi]

I noticed Rick's article mentioned to block up the axle to take weight off the tires. My boat is stored in a non-heated garage, is it a bad idea to have the tires on the cold cement all winter?

[SuddenlySummer]

Tires on cold cement will leech the moisture out of them and cause them to crack. Put a carpet scrap under the tires and you'll be fine.