A boat question (or two)

[nomad60]

My boat has a 75HP 4-stroke, with less than 7 hours on it. The boat is 100% garage kept and it never gets below 50 in the garage. I've only put real gasoline into it so far. Here's my question; do I need to winterize it? The dealer told me that if it's garage kept and I only use real gas, I don't really need to do anything except "maybe" add some Stabil, take it out on the water and let the Stabil circulate through the hoses and motor before I let it sit for the winter.
Having said that, I don't plan on letting it sit all winter though. All I'm doing now is waiting for just one frigging weekend where it not raining/too cold/too windy. (On a side note, this weather lately has been killing me; it's nice almost all week and just in time for the weekend, BAM! here comes the front :mad: ). But just in case work and weather are against me the rest of the winter, what do you guys think? Is there anything special I need to do for the boat? Oh, one more...do you guys keep your battery chargers plugged in 24/7 over the winter?

Thanks!

[Fish Whisperer]

If you use your boat year round you should be fine..I put stabil (ethanol treatment) in my fuel tank every time I fill up...

[browntrout]

if you use your boat year round you should be fine..i put stabil (ethanol treatment) in my fuel tank every time i fill up...


x2.

[GoFish_Tony]

I have owned boats for the last 30+ years. Had everything from 16' Jon boats to I/O Baja's and a few in between. As I live farther north then most of you, winterizing boats is serious stuff.

I am not an expert, just a boat owner with some experience. Some I have learned from others, some I learned along the way, and some I learned because of a hard lesson learned. ($$)

Below is MY routine winterizing maintenance and offered only as suggestions. Your mileage may vary.

If you are SURE you are going to keep using it through the Winter then nothing other than adding Stabilizer is really needed. I would also get you a "Battery Tender" trickle charger. There are copies out there that are cheaper but for around $35 you can buy the BEST (and only trickle charger I will use.)

For me, I need to winterize my boats a little more extensively. They always get stored in my attached garage. Here is what I do in late Fall. (Mind you, there are many times when I will get out during the Winter. If I DO, some of these have to be done over, while others can be skipped.)


Add fuel treatment to fuel and run for a few minutes (while running water through the muffs.)



Shut off engine and spray engine fogger into each cylinder. I only do this if I KNOW I will not be going out for the Winter. (Nov - APR)



Be sure the outboard is stood vertical so that any collected water can drain out of the lower unit. (Don't trust your garage to keep things from freezing and busting.)



While engine/lower unit is still warm, drain out and replace lower unit oil.



Remove the prop and check for fishing line around the shaft. Place a light coat of wheel bearing grease on the shaft splines. This is also the time of the year that I change the impeller. I do mine every other year.



Make sure all livewells, bait tanks, and anything else that holds water is drained and empty. Take a good look around the inside of the boat. Remove anything that can freeze. Sunscreen, bug spray, etc... (Have had to learn this the hard way a time or two.)



Remove anything in the boat that may attract rodents. Food, baits, etc...



Take the battery wires off the battery and clean connections.



Top the battery off with distilled water and place on trickle charger.



Jack the trailer up and place on jack stands.(Keeps from flat spotting the tires.)



Give the wheels a spin and feel bearings for anything that doesn't feel right. Replace if necessary.



I also give the lights and trailer plug a good looking over. Now is the time to fix that stuff.

Again, I know this is more then the OP asked for, but might be helpful to somebody. If I missed something I hope others will jump in.

One last thought. Boats are expensive, and so is maintaining them, but this is still far cheaper then repairing them or replacing them. I always ask myself, if I DON'T maintain it, can I afford to replace it. For me the answer is always "no".

All the best,

T.

[nomad60]

Thanks, guys. Fish Whisperer & Browntrout, do you guys use regular gas or the gas with 10% Ethanol? Just curious as to why you put the Stabil in every trip? The reason I'm asking is because my dealer told me that as long as I use "real gas" there's no need for it.

[Fish Whisperer]

I was told a long time ago to use premium fuel and stabil every time I fill up.. Trying to find ethanol free fuel became a pain in the butt to find, so I go to mapco or whatever station is on the way to buy fuel....

[browntrout]

Thanks, guys. Fish Whisperer & Browntrout, do you guys use regular gas or the gas with 10% Ethanol? Just curious as to why you put the Stabil in every trip? The reason I'm asking is because my dealer told me that as long as I use "real gas" there's no need for it.

I always use ethanol free gas plus the stabil. It may be over kill but I figure an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Roy

[Jim]

I have used stabil for the last 15 years or so with about any brand of gas I can find. I have had no gas problems at all over multiple different boats. I did switch to the stabil for ethanol when ethanol gas became common and it seems to work fine.

Jim

[nomad60]

Good points...the cost of a can of Stabil vs. buying a new motor :)

[nofish]

Thanks, guys. Fish Whisperer & Browntrout, do you guys use regular gas or the gas with 10% Ethanol? Just curious as to why you put the Stabil in every trip? The reason I'm asking is because my dealer told me that as long as I use "real gas" there's no need for it.

If you use ethanol gas and you're not using stabil, seafoam, lucas, or something like them you will have some kind of problem eventually. At the tracker store off Vietnam veterans in hendersonville they have a fuel line and a fuel pump i believe cut open so you can see what the ethanol does to the insides. It looks like hardened syrup coating everything. I don't think the ethanol causes as much problems in cars because they are used daily and the gas gets used and replaced constantly. I use my boat 2-4 times a month on average so i use seafoam to help counteract the sitting. I have a 2 stroke and my mechanic friend told me when I'm done using the boat for the day to keep the motor running and disconnect the fuel line and let it run until it runs out of gas. That eliminates the problem of fuel sitting in your engine while not in use.

[robhal11]

Hey guys I am in Lagardo, Davis Corners, Tyree, Lagardo boat ramps. I have always got the gas at the Market here because it is supposed to be ethanol free, and put my stabil in, and never had any problems before. Went out a month ago and motor would not turn at all. Took it in and my needles were sticking, rubber pieces on end had swelled more than likely because of ethanol and had water in my gas. Where are you guys getting good gas and would you just use the big boy gas stations and put in the Stabil and not worry about the ethnol free? I am concerned because I have never had this problem before. Thanks