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.
A boat question (or two)
). 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?
