Outboards Over The Winter

[jrsmith_80]

What do you guys do to your outboards over the winter. I don't wanna put the boat up for the winter because here in Kansas, the weather may never get cold enough to keep me off the water all winter. So what do you guys who possibly can fish all winter do with your outboards?

[mudkart]

Run the outboard at least 2-3 times a month.

[slonezp]

Don't know how cold it gets by you but if theres a chance of freezing, make sure you drain all the water out of the motor after each trip to avoid any freezing. Otherwise throw some stabil in ther and enjoy fishing year round.

[Long Mike]

Keep StarTron in the fuel tank. Put the water mufflers on the motor and start it every now and then. If you have an on-board charger, keep an eye on the water level of the batteries. And above all, trim the motor all the way down after every outing to enable all water to drain out of the motor. If the lake is frozen, don't bother going fishing. It there is two feet of snow in your driveway, and your snow-mobile doesn't have a tow hitch, don't bother going fishing.

[Jig Man]

Being just east of you I probably have similar weather. I fish all winter long except when the water gets hard then I can always go to upper Bull Shoals where it doesn't freeze.

I have a Merc Optimax and run Quick Kleen in it all the time. I have been told that I don't need a stabilizer with it so I do nothing to the gasoline.

I change my lower unit fluid in the fall to make sure there is no water in it. Then when I leave the lake I lower the motor and let it drain. I raise it up and lower it again and let it drain. I repeate this a third time so that all of the water gets out.

That is my winter routine. I have been doing it for a very long time and have never had a problem.

[Nitrofreak]

Same here, I have a nuke plant lake I fish year round, it could be freezing outside and the water temp still in the 60's and high 60's.

As long as you keep the engine in the vertical position you should be good, a little Startron in the fuel, and the batteries are kept surface charged you should be fine.

If the weather gets cold and stays cold, like below the freezing mark for an extended period of time, I always bring my batteries in from that enviroment, if you know you won't be starting your engine for an extended period of time, I always fog the engine before storing it for the winter as well.