winterize your boat

[billbo]

What do you fisherman do to winterize your boat? Do you run all the gas out of the carbs? Do you fill the gas tank up or just do you do to keep gas from gumming up your motor?

[CWB]

I am one of the unfortunate ones that has to winterize my boat. Before the last time I use it, I put in the appropriate amount of Marine Sta-Bil and run it for the day. When I take it out I do 2 things. Disconnect the gas line to the motor and run the gas out of it. Then pull it up a bit and remove all drain plugs to drain any water that might be inside. If there is noone behind you waiting leave it on the ramp to drain. Then when I get it home, I drain and refill the gearcase lube. If it looks white or milky, check for a bad propshaft seal. Next remove both Big and trolling motor props and check for and remove any line or debris. This can be done while gearcase is draining. Then I remove the spark plugs and give each cylinder a good blast of fogging spray. Crank for a bit and repeat. Next I remove the cover over the carbs and crank while spraying some fogging spray into each carb. Button the front back up and give each cylinder another shot of fogging spray. Clean and/or replace plugs and re-install but do not connect wires. Crank engine a few seconds and hook wires back up. In 30+ years of owning a boat, I have never had a problem with starting first time out next spring following this procedure. Of course, now is the time to clean the hull, inside, etc. Give it a good waxing in the spring. Hope this helps.

[Jig Man]

The severity of what is done is a regional thing.  If you live in the north and have it stored for several months then it is different than if you have periods of a few weeks where you can't use it.

I live in MO and rarely have more than 3-4 weeks where I can't use my boat so I don't do anything to winterize.  If I thought I'd be out of the boat for a couple of months, I'd use a marine stabil in the gas and run it on the water for a few minutes before putting it away.

In the winter I want to be sure that my bilge and live wells are water free and I run my pumps for a few seconds to clear out any water.

[Shane J]

Should I remove my batteries, or leave them in and plug in the charger once in a while? I live in NH, and it gets pretty darn cold up here in the winter.

[WilliamD]

I would take your batteries out and fully charge them for storing.  Then I would charge them once or twice thru the winter to keep them fully charged since they will wear down alittle thoughout the winter.  If you have a wood shelf or pallet to store them on it would be better than just putting them on concrete.

[Shane J]

Okay, that's what I thought, thanks.

[kbkindle]

I would take your batteries out and fully charge them for storing. Then I would charge them once or twice thru the winter to keep them fully charged since they will wear down alittle thoughout the winter. If you have a wood shelf or pallet to store them on it would be better than just putting them on concrete.

with the plastic cases on batterys now a days not needed to put them on some sort of wood   on the concrete floor is fine  will not drain the juiceout

[Long Mike]

If you have an on-board charger on your boat there is no need to remove your batteries for the winter.  After all, you don't remove your car battery do you?