How to winterize a fishing boat ?

[amboy49]

With the purchase of a fishing boat this summer ( at my wife's suggestion, nonetheless ) I now find myself approaching the end of the warm weather fishing season. Our son has an unheated outdoor building with a concrete floor but it is far from being critter proof - I.e. mice and such. The boat is a 16 foot deep v bottom with live wells, two batteries, rod lockers, etc. and a 40 hp outboard.

I'm looking for any suggestions or guidelines re: how to prepare the boat for sitting all winter. I intend to add a little Stabil to the remaining fuel in the tank ( it is a two cycle engine ) although there is less than a quarter of a tank left. I also thought about pumping a little grease into the bearing buddies on each side. The boat dealer strongly suggested I drain the carburetor and not let gas set in it for more than a week or so.

What other precautions should I take ?

-Should I remove both batteries from the boat and keep them inside in a warm garage on a trickle charger over the winter ?
-Should I keep the boat cover on - or remove it and bring it into a rodent free environment ? I am most worried about mice and chipmunks either building a nest or chewing on the cover. If I remove the waterproof boat cover should I cover the boat with a vinyl drop cloth ?
-The same holds true re: my concern about mice and chipmunks working on the wiring, carpeting,etc. Is there something I can use to effectively repel these little varmints ?
-Should I put the trailer on jack stands to prevent the tires from developing flatspots ?
-Should I pull each (2) spark plug and squirt a drop or two of Stabil in each cylinder ?
-I drained the live wells the last time I pulled the boat out of the water and flipped the switch in the bilge pump but got no water from it. Any concerns about residual traces of water freezing ?

I've read the owners manual on the boat and the motor and both are amazingly silent on the subject of winterizing. For this boat owners who have gone thru some winters, what suggestion do you have ? I don't want to be overly anal, but would like to take the standard precautions.

Thanks in advance.

 

[d.kaufman]

As far as the motor goes i add stabil to the fuel. I also start the motor, as its running disconnect the fuel supply and spray fog oil into the carbs. This puts a nice coating in the carb and cylinders to protect from moisture over the winter. I then let it run till it dies from lack of fuel. That drains the carbs of fuel. Only thing i do after that is take the motor off the boat and store in my shed. I also take battery out and stick in the basement for storage. I set it on a piece of wood so not in contact with cold concrete floor. I haven't used a trickle charger on my battery over the winter. I use a solar trickle charger all spring/summer long. I do get battery out well before im gonna use my boat and get the solar charger back on it. My boat is just a 14ft alumacraft so i flip it on its side for the winter leaning against the fence. Haven't had any issues with battery or motor firing next year following this procedure.

 

[woodsie57]

Good idea to change the lower unit oil- could have water in it-

 

[1mil-high]

Change the lower unit oil
Fog the motor
If leaving the fuel outside over the winter add a good amount of stabil and make sure it is full. If it isn't full it leaves room for condensation to build (water in the fuel)
Definitely bring the batteries into a warmer climate as well.
I wouldn't be too worried about the critters and the wiring. Mine has been stored under a lean-to since about new, and the in and out of the water has been harder on the wiring than any critters.

 

[d.kaufman]

Good idea to change the lower unit oil- could have water in it-

I usually change my lower unit oil come spring. Impellar every 2 years in spring also. Not saying a bad idea to change before winter, but if you have water in the oil, you have bigger issues to deal with.

 

[Alamo]

My first thought when I read the title was "take it to Florida."

 

[Whitsettd8]

The guys above covered pretty much everything. The only thing I would add is if your not pulling the motor I would flush it with antifreeze just to be safe. I don't think you have to like you would on an inboard/outboard but for 5-10 bucks worth of antifreeze it would be worth it for the piece of mind. I would also pour some down the live well drains and pump some through the bilge. Again none if this is probably necessary but if it were mine I would do it. 10 min worth of effort could eliminate potential problems in the spring.

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

One other thing. For my boat, the big motor and the kicker motor stay on, and I have to make sure the cover is secure on the back so that varmints (or the neighbor's cat) don't find a way in between the motor and the cover. I use a piece of garden netting that wraps around and covers the open space. So far that's kept all animals out.

My brother uncovered his boat one spring to find that a raccoon had made a mess of his boat over the winter.

 

[4651feeder]

Moth balls layed out in a cheap aluminum foil pie pan under the cover (to prevent contact and staining) was the accepted method back in the day when I had a boat to preventing rodents from chewing anything they can chew on.

 

[bobjones223]

Haven't changed the lower unit oil in 7 years... running a jet lower now so that is no longer an issue. Just put some grease in her after every use and motor on.

I do use Stabil with ALL my fuel not knowing when my last trip will be.

 

[Sniper 79]

I pull fuel line off the motor at the launch on my last trip out. Let it run until it dies. Battery comes in basement. Everything else gets put in garage. Rest of fuel gets dumped in truck. Boat gets tarped outside with stone under tires. I put decon and moth balls around and check it all out a few times during winter months.

 

[gunrunner0]

For my dad's mid 2000's mercury 40hp, which I maintain, I do the following:
- Fog the motor
- empty the gas tank and lines
- take the battery inside and put it on a tender
- New plugs every other year (in the spring)
- Run a can of seafoam through in the spring
- grease the trailer hubs in the spring

I've found the need for step two to be hit or miss, depending on the engine. Some engines (particularly older ones) will run just fine on fuel treated with stabil and stored for the winter, others will hate it, and you're stuck with getting rid of junk gas in the spring and cleaning out the carb, so I just run it as close to empty as possible, and then dump the rest in the truck or mower before storage.

 

[amboy49]

For my dad's mid 2000's mercury 40hp, which I maintain, I do the following:
- Fog the motor
- empty the gas tank and lines
- take the battery inside and put it on a tender
- New plugs every other year (in the spring)
- Run a can of seafoam through in the spring
- grease the trailer hubs in the spring

I've found the need for step two to be hit or miss, depending on the engine. Some engines (particularly older ones) will run just fine on fuel treated with stabil and stored for the winter, others will hate it, and you're stuck with getting rid of junk gas in the spring and cleaning out the carb, so I just run it as close to empty as possible, and then dump the rest in the truck or mower before storage.

Re: emptying the tank - seems to be two schools of thought (?). Some are saying fill the tank and treat with Stabil - doing so will help to prevent moisture condensation. The flip side is to drain the tank as much as possible to eliminate the possibility of developing "bad gas."

Now I'm confused about which theory is most correct.

 

[Cameramonkey]

Unless you have been running 100% petroleum (0% ethanol) I'd vote to drain it dry. (per the above steps) Ive replaced several carbs recently due to ethanol damage.

Which reminds me, its probably time to fire up the snowblower that hasnt run for several seasons to make sure I dont need a new/rebuild kit. Better now than when the UPS guy cant get into the hood to deliver the new one.

 

[gunrunner0]

Re: emptying the tank - seems to be two schools of thought (?). Some are saying fill the tank and treat with Stabil - doing so will help to prevent moisture condensation. The flip side is to drain the tank as much as possible to eliminate the possibility of developing "bad gas."

Now I'm confused about which theory is most correct.

As camera monkey stated, I think ethanol in gas is the culprit. I only use premium in small engines, but even that now has some ethanol and I think that causes the fuel to spoil more quickly. But as I said in my original post, I've found that older engines seem to handle old gas better than newer ones, I suspect this relates to emissions controls but have no evidence to back that up.

I've found that it's just easier to drain the tank, than deal with 5-6 gallons of bad gas in the spring. I don't think moisture is an issue if you run the tank dry, I generally "crack" the cap on the tank and figure that everything will evaporate. I would think if you took the cap completely off during storage there would be no opportunity for moisture to develop, but then you have to worry about bugs/dirt/debris getting in the tank.

 

[Sniper 79]

Gas these days goes bad quick. I always recommend draining the tank. Only way not to recommend that is if the tank is metal. Fill it to the top and put the cap on so inside of tank can't rust. Still would rather see it drained and spray your fogging oil in it. I too have had to replace a lot of expensive carbs.

I do small engine repair. Lot of carbs I won't rebuild anymore I just replace them. This gas rots anything rubber.

I also run premium in them. My outboard gets fuel treatment in every tank. I also use a lot of Marvel, Chem Tool, Seafoam.....for helping maintain carbs and motors