Winterize Your Boat
September 1, 2005
If you’re like a lot of weekend warriors out there, you probably put the boat away after Labor Day and don’t use it again until Memorial Day weekend. If that’s the case, you should really winterize your vessel so that it stays in top running condition.
Properly prepare your boat for several months of inactivity and you’ll save yourself a lot of grief in the long run. To get an idea of what you should do to get your boat ready for winter, I talked with the best marine mechanic I know - Jerry Herota at Buck’s Outboard in Sacramento, CA. He had several suggestions.
The first step is to change the oil in your outboard (if you have a four-stroke) and also change the lube in your lower unit. “You don’t want any sludge to settle in and sit there all winter,” Herota said. “So keep it fresh. Also, hit all the zerk fittings with grease and lube the prop shaft.” Since gasoline can go bad over time, it’s also a very good idea to run the fuel out of your four-stroke engine before you store it.
With a two-stroke motor, however, it’s better to add a fuel conditioner to your tank and run it through the engine. In a two-stroke, the lubrication (oil) is mixed in with the fuel, so running one out of gas causes metal parts to grind on one-another without any protection (bad idea!).
Several companies make fuel additives and Herota likes the one made by Yamaha the best. Herota says that, if you’re really feeling ambitious, you can also pull the spark plugs and spray some storage seal into your cylinders. Also, before putting the cowling back on, it doesn’t hurt to spray the entire engine with silicone spray to displace moisture.
“You also want to make sure your battery is full,” he said. “Once you’re done running the engine, disconnect the wires and then leave your motor in its vertical upright running position to keep water from collecting in it. Don’t wrap your motor with plastic because it will sweat when it gets warm outside and you’ll have a rain forest under the cowling by spring. Cover it instead with canvas and then let it air out from time to time on the nice days.
” When it comes to caring for the actual boat, Herota says that it may be obvious, but it’s extremely important to make sure the drain plug is pulled. “I don’t care how many tarps and covers you have on the boat, water’s going to get down in there. I once had a customer who forgot to pull the plug and when they pulled the cover off in the spring, the boat was full to the gunwales. No wonder the tires were so flat on the trailer!”
And speaking of flats, if you have a small 12- or 14-foot boat, it will help prolong the life of your tires by getting the trailer up on blocks to keep the weight off the wheels. With bigger boats, this isn’t very practical, so just try to roll the tires a little each month.
“And one last thing - give the Bearing Buddies on your hubs a shot of grease,” Herota said. “That should force any moisture out so it doesn’t sit there all winter.” Follow these easy steps and, next spring, you won’t be the guy at the ramp whose engine won’t turn over.
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