Boat Winterization, Putting away the boat

Hello All,

hope all is well and everyone is excited for the upcoming Ice fishing.

A bit of a boater newbie here, going through my first winter with the boat and just trying to make sure everything is taken care of before I wrap her up for the Winter.

the engine is a 25 Mercury Outboard.

Any tips on what to do and what products to use?

I would rather try and do it myself instead of taking it into a small engine/marina shop.

Tight lines!

There are people on the board far more knowledgeable than me, but I'll start it off...

For my 1974 Johnson 70 I make sure i have stabilizer in the gas, and run it dry.

A bit of fogging oil in each cylinder and hand cycle it once or twice (or you can spray a bit in the air intakes while running).

I change the lower unit oil in the fall just in case water got in there during the season.

Make sure the battery is charged up, disconnect the terminals, and a bit of dielectric grease to keep the rust off.

Giv'er a kiss, and cover her up.

That's pretty much all I do, and every spring she starts up like she was waiting for me

Hey Thanks Furlong! Appreciate it.

I will try and take care of this soon, especially with this weather around to make it more manageable.

Any specific fogger and stabilizer you use ? or any kind will do the job.

regards

I pretty much do the same as Furlong with a couple minor exceptions. I disconnect the battery and put it in the garage where I run a trickle charge on it two or three times during the winter. I also grease any fittings on the motor and make sure the trailer bearing buddies are topped up.

I also make sure the boat is clean and dry and put some moth balls in it before closing it up. I am told that helps keep the mice away and have yet to see evidence of any for 25 years or so.

Solid advice already offered. I'd replace the washers on the upper and lower bolts on the lower unit when replacing the gear oil on your outboard. If you Google "winterizing outboard engines" you're likely to find thorough coverage (complete with videos) on your question. If you have a four stroke outboard be sure to fully drain or extract the engine oil and replace with whatever the manufacturer recommends. I would also drain any fuel from a portable tank and pour it into the car or truck or use it for the snowblower. Starting the season next spring with fresh non-ethanol fuel is a good way to avoid potential problems with your outboard.

All solid points.

I use startron for stabilizer for all fuels i have.

Another item I do now is for units on a trailer, I jack the trailer up and block it to take pressure off the springs and tires for the winter as it just sits there for several months.

Also don't forget to uncouple the speedo and allow water to drain if applicable

X2

Great stuff

Let's not forget to bring extinguishers and any thing with batteries in it like the flashlight
and also your flares if you have some.. These items should be stored inside!!!

Good advice from Furlong, Neil and Grandpa Jim. I pretty much do all the things they mention.

My boat is in the garage during the Winter, so I take the battery down the basement and charge it there.

SDC

All Good stuff.......the only other thing I add to the boat before the winter cover goes on is......a product that's wicks away the dampness.....I put about four of them in ......usually pretty damp in the spring when I remove them.
Cheers
Greg

Pull everything out of the boat, open all storage areas and toss a bounce sheet in it,toss in some moth balls,put some damp out in the boat, grease everything, wax the hull, vacuum the interior, add fuel stabilizer, if its EFI run triple mix or a coctail through it (oil,stabilizer,high test gas) if it's carbureted fog through the air box,fog the cylinders and turn it over,change all fluids,pull props and grease the shafts..I'm sure there are a few things ive missed but this is what I do. Maybe over kill but I've never had a problem in the spring!

Thanks to all for their Inputs!

appreciate all the tips and suggestions. Went out and purchased everything the other night and will be attacking it this weekend.

Cheers!

Going to be doing the same thing to my boat this week-end. I'm interested in the "dampness control" product.
Do you have a name for it??

thx,

StarBrite no damp is what I use. You should be able to find it at most marinas at this time of the year.

If the weather holds as it has so far this fall, we could be boat fishing until Christmas. Not putting mine away yet!! Perch fishing is great right now.

All suggestions given are good though and I go through a similar routine.