Using Outboard during winter - proper care questions

[Onchy]

Hi everyone

First winter coming up owning a boat and have a few questions regarding proper keeping. I have done some digging around on this site and in my manuals but am more wondering how you keep your boats if your doing weekly/bi-weekly fishing/prawning trips.

Running a 20ft striper 200 merc verado.

Will be keeping it moored all winter in the marina slip. Apart from keeping leg in water to avoid freezing, running a unit heater in the cuddy, and draining raw/freshwater intakes and keeping a full gas tank what else would/do you do?
Do you recommend stabilizer if your still running it rather consistent? I feel like a lot of the "winterization" steps are based on storage for long periods of time.

I will be following up with my mechanic but also appreciate others advice and second opinions.

Cheers!!

 

[agentaqua]

The Island and lower Mainland/Salish Sea areas have it better wrt winter extremes than some other areas in the Province. Generally as the temp drops below -10C - you need to start worrying about how well you winterized your boat. Freshwater gets to be a problem wrt freezing below -6C or so. Adding gas line anti-freeze is generally a good idea by October in most parts. Gas stabilizer is also good if it is a few months between use. Keeping you tank topped-up full when your boat is stored helps minimize any condensation in your tanks. If you aren't using mixed gas and/or leaving for a few months - good idea to take out the plugs and squirt a little oil in the cylinders - turn the engine over and put the plugs back.

If you are leaving your boat in the water - and unable to check on it every day or 2 - having a battery on continuous charge and connected to an automatic bilge pump is a good idea. Sometimes a decent-sized solar panel in a South-facing window suffices to keep your system charged if you have no large leaks. Kinda nice to temporarily remove any high-priced electronics to avoid theft issues, too. You can bring them back with you when you want to go fishing.

If you have the option - park the boat facing into the prevailing winds - SE wind is usually the bigger problem in the fall. If you have a soft canopy - snow load can be a problem in some parts of the province. Make sure your mooring lines are in good shape - use extra - and that you have enough decent bumpers.

 

[triplenickel]

Nice! Very comprehensive reply.

 

[Onchy]

Thank you for the response! Feel like I'm on track been a dream of mine to own a boat, terrified of doing something dumb and damaging it.

 

[scott craven]

JMHO but I would trim the leg up and out of the salt water.
You will avoid corrosion and save your zinc's
We seldom get cold enough to freeze water in the gear case.

 

[ryanb]

JMHO but I would trim the leg up and out of the salt water.
You will avoid corrosion and save your zinc's
We seldom get cold enough to freeze water in the gear case.

Definitely gets cold enough a few times a year, especially if you are moored in freshwater (Fraser River). Having said that, I've seen many boats with outboards trimmed out of the water (ice) during the winter cold snaps at my old marina without apparent damage.

 

[profisher]

I'm a leave the leg down guy...I have always left the leg down on my 1997 Yami and no corrosion. More corrosion happens once metal is exposed to air. So long as zincs are kept up there is no harm in keeping it in the water. If kept up it can become a nice target for ****** dockers to hit...seen a few engines damaged by getting smacked hard. I'm only docked in the summer months and do have to deal with more growth at that time but it comes off easy with bleach.

 

[agentaqua]

Ya - as far as zincs go - if you keep it in freshwater - zincs decay quite slowly. Saltwater and aluminum boats can be a different situation. One should get 2-3 years out of most zincs. The smaller ones go more quickly.

 

[gungadin]

Definitely gets cold enough a few times a year, especially if you are moored in freshwater (Fraser River). Having said that, I've seen many boats with outboards trimmed out of the water (ice) during the winter cold snaps at my old marina without apparent damage.

If you flush your engine with fresh water, and leave the leg up, there is a possibility that the water won't drain and could freeze in the water pump area (or other). If you start up the engine with the impeller frozen in place you run the risk of damaging the impeller vanes. Lowering the engine into the water will help to alleviate this, by either submersing the pump in liquid and/or allowing the fresh water to drain from the engine etc.

 

[Onchy]

Thanks for all the advice everyone!

 

[Damien]

Good stuff, I'm in a similar 'boat'. Outboard motor powered that I plan to use a few times over the winter. Although mine won't be moored, I will have it under cover leg all the way down.

I will top the tank and use stabilizer as I'm never TOO sure that I will get out there again til spring. But I want to the the option to go when those inevitable sunny breaks happen.