Boat Winterizing

NYSpeed Automotive
2

I/O or outboard?

My I/O I do the following:

Shopping list:
5 gallons of the non-toxic antifreeze at West Marine.
Motor Oil and Filter
Stabil gas stabilizer
Fogging Oil
Spray on engine coating/rust inhibator
Marvel mystery oil
2 cans of moisture absorber
Trailer wheel bearing grease
Outdrive gear oil

Hardware required:
Something to hold the 5 gallons of antifreeze. I use this:
http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/producte/10001/-1/10001/45454/377%20710/0/winterize/Secondary%20Search/mode%20matchallpartial/0/0?N=377%20710&Ne=0&Ntt=winterize&Ntk=Secondary%20Search&Ntx=mode%20matchallpartial&Nao=0&Ns=0&keyword=winterize&isLTokenURL=true&storeNum=null&subdeptNum=null&classNum=null
Motor flush ear muffs
Spark plug wrench
Garden hose
Grease gun
Gear oil pump

Steps:

  1. Repack trailer bearings. This is a great time to do it because if there is water in there you don’t want it sitting all winter. Plus, in the spring, you’re more likely to try sneaking in a quick boat ride without repacking the bearings.
  2. Drain and refill the outdrive gear lube. Use the pump to fill it from the bottom drain hole until oil comes out the top hole. This makes sure you push all the air out. By changing it now you guarantee there is no water in there that might freeze and crack the drive.
  3. Add stabil to the gas, fill the gas tank to about 95%. Ethanol attracts moisture. If the tank is nearly empty the airflow into and out of the tank when the temperature goes up and down will cause a lot of moisture to get trapped in your tank. By keeping it 95% full you greatly limit the amount of air that can get in, while still allowing a little bit of room for the gas to expand without spilling out the vent.
  4. Change the oil/filter. You don’t want old oil, with it’s higher acidity, sitting in there all winter.
  5. Remove the flame arrester, start the boat up and run it on the ear muff’s/garden hose until it it reaches operating temp. Shut if off and quickly switch the muffs to the antifreeze jug. Run all 5 gallons through, shut the motor off before the jug runs dry. I prefer filling the system with antifreeze vs just draining the water because it prevents the manifolds from rusting over the winter.
    5a. Just before you shut the motor off in step 5, shoot some fogging oil into the intake if EFI, or carb.
  6. Remove each spark plug, put a little mystery oil in each cyl. Not enough to cause compression issues in the spring… you just want to coat the walls/rings. Just “touch” the starter enough so the engine barely turns over to distribute the oil. Put the plugs back in.
  7. Remove the drain plug. PUT IT SOMEWHERE THAT YOU WON’T FORGET IT’S OUT IN THE SPRING. I put mine inside the float on the boat keys. It’s heavy and made of brass, no way I wouldn’t notice it was in there.
  8. Give any of the cast iron parts of the engine a light coat with the engine coat spray.
  9. Put a tub of moisture absorber in the engine compartment, and the other in the passenger compartment.
  10. Clean the boat well. You don’t want critters taking up residence in the off season. I remove the majority of stuff and store it in my attic. Lifejacket padding makes great mouse bedding, and if they get wet under a seat they will stay wet and turn moldy by spring.
  11. Take the prop off, inspect for damage and make sure no fishing line is wrapped around the shaft. Over time that will work past the seals and cause all kinds of damage. Grease the prop shaft, reinstall the prop. If the prop has some damage this is a great time to send it out for a rebuild.
  12. Store the boat with the bow up slightly so any water the does get in will drain out the back. Keep the drive down as much as possible so the rubber bellows aren’t stretched all winter.
  13. Disconnect the battery. Last year was the first year I left mine in the boat and just disconnected it.
  14. Cover it well, making sure the cover isn’t going to rub in the wind. It will be just like sandpaper if it’s rubbing all winter.
  15. Go out after big snows and brush some of the snow off to take the weight off the cover.

Do all that and in the spring it will fire right up, smoke just a little for about 30 seconds from the fogging/cyl oil, and then run perfect. It really doesn’t take that long once you know what you’re doing.