Winterising.

[kenmyfam]

Well its approaching the time of year when I have to come out of the dock and prepare the boat for its winter hibernation. Trouble is, this is the first time that I have to winterise in a very sub Zero country. I have heard snippets about "fogging" the motor", "changing the lower oil" and a couple of other things. Is there a thread anywhere that I could be pointed in the direction of ?? I used the search for "winterising" but it came up with very little. I would like to know about winterising and storing both the boat and outboard.
I have a Doral 164 runabout with a 1985 Johnson 140hp V4.
Any help will be very much appreciated.
Thank You all for a great forum. I have learned so much from reading and posting here since I joined up.

 

[rickdb1boat]

Re: Winterising.

Here's some reading:

http://forums.iboats.com/bbBoard.cgi?a=viewthread;fid=36;gtid=1035565 ] Click Here [/url]

http://www.brownsmarina.com/tech-winter-outboard.html ] Click Here [/url]

http://www.boatsafe.com/nauticalknowhow/winterupdate.htm ] Click Here [/url]

http://www.walleyecentral.com/winterize2001.shtml ] Click Here [/url]

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Winterising.

is the boat to be stored inside or outside. you change to lower unit oil incase there is water in there to freeze and crack the foot. fogging lubricates the engine for sleep, besure to lower the engine so all the water drains out of the cooling system. As far as the boat make sure all water is out of the bilge, and any pumps, and lines, (bilge, livewell, washdown). lube the grease points on the engine. some people shrink wrap their boats, other just use covers. in Florida winterizing means lowering the foot so the water drains, thats about it. i forget add fuel stabilizer to the tanks, and run the engine on muffs, so it's in the carbs.

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: Winterising.

is the boat to be stored inside or outside. you change to lower unit oil incase there is water in there to freeze and crack the foot. fogging lubricates the engine for sleep, besure to lower the engine so all the water drains out of the cooling system. As far as the boat make sure all water is out of the bilge, and any pumps, and lines, (bilge, livewell, washdown). lube the grease points on the engine. some people shrink wrap their boats, other just use covers. in Florida winterizing means lowering the foot so the water drains, thats about it. i forget add fuel stabilizer to the tanks, and run the engine on muffs, so it's in the carbs.

Thanks for the fast responses and the great info. I am in fresh water (Lake St Clair) can I run with the fuel stabiliser for the last trip before I pull it out for the winter to save using the muffs. (My home water pressure leaves a lot to be desired when feeding my motor on muffs) or should I modify the muffs to feed 2 lines into them ??
Thanks again.

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: Winterising.

Forgot to answer your question. The boat will be stored outside next to the house.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Winterising.

some people remove the engine and store them in the basement or the garage. make sure your cover is supported from underneath to carry the snow load. i use a tent frame built out of pvc, that fits in the boat, to support mine, but we don't have snow.

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: Winterising.

I was actually thinking of putting up a temporary portable shelter in the back yard so it could be completely closed off and the boat tarped inside this structure. Then in spring take down the portable until fall again.
I wish we didn't have snow !!!

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Winterising.

I have used saw horse brackets available from most hardware stores and make an A frame from those and they will accomodate a 2 x 4 Ridge beam. You can install 3 or 4 of those pieces cheap and it will shed snow. Do not seal the boat in allow for some air filtration. Make sure you are on a good angle to allow drainage too. I usually jack the trailer so there is no weight on the tires either.

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: Winterising.

I have used saw horse brackets available from most hardware stores and make an A frame from those and they will accomodate a 2 x 4 Ridge beam. You can install 3 or 4 of those pieces cheap and it will shed snow. Do not seal the boat in allow for some air filtration. Make sure you are on a good angle to allow drainage too. I usually jack the trailer so there is no weight on the tires either.

Thanks for that, it sounds like a fine idea. I plan to bring the wheels inside for the winter and leave the trailer on blocks.