I'm a noob to boats - purchased my first little boat ('01 Bayliner 160 w/ 90hp 2-stroke) late this summer, and the family and I have been having a blast with it. Sadly, the air and water temps are falling to the point that we can't get in the water anymore this year, and its about time to mothball it for the winter.
The boat has been living in our garage, but this isn't workable for the long-term. No place to store it in the yard, so we're planning to store it out at a horse farm where we know the owners. A small number of horse trailers (some relatively nice ones) are kept out there, and to the best of my knowledge, there haven't been any break-in or theft problems, but the location is not the best in our area (a few 'trouble' areas right around there). I'm a bit concerned that w/ the boat out there for the winter, the motor could potentially get stolen. (I suspect a low likelihood, but not out of the realm of possibility).
It has occurred to me that it might make sense to remove the motor, and keep it in the garage for the winter, but I'm hesitant to screw with the mounting through the transom, for fear of introducing a leak, weakening the transom over time, etc. From what I can see, the mounting of the engine to the transom bracket is via a combined joint that acts as the mounting, the tilt pivot and the steering cable guide. This looks like maybe the next best place to try to remove the engine?
So, my question is (there is a question here, amongst all of my nail biting
- A) Am I over-worrying about the possibility of theft of the engine? B) if I'm not overworrying, and removal of the engine would make some sense, what would be the best way to go about that - minimizing the risk of damage to the transom (as well as avoiding a whole heap of work on the removal and replacement) C) other thoughts/advice/etc from more experienced boaters?
Obviously, keeping it in a locked boat storage facility comes to mind, but there aren't any real close by (at least I can check on the boat, keep it clear of snow accumulation, etc out at the barn), and they're fairly expensive by comparison (one month in proper storage would cost more than the whole winter at the barn), so I'd ideally find a way to make the local storage option work.
Thanks for any constructive input!
The boat has been living in our garage, but this isn't workable for the long-term. No place to store it in the yard, so we're planning to store it out at a horse farm where we know the owners. A small number of horse trailers (some relatively nice ones) are kept out there, and to the best of my knowledge, there haven't been any break-in or theft problems, but the location is not the best in our area (a few 'trouble' areas right around there). I'm a bit concerned that w/ the boat out there for the winter, the motor could potentially get stolen. (I suspect a low likelihood, but not out of the realm of possibility).
It has occurred to me that it might make sense to remove the motor, and keep it in the garage for the winter, but I'm hesitant to screw with the mounting through the transom, for fear of introducing a leak, weakening the transom over time, etc. From what I can see, the mounting of the engine to the transom bracket is via a combined joint that acts as the mounting, the tilt pivot and the steering cable guide. This looks like maybe the next best place to try to remove the engine?
So, my question is (there is a question here, amongst all of my nail biting
- A) Am I over-worrying about the possibility of theft of the engine? B) if I'm not overworrying, and removal of the engine would make some sense, what would be the best way to go about that - minimizing the risk of damage to the transom (as well as avoiding a whole heap of work on the removal and replacement) C) other thoughts/advice/etc from more experienced boaters?Obviously, keeping it in a locked boat storage facility comes to mind, but there aren't any real close by (at least I can check on the boat, keep it clear of snow accumulation, etc out at the barn), and they're fairly expensive by comparison (one month in proper storage would cost more than the whole winter at the barn), so I'd ideally find a way to make the local storage option work.
Thanks for any constructive input!
