Winterize in the South

[DavidPJ]

Our boat in NC will remain on a lift over the winter. The motor is an outboard Honda. Our night temps go down to freezing and below. Is winterization of the motor necessary in this climate? My previous boat did not have a lift and I kept the lower unit in the water all winter and never had a problem. Many boats are kept on the lake on a lift over winter and don't seem to have a problem.

Should I minimally drain the block? There's 110V at the dock so I could heat the motor/lower unit if such a thing a is available. I don't have a trailer so I can't maintain the motor on land.

Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[Don S]

Re: Winterize in the South

As long as the motor is down, it's self draining, but that is just protecting from freeze damage, no winterizing. There is more to winterizing/long term storage than just letting the water run out. You should be doing gear lube changes, and engine oil changes as well, and fuel filters, greasing zirks, lubing prop shaft. Might want to look at your owners manual for suggested steps to take.

 

[jkust]

Re: Winterize in the South

Consider yourself lucky that you have an outboard. I'ts us I/O guys that have to drain our blocks of the water that circulated through. Even the worst boat owner can make an outboard last.

 

[bassman284]

Re: Winterize in the South

Yah, as Don indicates, winterizing is more about long term storage than temperature, although temp can definitely affect the lower unit if there is any water in it.

I have a 4 stroke Mercury and my winterizing consists of changing the oil in the lower unit and running Stabil - ized gas through the motor, per my dealer. Since I always use Stabil in my gas, I only worry about the lower unit. As to crankcase oil, my dealer didn't really say this, but via wink-wink nudge-nudge I got the idea that the annual oil change was probably not that big a deal unless you really run the hell out of it. I fish in mostly no wake lakes and probably don't log more than an hour a year of wide open throttle, most years less. As in all discussions on this board, Your Mileage May Vary. Since the rig in your sig suggests a lot of hard running, the annual oil change may make more sense.

I guess if you leave the lower unit in the water and the water never freezes around it, you won't break it, but water in the lower unit can emulsify and cause lubrication problems so it's good to check it from time to time. Hard to do without a trailer since you really need to get it out of the water to do this.

 

[JEBar]

Re: Winterize in the South

Our boat in NC will remain on a lift over the winter.

we live in NC and ours sits on its trailer out back of the house .... what we do is treat the gasoline, tilt the motor down, run the motor, fog it if you like, make sure the motor under the cowling is dry and has been sprayed with a light lubricant, make sure all live wells and pumps are drained

Jim

 

[coastalrichard]

Re: Winterize in the South

Well...as Sasto has so eloquently suggested...swap your flops for sneakers and add a sweater!

 

[DavidPJ]

Re: Winterize in the South

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. After reading these and many other great winterize threads here I think I have a pretty good idea of what I need to have done.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Winterize in the South

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. After reading these and many other great winterize threads here I think I have a pretty good idea of what I need to have done.

you just have to realize that half of the recommendations for "winterize" have nothing to do with winter but pertain to leaving a boat idle for several months. Most of the non-temperature recommendations are merely annual maintenance. And an outboard can sit for 4 months unused wth no ill effects.