New Boat - how to Winterize?

[webdude]

Hi everyone,

I bought a new Lund Fisherman 1700 with a 115 horse Honda four stroke. The manuals you get with the boat and motor are pretty lame as to what to do exactly for winterizing. I got a list of things to do, but when it comes to things like changing the lower unit oil, etc. it says to refer to service manual, which I do not have. Also, where can I get infor on how to blow out the pumps, drain the wells, etc. etc.

I ask but get conficting answers. For instance, one person says to blow out the livewells another says to use antifreeze. I am totally confused and wif\sh to do this right.

I would bring it to the dealer to do, but man, is that expensive. I spent all I had on the boat and now I am trying to do all I can to keep as much of the costs down as possible.

Thanks

p.s. I have wanted this boat for the past 25 years and finally saved up enough to get one. I am now a proud Lund owner, just would like some help on where to go to get the most information I can.

[Wave Runner]

I've owned a number of Lunds and here's what I do, not intended to proclaim it to be the perfect method but I've never had trouble.

Lower unit: Drain and replace with clean gear oil.

Livewells: For years I've used a compressor to blow air through all the lines and then left all plugs out. Last year I tried the RV antifreeze thing and I thought it was more of a mess than it was worth. Back to compressed air only.

Main motor: For years I always ran a fuel stabilizer and then fogged the cylinders. I now run a DFI two stroke main motor and a four stroke kicker (Yamahas both) You get a fair amount of advice against fogging the DFI two strokes and the four stroke motors. This year I'm going to treat the fuel and not fog.

Fuel tank: I don't want my motor running on six month old fuel next spring no way no how. I run treated fuel through the motor for ten minutes or so and then I drain the boat tank and burn the leftover in my truck.

Rest of boat and trailer: Good cleaning

LCD electronics: Put in the house, L in LCD stands for liquid...

[webdude]

Well, this is the kind of stuff I am talking about. Do I fog or not? More specifically, if anyone has a service manual, what does that say? I looked into getting the manual, but it was a hundred bucks. A little out of my price range right now. Also, somebody said you have to drain the (I think he said) evaporator.

It's too bad you can't get diffinitive answers from Honda or Lund. Their websites are pretty much useless when it comes to maintenance. All they say is to have a certified maintenance shop do the work.

anyway...

[Wave Runner]

Didn't your new boat come with a manual for the Honda ? If not, the dealer should be willing to get you one... I just found a Honda Marine HSOforum that had a downloadable manual for the BF115.

[webdude]

Sure, it came with the owners manual (about 150 pages). Very unspecific when it comes to actual maintenance. It gives you a maintenance schedule on what to do and when, how to grease, adjustments and stuff, but there are parts of the manual that says to refer to the service manual. They do not include this with the motor, only the owners manual.

For example, it gives no information on how to change the lower unit oil, just says to refer to the service manual or have a certified service dealer do the work.

I downloaded the pdf file and it is exactly what I got in the owners manual. No specifics for certain things like the lower unit oil change, evaporator, etc.etc.

So, you get the owners manual, but you have to buy the service manual. I looked up how much they were, about 96 bucks, not including shipping. Sounds like they want you to spend more to do your own maintenance. They definitely make it hard for you to do our own work.

[wastewaterguru]

Webdude,

I am not trying to start a heated thread.....nor am I intending to insult your intelligence. It just seems a little funny that someone that invests that kind of money in a motor balks at a $100 service manual that will help him save many thousands of dollars that it would otherwise cost to take the motor in each fall over its life. Basic maintenance information and winterizing tasks are easy to find on this site.

Most of the winterizing tasks are......

1. general to nearly all outboards,

2. easy to get information on, and

3. they're basic enough you don't "need" the tech manual.

Please do a search on winterizing on this site as well as others and you will find everything you could ask for and more.

[Skeets]

I have a Yamaha 60 four stroke on my Lund Angler, here is how I have winterized for the last two years with no problems.

I always run Sta-Bil in my gas. That stuff works great!

1. Hook up the garden hose to your motor for proper water circulation.

2. Start the engine, let it warm up for a few minutes, and then disconnect the fuel line hose. Let it run completely out of gas. Let all water drain.

3. Drain and replace lower unit oil. There should be two screws, drain and fill from the bottom screw.

4. Change the oil and filter.

5. Replace spark plugs, if necessary, for sure every other year.

6. Wash, wax, vaccum and romove all LCG's.

7. Check wheel bearings, grease/repack bearings as needed.

It sounds like alot of work, but you need to take care of your investment so it will last for many years to come.

Good Luck!

[mrclean]

Don't foget about the moth balls to keep the mice out.I usually put them in all compartments.

[Steve Bakken]

Both the compressed air and the antifreeze method accomplish the same thing equally well. But like Waverunner said, the antifreeze is messy. As for the fogging, as long as you're not spraying it through the intake, you should be alright. I always spray it through the spark plug hole while a buddy cranks it over a couple of times. The only conflict that I can see with a DFI would be contamination of the oxygen sensor when it is fired up in the spring. That is a question that a mechanic would have to answer. If you have any buddys who are experts on snowmobiles, you can ask them if the manufactures recomend to fog the models with the EFI or DFI systems. It's basically the same thing.

[Northlander]

So do I fog my 115 yamaha 4 stroke or not? Also how do you go about the Mobile home antifreeze method? Just poor it into the livewells with the drains plugged? This is my 1st winter with my new 2004 Lund Explorer and I want to get it right.

Do you put the moth balls in a opened zip lock or just lay them on some newspaper? I dont want that smell all next summer. Right now I use dryer sheets.

Anyone else have a gas or carpet glue smell in their storage areas? Im not sure wich it is but Im leaning towards the glue because it doesnt get worse when I fill the tank. Thanks a lot for any info.

[webdude]

Thanks for all the great info guys. I would still like to know what exactly the manual says about fogging.

Also, in response to wastewaterguru who said...

"It just seems a little funny that someone that invests that kind of money in a motor balks at a $100 service manual that will help him save many thousands of dollars that it would otherwise cost to take the motor in each fall over its life."

Don't get me wrong, I love the motor but my point is that when you dish out over $10,000 for a motor, it seems they would at least give you complete information on how to winterize the thing. Or make that information available on their site.

[Skeets]

I spray fogging oil in the cylinder wall while turning it over a few times.

Never had any problems.

I do not use moth balls, I don't like the smell.

[wastewaterguru]

I would guess that like most of the product liability issues.....they are afraid that giving too much information would make them liable for improper storage/winterization. They either have to give every detail or none at all. By giving no information or little information.....they feel that they are separating themselves from any liability claims from improper storage...

There are so many ways to store a motor. It is difficult for the larger four strokes because there isn't enough historical information available to determine the effectiveness of certain winterizing techniques. I have owned mine since 2001 and haven't had any problems yet, but who know if there is damage being done now that will show its ugly head next year or 5 or 10 years down the road.

I currently stabilize fuel, fog cylinders, check lower unit and drain water. I take out all electronics and the trolling motor. I empty all compartments and store everything including rods/reels/tackle indoors.

I do not use any antifreeze or compressed air. Bilge and livewell pumps are only $20 and 30 minutes to replace and have an expected life of about 3 or 4 years anyway. I don't understand the point of the compressed air and/or antifreeze anyway. These lines are not full when not in use.... As long as the hose doesn't have a low spot that holds water (which it shouldn't if installed properly), then it will gravity drain when the pump isn't operating. A few drops of water on the insides of a flexible hose are not going to cause you any trouble. The pumps are self draining and there shouldn't be more than a couple drops in the pumps either.

[Surface Tension]

Problem with live well lines is you can't see them. If there's a low spot in the routing of the line water will collect there acting line a sinks trap. Come winter that water will freeze and burst the line. May just end up being a crack in the line thats a nagging leak next summer you can't figure out where its from.

About fogging a 4 stroke or any of the newer engines with sensors that may become goofed, fog through the plug holes and you should be fine. Since the 4 stroke has oil in the crank fogging through the carb isn't necessary. If you got a cheap aftermarket manual you'd probably find you have a connection on your engine that excepts outboard manufactures products to fog and decarb.

[Northlander]

St Ill come to your place and we can do it when I finally give up on the soft water. See ya tomorrow? E-mail me.

[lawmanjoe]

Instead of moth balls, try dryer sheets. The smell isn't bad and it is suppost to keep the mice out. I've used them in my camper and boat for years, no mice!

[mrmillelacs]

heres what the maual says on my 2001 four stroke 80 yamaha says: warm up the engine to operating temperature, and while its running spray enough fogging oil into the carb to kill the engine. then spray each spark plug hole individually, and then change the lower unit oil, and flush cooling jackets with fresh water. as far as gas goes, i fill the tank, treat it with stabil (the full tank prevents moisture from froming in the tank) and in the spring, just to be anal i dump all that gas into my vehicles and start fresh again

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