Winterizing

[harvey lee]

I always pull my plug and add a little RV antifreeze just for piece of mind. Its cheap insurance.

I use the dryer sheets in the boat and have never had a issue with those pesty mice yet. I use to use moth balls and they also worked very well but it seems it takes a bit longer to get ride of the smell from them.

Lots of great fall fishing for me yet. I try to go until November or freeze up for good eye action.

[EricD]

Are there any repercussion when it comes to letting your boat sit out during 30 degree nights? I'd like to get out a few more times but I'm worried about upcoming nighttime freezes. It's a relatively new boat and I'd hate to be stupid about it. I'm stupid about too many other things already.

[marine_man]

Just make sure you've got the motor tipped down all the way, all the water out of the livewells, and I'd pull the plug to be certain.

marine_man

[bassNspear]

If you have a inboard, make sure its drained by the weekend. Talking very cold weather!

[DRH1175]

What about a 4 stroke yammy? I have a f115. I always use ring free. Do I have to fog? Some people say yes, some say no.

[boatfixer]

I skip fogging on the fuely's

[Huskie]

Going to drain and replace the lube in the lower unit this week end. I know you fill from the bottom screw hole, until it comes out the top hole. This motor, 02 125 Merc has two screws on top, one in front, the other back 4 or 5 inches. Do you need to take both out when you fill or only the front one. Other motors I had, had only one.

[marine_man]

I believe it's the forward one. Here's what I'd do... take a tie wrap / zip tie, piece of wire and put it into that one... feed it in a bit and pull it out. If you've got gear lube on the end of it you've got the right plug.

marine_man

[boatfixer]

Its the aft screw, closest to the prop, that is the vent for filling

[Tator2k]

This is my first time winterizing my boat. What's the typical volume of a lower unit? I have 90 HP Evi.

[SkunkedAgain]

I don't know your specs, but I can give you some HUGE advice. Double check that the lower unit is full after filling. I've change the lower unit oil on all of my outboards since I started boating. I did my first change on my new 90hp Suzuki last fall. On my fifth outing this spring (at opener) the lower unit seized up. $1200 later I found that while the lower unit was almost full, it wasn't to the very top. The bearing melted to the drive shaft and it needed a rebuild.

When I filled it in the fall, I did it until oil came out of the top plug. What I didn't know is that air bubbles can get trapped in there and will cause the oil level to settle once they purge. Thinking back, I know that I had to pull the bottle out of the lower plug because I had squeeze the bottle flat but there was still more oil in there. That second squeeze threw in a bunch of air bubbles.

So use a lower unit oil pump. You can buy them cheap at any auto parts or marine store. Second, let your lower unit oil settle for 15 minutes or longer to ensure that all of the air bubbles have risen and been purged. Better yet, put "checking the lower unit oil" on your spring un-winterizing list!

Good luck and check your owner's manual for fluid capacities.

[Raider4ever]

Sorry about the rebuild. But, thank you for that hint. I know I will do that next spring (boat's been night-night for 6 days now) because I shot a lot of air bubbles into the LU when I changed lube this fall.

[06reata]

Pulled the plugs last night to drain the lower unit lube and roughly two ounces of water came out...is this typical? I installed a new impeller kit this spring and I am wondering if I did something wrong because I don't recall that much water coming out out during past winterizing's.

[Northlander]

You should not have any water in your lower unit. Was the lower unit lube milky colored. I would get it looked at.

[CAMAN]

Doubtful you did anything, one of the seals went bad, it happens. Check around the prop shaft, probably fishing line wrapped around it. Bring it to a reputable repair shop and have them pressure test and vacuum test the lower unit to pin point the exact seal that went bad. Since it sounds like you know how to remove the lower unit, save a little $$ and do it yourself, and just bring them the lower unit. Depending on how old the motor/seals are, it might just be time to replace them all anyway.

[BigMike]

Planning on winterizing my boat myself this weekend: '93 Tracker w/60hp Johnson. I've got the fogging and lower unit thing down but I've heard people talk about greasing the zerks. Where do I find them on my motor, how do you fill them, and what do I fill them with?

[06reata]

The motor is a 2006 150 Optimax.

Yes there was milky lube. First came a little water, then milky lube then clean lube.

Found a pretty good size spool of line when I pulled the prop, also a piece of 1/4" rope...need to check it more often. The line has melted and formed into a ring.

I let the unit drain for 30 hours or so and then refilled with new lube.

Hoping this will be OK until early spring which is when I plan to replace seals.

[marine_man]

06reata - as long as you don't run the boat anymore you should be in good shape. If you do end up going out, be sure to change the lower unit lube before the next cold snap.

Bigmike - the grease zerks are typically located near the tilt tube between the motor and the motor bracket and sometimes near the trim and tilt components.

marine_man

[ducker]

Is the consensus to remove the batteries from the boat while in cold storage?

[Sonicrunch]

Is the consensus to remove the batteries from the boat while in cold storage?

I know people who don't, but these people also have more money than they know what to do with.

[reelguy]

Drier sheets work great. Dealer told me not to "fog" the 4-stroke motor and haven't in 10 years and not had a problem. Just change the oil, lower unit oil, grease the zerts and you are good to go. I am no expert though.

[duck2]

Hello,

I have a 12 foot boat and an and old 1966 6HP Evinrude outboard that I might pull out and get in the water on my trip to my cabin next week. Assuming that I will have some night time temperatures in the low to mid 20's, is there a problem if I raise the boat up on my lift and leave the lower unit exposed overnight?

[marine_man]

No, as long as the motor is in the down position, and your lower unit lube is good (as in, recently changed, or you're confident there's no water in the lower unit) you should be just fine.

marine_man

[BassKnuckles]

So I'm going to change the lower unit oil next weekend more than likely. My neighbor says that he has never fogged his motor and I was wondering if that is alright to do? I have a 1996 Yamaha 200HP. So all I was going to do was Change oil, bring the batteries in the house and that was it.

[BassKnuckles]

Yamaha 200 HP 2 Stroke

Alright so do I need to hook up the garden hose and suction cups and start the motor to do the fogging deal?

Can I spray in each cylinder and spark plug and turn it over a couple of times without actually starting it?

I'm just doing everything now and I will wash the boat next weekend.