Thread: Do I need to winterize?

If next winter is like this one I wouldnt think so. Just put some Stabil in the gas.

I use stabil in every tank since I bought my boat in 94 but I've never winterized it. Motor is 18 years old and fires right up. I think it's important to maintain the batteries during that time and the new smart chargers make that pretty easy.

I would fill the tank up all the way, give it a good dose of Stabil and let it run in the motor for about 10 minutes and shut it off. Don't run the motor out of gas especially if it is a carb motor. You may think you are running "all" of the gas out but you are truly not. There is still a film of gas left in there and some in the bottom of the bowl that can turn to varnish. If you can find a way to start it and run it on the garden hose a couple of times through the winter I would do that too. A trickle charger on the batteries is a good idea also. Down here in the south we have the luxury of using our boats year round but there have been winters when I didn't fish at all through the winter. I would just pull my out and run it on the hose for a few minutes every few weeks and I've never had a single issue.

I would check the lower unit oil to make sure there's no water in it to freeze and burst your lower unit housing. If so, reseal and refill. If no water, I'd fog the cylinders with fogging oil. If you're running the motor out of fuel, then you're also running it out of lubricant for the rings, cylinders, bearings, and such\---assuming it's a 2-stroke (you didn't say what motor it was). Just spray the fogging oil into the carb throats while turning it over with the spark plugs grounded so it won't fire. That will keep any rust and such from forming over the winter. You can get fogging oil at any decent outboard shop. Cheap, easy, and good insurance against any problems the next season.
Just my opinion,
JBJ

Its a lot cheaper to winterize than to start replacing parts the following spring. Why risk it. I winterize mine and it sits in a heated garage.

Considering the cost of repairs on an outboard (it's lke they're a spaceship and only 1 person in the world knows how to repair them it's so costly) as well as the difficulty finding an honest outboard mechanic... you live in an extreme winter envionment... Why would you even consider doing anything other than what the manufacturer of the motor recommends for long term storage, ie-read and heed the owners manual.

I know others who don't here in KY, but I don't chance it. Outboards are too expensive to replace and new plugs/lower unit lube and a few odds and ends will set you back less than $60 which is a whole lot cheaper than replacing almost anything on the motor. In a normal winter I will fish on through November/early December and then put it away until the end of February. I haven't stopped fishing this year.

I would winterize it every year and run stabilized fuel through the engine before fogging it. On a side note I would not run an oil injected engine out of fuel, only bad things will happen, just my opinion...