Winterize My Boat, Motor and Trailer

I have tried to complete a list of things to do to winterize my boat, motor
and trailer. If some of these points look familiar you have probably seen
them in another post in this news group and I would like to thank those
whose postings I used.



You will note that there seems to be a few "schools of thought" as to what
speed your engine should be idling at when you spray the fogging oil into
the carburetors

· Idle it down

· 1200-1500 RPM

· fast idle

Does any one have any thoughts on this?



If you have any comments, corrections or concerns regarding this list I
would be happy to hear from you.





Fogging

· Idle it down and squirt fogger into air intake till engine stalls

· spray the fogging oil down the throat of the carburetor with the
engine idling at about 1200-1500 RPM

· Slowly pour a little 20-weight oil or engine storage fogging oil
down the throat of the carburetor while the engine runs at a fast idle, then
rapidly pouring the rest down the throat to "choke" off the engine

· Pull the plugs and squirt fogger into individual cylinders, then
crank it over for a couple of seconds with the plugs in, but disconnected



Lower Unit

· Change the oil in the fall to avoid avoiding leaving old oil in it
with salts, acids and other contaminants.

· Change the oil filters if there are any

· Drain the oil from the lower unit by removing the plugs on the top
and bottom (Inspect the oil; if it's milky, see your dealer).

· Replace the lower unit oil from the bottom plug till it comes out
the top plug. Put in the top plug, then the bottom.

· Make sure the motor is in a vertical position so all the water
drains out.

· The drive should be touched up if paint is missing



Engine

· Spin engine over just enough to get water out of water pump

· Coat the electrical system and engine block with a fine mist of
silicone spray before putting the cover back on



Batteries

· Put 600 milliamp trickle charger/maintainer on batteries or take out
the batteries

· Charge up the batteries

· Clean the posts/contacts

· If batteries are taken indoors DO NOT put on cement floor



Electrical

· Change the plugs in the spring after the fogging oil and fuel
stabilizer is all burned up.



Fuel

· Add plenty of fuel stabilizer so that you will not be leaving gummy
varnish in the carburetors. The stabilizer is mixed with the fuel in the
boat's tank before it's run for the last time, so that treated fuel ends up
throughout the fuel system, not just in the tank

· Fill the fuel tank at least ¾ full to cut down on condensation



Propeller

· Take off the prop, lube the shaft with light oil and put it back on

· Check the prop, if it's damaged, send it out for refinishing



General

· Make sure the motor is in a vertical position so all the water
drains out of the cooling system

· The speedometer and cooling ports should be probed with a fine wire
to be sure there's no water trapped inside

· wipe the motor case down

· wax the boat and all metal fittings



Trailer

· Block the frame of the trailer at the tongue and back under the
engine area to take the weight off of the tires and suspension

· Put the trailer up on stands as that will save the tires from
getting a set flat spot. Also good for the springs

· inflate the tires to the max (50 lbs) over the winter





comments, corrections or concerns?

I would use fogging oil, conventional oil is far better then nothing, but
fogging oil is designed to stick in place. I am dead set against higher
RPM's followed by a quick pour of engine oil, you could fluid lock a piston
which might cause damage. Follow the can's recommendations, but in general,
a fast idle will burn the fogging oil off as it enters, all you want is a
mist in all cylinders. On a V8 IO, normal idle is fine, on smaller
outboards they may stall too quickly at normal idle.

Most of the rest of your items sound good to me, check with your owners
manual regarding draining and filling the lower unit (and upper on IO's),
some are different. Also, add the fuel stabilizer on the last trip, not
once trailered, it needs to be mixed throughout the tank, sitting on a
trailer doesn't do this well, it needs to be 'shaken' a bit.

Greg


"Kim Lauzon" <lauzonk.TakeThisOut@rogers.com> wrote in message
news:W3v9b.3251$Ch2.1707@news02.bloor.is.net.cable.rogers.com...
 > I have tried to complete a list of things to do to winterize my boat,
motor
 > and trailer. If some of these points look familiar you have probably seen
 > them in another post in this news group and I would like to thank those
 > whose postings I used.
 >
 >
 >
 > You will note that there seems to be a few "schools of thought" as to what
 > speed your engine should be idling at when you spray the fogging oil into
 > the carburetors
 >
 > · Idle it down
 >
 > · 1200-1500 RPM
 >
 > · fast idle
 >
 > Does any one have any thoughts on this?
 >
 >
 >
 > If you have any comments, corrections or concerns regarding this list I
 > would be happy to hear from you.
 >
 >
 >
 >
 >
 > Fogging
 >
 > · Idle it down and squirt fogger into air intake till engine stalls
 >
 > · spray the fogging oil down the throat of the carburetor with the
 > engine idling at about 1200-1500 RPM
 >
 > · Slowly pour a little 20-weight oil or engine storage fogging oil
 > down the throat of the carburetor while the engine runs at a fast idle,
then
 > rapidly pouring the rest down the throat to "choke" off the engine
 >
 > · Pull the plugs and squirt fogger into individual cylinders, then
 > crank it over for a couple of seconds with the plugs in, but disconnected
 >
 >
 >
 > Lower Unit
 >
 > · Change the oil in the fall to avoid avoiding leaving old oil in it
 > with salts, acids and other contaminants.
 >
 > · Change the oil filters if there are any
 >
 > · Drain the oil from the lower unit by removing the plugs on the top
 > and bottom (Inspect the oil; if it's milky, see your dealer).
 >
 > · Replace the lower unit oil from the bottom plug till it comes out
 > the top plug. Put in the top plug, then the bottom.
 >
 > · Make sure the motor is in a vertical position so all the water
 > drains out.
 >
 > · The drive should be touched up if paint is missing
 >
 >
 >
 > Engine
 >
 > · Spin engine over just enough to get water out of water pump
 >
 > · Coat the electrical system and engine block with a fine mist of
 > silicone spray before putting the cover back on
 >
 >
 >
 > Batteries
 >
 > · Put 600 milliamp trickle charger/maintainer on batteries or take
out
 > the batteries
 >
 > · Charge up the batteries
 >
 > · Clean the posts/contacts
 >
 > · If batteries are taken indoors DO NOT put on cement floor
 >
 >
 >
 > Electrical
 >
 > · Change the plugs in the spring after the fogging oil and fuel
 > stabilizer is all burned up.
 >
 >
 >
 > Fuel
 >
 > · Add plenty of fuel stabilizer so that you will not be leaving
gummy
 > varnish in the carburetors. The stabilizer is mixed with the fuel in the
 > boat's tank before it's run for the last time, so that treated fuel ends
up
 > throughout the fuel system, not just in the tank
 >
 > · Fill the fuel tank at least ¾ full to cut down on condensation
 >
 >
 >
 > Propeller
 >
 > · Take off the prop, lube the shaft with light oil and put it back
on
 >
 > · Check the prop, if it's damaged, send it out for refinishing
 >
 >
 >
 > General
 >
 > · Make sure the motor is in a vertical position so all the water
 > drains out of the cooling system
 >
 > · The speedometer and cooling ports should be probed with a fine
wire
 > to be sure there's no water trapped inside
 >
 > · wipe the motor case down
 >
 > · wax the boat and all metal fittings
 >
 >
 >
 > Trailer
 >
 > · Block the frame of the trailer at the tongue and back under the
 > engine area to take the weight off of the tires and suspension
 >
 > · Put the trailer up on stands as that will save the tires from
 > getting a set flat spot. Also good for the springs
 >
 > · inflate the tires to the max (50 lbs) over the winter
 >
 >
 >
 >
 >
 > comments, corrections or concerns?
 >
 >
 >
 >
 >
 ><!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->