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Leaving it in water throughout the winter?

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Johno1332

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I live near the Memphis area, and I usually pull my boat for the winter (coming from Chicago area it's a must). However, this will be the first year I'm planning to leave it in the water throughout the winter. There are still some nice days during that time that I want to still be able to use the boat and since I have the slip for the year, I figure there's no real need to pull it out of the water and pay for a storage unit. Does it matter how I leave the engine trimmed during throughout the winter? I always trim the engine up but I'm not sure if I should trim it differently for the winter. I was also thinking if I should pull it out of the water and leave it in the driveway and simply pull it in and out whenever I want to use it. My only concern with that is the debris (tree branches) possibly falling on the boat from any potential bad storms.
 
This is a pro/con analysis:
Pro - ready to use, no trailering, no storage costs.
Con - algae growth (and water to cold to clean), if temperatures reach freezing that could be a HUGE issue, snow, winter storms, security, waterfowl & lake creatures using it as a home, etc.

Seems pulling is best, unless you are doing a LOT of winter cruising.
 
In the eighties a minority (15%) of the folks on our protected bay would not take their pontoon out for the winter. Criticism was tempered because the practice had pasted the test of time. A neighbor two doors down told me he liked (come spring) to just walk down to the dock and go for a boat ride. When we got a place up north we got criticized the year we did the same in that protected water. Up there it was not accepted practice. Nowadays it is not accepted practice at either location. I have never heard a reason why not other than it just doesn’t feel right. With regard to leaving the lower unit in the ice; back then it was recommended to let it freeze in because older lower units would not drain when lifted out of the water. I know that this reply is not at all a response to the original post but I swear it is true and hopefully some will have fun with it.
 
A few here in Northern Michigan, leave theirs in all year , and yes they use them . It's not a Bennington and it's not me.
 

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There are 2 or3 there that stay in all winter . I dont know how often they use them ,but they have a New Years Day tradition of going out .
 
It absolutely matters . . . you want it all the way DOWN. The part underwater won't freeze but more importantly outboards have a narrow pathway where water comes through (the pee port I believe?) and if you raise the engine, you will trap the water in there and it will freeze and crack that part of the engine because it's now over the water line. It's not as bad as cracking an engine block on an I/O but it WILL break for sure and cost you some $$$ I leave mine down all of the time. In the summer months, it's a matter of personal preference as there are pros and cons for each method but in the winter it becomes solid fact (and solid ICE).
 
Every winter I see many boats with the engine trimmed up, without any freezing damage.
 
I keep mine slipped year-round, run it every month including days where it's freezing out.

Some engines can trap water in the cooling passages but the Yamaha V6 and smaller blocks drain even when tilted up. The main concern is water in the lower unit that can freeze and crack the gearcase, so leaving it tilted down mitigates that as long as your body of water doesn't freeze over.

I changed the LU oil this past spring and water had gotten in (caramel colored oil) at some point. The drain plug gasket was in bad shape so I suspect that was the culprit. Not enough to crack the case but over time perhaps. Best practice is to change the gear oil as part of winterization and make sure any water is drained and problems resolved.

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Johno1332 said:
I live near the Memphis area, and I usually pull my boat for the winter (coming from Chicago area it's a must). However, this will be the first year I'm planning to leave it in the water throughout the winter. There are still some nice days during that time that I want to still be able to use the boat and since I have the slip for the year, I figure there's no real need to pull it out of the water and pay for a storage unit. Does it matter how I leave the engine trimmed during throughout the winter? I always trim the engine up but I'm not sure if I should trim it differently for the winter. I was also thinking if I should pull it out of the water and leave it in the driveway and simply pull it in and out whenever I want to use it. My only concern with that is the debris (tree branches) possibly falling on the boat from any potential bad storms.
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We have thousands of boats of all kinds left in all year round in East Tennessee. We'll pull our Benny out for service in November, clean the hulls, ccheck things out, and put it back in the slip. Leaving the motor down is best.
 
I second changing the gear oil at the end of each season, also install new gaskets on both the drian and vent plugs everytime.
 
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