Winterizing

[doug]

As a new toon owner was wondering if any of you had any tips for me winterizing my boat. It will be in Louisiana so extreme cold is unlikey and I plan on leaving it in the water as I don't have a boat slip. Is that OK to leave it in the water.

Also, the Yamaha 115 on the back, anything special I need to do for that, other than maybe Marine Stabil in the fuel tank?

I do have a homemade cover for it that will be used.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Geoffrey & Brenda]

Hi Doug, if the water is not going to freeze, and surround your toon with ice, then leaving it in the water should be OK. I prefer to do any maintenence at the end of the season, it's best to drain your lower unit before the cold sets in, as any water in it will freeze and perhaps crack the lower gearcase, so service the lower unit before you put it away for the winter. Otherwise, outboards don't require winterizing like an i/o, so just put your stabil in the tank, and trim it up to get the lower unit out of the water, pull the battery out, and start dreaming of spring...........

 

[Gastonguy]

Doug, What Geoffrey said plus put a trickle charge on that battery. Keep the battery OFF the bare garage floor. Nothing worse than buying a new battery at the beginning of the boating season when we need money for fuel.

 

[uscjeffrey]

I am not an expert but I have heard that you need to keep the motor trimmed down for water to drain properly. If its trimmed all the way up and it freexes you may have a problem.