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Worried I might be in trouble

keepnitwet

keepnitwet

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Rough River Lake, KY
Ok fellas I'm gonna keep this short. My dealer told me all I had to do to winterize my boat was to run fuel treatment through it on the last trip out, disconnect the battery cables and lower the engine all the way down. The boat hasn't been run since Sept. and has been inside. Its been in the 20's - teens here for several days and after reading some of the post on here I'm worried. Any info would be helpful.
 
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Hello and welcome to the forum. If you participate, you will find lots of useful information from lots of helpful people.

Now, for your question, we will need a bit more information. Is this boat an outboard or IO? If it is an outboard, I hope your dealer steered you right because that is all I did to my outboard. If it is an Inboard/outboard, you could have a problem as they have to be winterized.

Once again, welcome to the forum. I hope all is good.

Hope this helps.

andy
 
I have a 150 Yamaha outboard. I spoke to another Bennington owner here where I live and the local dealer he purchased his from and they both assured me it needed winterizing. If I remember correctly is was a couple hundred dollars. My father has a bass boat and does the same thing that I done to mine and has for several years. Like you I hope we are good to go come spring. Thank you for welcoming me to the site. I sure hope to learn a few things.
 
Outboards drain water when left all the way down through the hub. I would bet that any pockets of water had evaporated in the September heat. Normally you should run environmentally friendly antifreeze through muffs to prevent any water from freezing. The only other thing is fogging the cylinders. This prevents them from rusting during storage. If you have a four stroke, it is normally more important to do this than with a 2 but should not be catastrophic.
 
Outboard winterization: Put Sta-Bil in the gas and fill it up, then run it a few minutes to get that mix all the way through the fuel system. Fog the engine, following the directions on the spray can and then let the water run out by letting the engine down. Some folks like to take the prop off and stuff oiled rags in the opening, but that's mostly folks who store outdoors.

Having said that, chances are nothing really bad will happen to your engine for the few months it will sit. I would just get a bottle of Techron at the auto parts store and dump it in the tank before starting up again in the spring.
 
Thanks everyone for all the ideas and suggestions. I guess we'll see when spring gets here how things have held up.
 
I'm running a 2 stroke Yamaha 115 hp, and I've never really winterized it. It's been hanging out of the weather in a boathouse for 26 years without any problems. I did clean the carbs. last year, however.

With the use of 90/10 gasoline, the fuel is very quick to breakdown. When it breaks down, acids are produced which attack anything rubber in your fuel system. I've noticed problems with sticking needle valves in carbs., too. Unfortunately Stabil fuel treatment even breaks down quicker than 90/10.

I would suggest using 100% gasoline, if available. If you have 90/10 gasoline, try to run it virtually out in the Fall. Then, come back in the Spring with a fillup of fresh fuel. I personally prefer a couple of 12 gallon plastic fuel tanks that I can physically drain the fuel out of--over built in fuel tanks. (I recognize most new pontoons come with the built in tanks, however.)

Dealers and marinas often take advantage of mechanically challenged boat owners. I'm sorry, but getting the engine running and cutting off the fuel supply--while spraying the carbs/fuel injection as the engine stumbles is hardly worth what they charge. Any owner should be able to winterize their boats themselves--in just a few minutes.
 
Most manufacturers will suggest the use of Stabil, but I've seen more harm than good come from using the stuff. I would advise the use of Seafoam for storage. I would certainly add Seafoam to your tank prior to the first run in the spring. Don't worry about not fogging the motor. It's a 4 stroke, you'll be just fine at your location. My only other suggestion would be to trim the engine all the way down (as mentioned earlier) to let the water drain, and then to give the key a few quick ticks to turn the motor over (don't start it). This allows the water pump impeller to turn and the housing to fully empty of any trapped water.
 
Ben & Suzy said:
Most manufacturers will suggest the use of Stabil, but I've seen more harm than good come from using the stuff. I would advise the use of Seafoam for storage. I would certainly add Seafoam to your tank prior to the first run in the spring. Don't worry about not fogging the motor. It's a 4 stroke, you'll be just fine at your location. My only other suggestion would be to trim the engine all the way down (as mentioned earlier) to let the water drain, and then to give the key a few quick ticks to turn the motor over (don't start it). This allows the water pump impeller to turn and the housing to fully empty of any trapped water.
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I've done some talking around my area this past week and everyone is telling me the same as you about fogging isn't necessary so I definitely feel better about that. As for the Stabil that is what I put in it as recommended by my dealer. I actually took it out after Stabil and fresh fuel and ran it for an hour or so before putting it up(in Sept). I have never heard of Seafoam but will look into it, thanks for the info. As for turning it over I'm going to look into that as well. I think thats a great idea and i'm sure there is a way to disrupt the spark so there is no chance of it starting. It hadn't seen water for 3 months prior to freezing weather so hopefully I'm in the clear.
 
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If i recall correctly, pull the safety lanyard off, it should still crank, but not fire. First time i tried to start mine, i forgot to put the lanyard on......Just a bit embarassing :blink:
 
Thanks again fellas for all the useful info.
 
Following the engine manufacturers recommendations is never a bad idea, however, there are a few things listed that are overkill for seasonal storage. Those recommendations are for LONG term storage from over 2 months to possibly years. I didn't suggest to not fog a four stroke motor, or a two stroke for that matter. In the salwater states, and I believe this is every manufacturers concern, fogging is an extra precaution. Elsewhere, not so necessary. If fogging your motor makes your feel warm and fuzzy, by all means do it. It'll never hurt the motor that's for sure.

As far as the use of Stabil, never again. I've diassembled and cleaned too many gummed up carb and throttle body systems after storage. What do they all have in common? The use of Stabil. I always suggest Seafoam, before/after storage......it's great stuff!
 
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Seafoam = Yes. Stabil = No.

Hadn't heard that one before. I thought they were pretty much the same thing. I learn something good every time I come here...
 
Having always owned 2 stroke outboards, I assume u still have a lower unit gearcase? We always change the gearcase in case any water got passed the propshaft seal. The lube will come out milky white if any water is in there. If there is water in there, it could freeze and destroy the lower.

Todd
 
keepnitwet said:
Ok fellas I'm gonna keep this short. My dealer told me all I had to do to winterize my boat was to run fuel treatment through it on the last trip out, disconnect the battery cables and lower the engine all the way down. The boat hasn't been run since Sept. and has been inside. Its been in the 20's - teens here for several days and after reading some of the post on here I'm worried. Any info would be helpful.
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The 2006 Honda 4-stroke on the back of my Benni lived 2 winters in NW Missouri outside with only the overhead protection of a carport and I did absolutely nothing to winterize it. I pulled it out of the water on the last trip of the summer and parked it and pulled it back to the water the next summer. It worked flawlessly. I'm back in sunny Arizona now thank goodness so I don't have to worry about that anymore. Took it out last weekend as a matter of fact!
 
Wow, not sure I would get that relaxed. I live in CT, Extended freezing and water is a concern to me for the Late Oct to early April lay up. It takes only a minute to screw a hose into the engine run some antifreeze through the top, or put muffs on the lower end and suck antifreeze up. I always change the lower end oil as well as the engine oil and filer as well, it needs to be done, might as well do it before lay up. Fogging, I ran out of daylight this year prepping the boat, normally I do that, again can't hurt...unless you cross thread a plug putting the plug back. I do leave the gas inline filter change our until the after the first spring outing. run out whatever crappy gas is left and put the new gas filters in spring. I have a water separator so the inline filters don't pick up my water anyway. Marine engines are tuff, but for the investment I have in it those winter preps step make sense to me to guard against a potential issue and keep it operating in top shape and hopefully lasting longer.

jasonkahn said:
The 2006 Honda 4-stroke on the back of my Benni lived 2 winters in NW Missouri outside with only the overhead protection of a carport and I did absolutely nothing to winterize it. I pulled it out of the water on the last trip of the summer and parked it and pulled it back to the water the next summer. It worked flawlessly. I'm back in sunny Arizona now thank goodness so I don't have to worry about that anymore. Took it out last weekend as a matter of fact!
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jasonkahn said:
The 2006 Honda 4-stroke on the back of my Benni lived 2 winters in NW Missouri outside with only the overhead protection of a carport and I did absolutely nothing to winterize it. I pulled it out of the water on the last trip of the summer and parked it and pulled it back to the water the next summer. It worked flawlessly. I'm back in sunny Arizona now thank goodness so I don't have to worry about that anymore. Took it out last weekend as a matter of fact!
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Welcome, Jason! B)
 
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