7 Steps to Protect Your Boat During the Off-Season (Winterization)
Summary
TLDRIn this video, Brian from Wired2Fish walks through the process of winterizing a boat for off-season storage, emphasizing the importance of preventive maintenance. Key steps include treating the fuel system with a stabilizer like Seafoam to prevent breakdown, changing engine oil and gear lube to avoid freezing, inspecting the prop shaft for fishing line damage, and greasing fittings. Brian also shares tips on battery maintenance, such as using precision chargers or storing batteries in a heated area. Finally, he advises cleaning the boat thoroughly to prevent rodent damage and mold during storage.
Takeaways
- 🌡️ The video is set in late fall, signaling the end of the fishing season as colder weather approaches.
- ⛽ Fuel system maintenance should start about two weeks before storage, using a treatment like Seafoam Marine Pro to clean and stabilize fuel.
- 🛠️ Running treated fuel through both the tank and engine is essential to prevent fuel degradation and damage, especially if ethanol is present.
- 🔧 Routine engine maintenance, including changing oil and gear lube, helps prevent water damage and freezing during storage.
- ⚙️ Inspecting the prop shaft for fishing line or debris is crucial to avoid damage to seals and the gear case.
- 🧴 Regular greasing of zerk fittings and inspecting the power trim and tilt reservoir helps prevent water buildup and other issues.
- 🔋 Battery care is essential; storing batteries in a heated or controlled environment and keeping them charged extends their life.
- 🧹 Cleaning and drying the boat before storage reduces the risk of rodent damage, mold, mildew, and water freezing damage.
- 🛡️ Properly storing the outboard in a down position ensures any residual water drains out, preventing freezing and damage.
- 🌀 Using fans to dry out the boat's interior, including storage compartments, helps prevent moisture damage during the off-season.
Q & A
What is one of the first steps in preparing a boat for off-season storage?
-One of the first steps is treating the fuel system. This includes adding a fuel treatment product to the fuel tank, lines, and engine to stabilize the fuel and prevent degradation over time.
Why is it important to treat fuel before storing a boat?
-Fuel degrades over time, losing ignition vapor and forming varnish, which can damage the engine. Treating fuel helps stabilize it and prevents the breakdown that can occur due to ethanol and other factors.
What benefits does Seafoam Marine Pro offer for engine maintenance?
-Seafoam Marine Pro helps clean the engine, burn off carbon deposits, clean injectors, add lubricity, and stabilize the fuel, ensuring better performance and extending the engine's lifespan.
When should you start preparing your boat for storage?
-Preparation for storage should start about two weeks before the end of the fishing season, which includes treating the fuel system and conducting maintenance tasks like changing oil and inspecting parts.
What risks are associated with leaving untreated fuel in the engine?
-Untreated fuel can degrade over time, leading to potential damage in the engine's critical connections, especially if ethanol is present. This can cause fuel to break down and negatively impact engine performance.
Why is it important to check the prop shaft and seals before storing the boat?
-Fishing line or debris wrapped around the prop shaft can damage seals, allowing water to enter the gear case and potentially damaging the gears. Regular inspections prevent this damage.
What is the significance of changing the engine oil and gear lube before storage?
-Changing the engine oil and gear lube removes any water that may have accumulated in the engine or gear case, which could freeze during the off-season and cause costly damage.
How can you maintain your boat’s batteries during the off-season?
-You can maintain batteries by using a precision charger, topping them off with distilled water, and either leaving them in the boat with a charger connected or removing them for storage in a warmer location.
What is the role of zerk fittings in boat maintenance?
-Zerk fittings allow for the injection of fresh grease into various engine parts, pushing out old grease that may contain water. This helps prevent corrosion and maintains smooth operation of engine components.
Why is it necessary to dry out the boat before storage?
-Drying the boat prevents damage caused by freezing water, mold, and rodents. It also ensures that electrical components, storage compartments, and the bilge pump are free from moisture, which can lead to corrosion.
Outlines
❄️ Preparing a Boat for Winter Storage: Fuel System Maintenance
In this paragraph, Brian from Wired2Fish talks about preparing a boat for winter storage by focusing on fuel system maintenance. He mentions that about two weeks before the end of the fishing season, he starts treating the fuel system. He uses a product like SeaFoam Marine Pro to clean the engine, burn off carbon deposits, and stabilize the fuel, especially ethanol-based fuels that can damage hoses and connections. Brian advises using the product regularly to ensure longevity and engine performance, even if the boat is already in storage, as treated fuel must be present within the engine for proper preservation.
🔧 Engine Maintenance: Oil and Gear Lube Changes
Brian discusses the importance of oil and gear lube changes, following the recommended 100-hour maintenance schedule. Even if 100 hours of use isn't reached, changing these fluids annually is crucial to prevent water from entering the engine crankcase or gear case, which could freeze and cause costly damage during the off-season. Brian stresses the importance of this preventive maintenance step, as it helps avoid significant repair costs later. He also gives tips on how to check and replace these fluids.
⚙️ Checking the Prop Shaft and Seals for Damage
Brian highlights the importance of checking the prop shaft at the end of the season, especially for fishing line that may have wrapped around it. He explains how this can damage the rubber prop shaft seal, allowing water to enter the gear case and damage the gearing. Brian removes the prop to inspect and clean the shaft, applying marine lubricant before reinstallation. He emphasizes that this check is a crucial part of engine maintenance to ensure seals remain intact and prevent water damage.
🔩 Greasing Zerk Fittings for Yearly Maintenance
In this part of the script, Brian explains the importance of greasing the Zerk fittings as part of the yearly maintenance routine. Greasing forces fresh grease into the fittings and removes any old grease that may have accumulated water. This process ensures that the engine and steering mechanism remain lubricated and protected from moisture-related damage. He emphasizes that regular maintenance like this helps prevent wear and tear on critical components.
🔋 Battery Maintenance for Longevity
Brian shifts focus to battery maintenance during the off-season, particularly the care of AGM and lead-acid batteries. His boat has five batteries in total, including trolling motor batteries. He explains two ways to maintain batteries: keeping them connected to a precision charger to keep them topped off, or removing them from the boat, topping them off with distilled water, and charging them individually. Brian also highlights the dangers of freezing temperatures and phantom power drains from accessories, stressing the importance of proper battery care to extend their lifespan.
🧼 Cleaning and Storing the Boat to Prevent Damage
In this final section, Brian discusses the steps to clean and store the boat to minimize damage from rodents and freezing water. He recommends thoroughly cleaning both the exterior and interior, including vacuuming and hand-washing storage compartments. He advises using dryer sheets to keep rodents away and emphasizes the importance of drying the boat thoroughly using fans. The engine should also be stored in a down position to drain any residual water from the cooling system, preventing freezing damage. This ensures the boat remains in good condition during storage.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Fuel Treatment
💡Seafoam Marine Pro
💡Ethanol
💡Gear Lube Change
💡Prop Shaft Maintenance
💡Zerk Fittings
💡Power Trim and Tilt
💡Battery Maintenance
💡Phantom Drains
💡Preventative Maintenance
Highlights
The process of preparing a boat for storage starts while still on the water, about two weeks before the end of the season.
Using a good fuel treatment, such as Seafoam Marine Pro, is important for stabilizing the fuel and preventing breakdown over time.
Seafoam Marine Pro is 100% petroleum-derived, so there's no risk of using too much, making it versatile for use at different concentrations.
Preventative maintenance is key to engine longevity, with some motors lasting over 20 years if properly maintained.
Treating fuel in the engine is critical, as just stabilizing the fuel in the tank doesn't mean the engine fuel is treated.
Changing both engine oil and gear lube is essential, even if you haven't reached 100 hours of use, to avoid water damage during off-season freezing.
Checking the prop shaft for fishing line or other debris is a simple yet important task to prevent damage to seals and water intrusion into the gear case.
Regular greasing of Zerk fittings ensures old grease with water buildup is flushed out, further protecting the engine from damage.
Inspecting the power trim and tilt reservoir for fluid level and leaks helps prevent more significant damage during storage.
Taking care of boat batteries during the off-season, either by removing them or using a precision charger, prolongs their lifespan.
Using a battery charger with sensing technology allows batteries to stay topped off, ensuring longer life, especially in heated storage.
Prevent phantom power drains by using a battery cutoff switch to avoid accessory power draining the batteries during storage.
Thoroughly cleaning and drying the boat, inside and out, reduces risks of damage from rodents or freezing water during storage.
Removing all contents from the boat and drying compartments helps prevent mold, mildew, and rodent infestation.
Using high-power fans to dry out storage compartments and the bilge pump ensures that no residual moisture remains, protecting electrical components.
Transcripts
hey guys brian here from wired2fish
and if you look around right now you can
see it looks like it's getting cold
we've lost a lot of our leaves we're
late fall
and where i live that means we're not
too far out from ice so
this boat's going to be going in storage
for an extended period of time and no
matter where you live in the country
there's a period where a lot of folks
don't go out on the water
and the process of preparing this for
storage really starts while you're still
on the water on a regular basis so
roughly about two weeks out from the end
of my fishing season i'm going to start
treating my
fuel system first and foremost both the
fuel that exists in my tank
the fuel lines and then in the engine so
you want to use a good
fuel treatment program here i have cefo
marine pro and this is designed to both
clean the engine burn off carbon
deposits
clean injectors add lubricity up there
as well as stabilize the fuel
as fuel sits over time it loses ignition
vapor
and starts to form varnish the other
thing is too if you have ethanol in your
fuel
that's a bad thing for hoses and
different connections within an engine
so
a good treatment is going to stabilize
that fuel to prevent that breakdown
of the fuel the nice thing about the
seafoam product is it's 100
petroleum derived so there is no
using too much of it you don't have to
get crazy with ratio so i got a quarter
tank of fuel right now i'm going to dump
a full can in you can use one ken you
can use two cans you can use five cans
but generally speaking those last couple
outings i'll put in a can or two
and i'm gonna run it at a higher
concentration in my
fuel tank and engine and get better
performance preventative maintenance
really starts when an engine is new
if you can start a program like this at
the end of each use
season you know you can get decades of
good run time on an engine like this
walker smith the colleague of mine down
in georgia has a 20 year old motor
two-stroke and it's still running really
well it's about kind of preserving your
max horsepower keeping that engine clean
well lubricated and running smooth and
if your boat is already in storage but
you missed the fuel treatment step
it's easy to accomplish anywhere you
have a hose and water make sure you've
added fuel treatment to the fuel
slide a motor flush over the water
intake turn the water on
then start the engine
oftentimes people think that if you just
stabilize the fuel in the tank you're
good to go
but that doesn't mean that the fuel
within the actual engine is treated
this is where a lot of your most
important connections are and if you
happen to have some ethanol
within there or you got regular premium
fuel you're going to have some
degradation of that fuel over time so
you want treated fuel
in the actual engine itself
most outboard motor maintenance
schedules specify an oil
and gear lube change as part of the 100
hour maintenance interval
whether you reach 100 hours in a season
or not it's best practice to change both
the engine oil and gear lube
the primary reason for this is water in
the engine crank case or gear case can
happen
if this water freezes during the off
season you're at risk for some costly
repairs
draining then refilling both the engine
oil and gear case with fresh lubricant
helps to eliminate the water risk in
these critical engine areas
if it's a do-it-yourself job just be
sure to follow the engine maintenance
manual
[Music]
one of the last things i'm going to do
is just take a look at my prop shaft
we've all had it happen to us where we
get fishing line wrapped up in here so
now it's just a good time at the end of
the season
you want to make sure that those seals
don't get compromised into the lower
unit
so i'm going to put my little stopper on
there grab my prop wrench
and start loosening up the hub assembly
and i actually carry both of these just
in my boat kit act throughout the open
water months should i ever need to do
this on the water
so i'm just going to remove the prop and
look at that
that's exactly why you do that i was
totally unaware of this
and it looks like it did not go up into
that assembly but nonetheless it was on
the prop shaft so that's exactly why you
take the time to do that
fishing line can damage the rubber prop
shaft seal and allow water to enter the
gear case which can damage the gearing
before i put it back on i'm just going
to put a little bit
of marine lubricant on there and just do
a reinstalling that hub
and that's just checking your prop shaft
and in that case i mean
that's legit i'm glad i did that
kinda as part of just good preventative
maintenance on
the engine mechanism is greasing your
zerk fittings we've done our 100 hour
maintenance here
but i'm just going to hit these zerks
too and what that does is it forces
fresh grease in
removes any old grease that could have a
little bit of water build up in it
just good preventative maintenance to do
once a year i'm happy with that i'll
follow up with the rag just to remove
that excess grease
and then i have one more right here on
the steering mechanism
you can see that old grease it's done
its job over the course of the year
all right good to go simple step
and to wrap up the engine give your
power trim and tilt reservoir an
inspection for fluid level
and condition top off with fresh lube if
it's low
also inspect for color pink or milky
fluid indicates water so there may be a
leak in the system
if you run into this have a dealer
inspect the trim pump
you know battery investments are pretty
significant on a lot of boats this
particular boat has
a 27 group size agm battery in here
and another 31 group size to power all
the electronics the bilge
the various pumps on this boat and then
a 36 volt
trolling motor battery system up front
so in total five batteries
it's a lot of money and if i take care
of the batteries during the off season
they'll give me more longevity couple
different ways you can approach
batteries
this boat is equipped with a precision
charger that has a sensing technology
that allows me to keep my charger
plugged in
and then always keep those batteries
topped off so
if you have the luxury heated storage
that's the ideal
conditions for the batteries and i just
literally keep them charged all year
i'll go up periodically and just look at
the light splashing
could be outside in a pool barn cold
storage plug it in you're good to go
another good way to handle batteries is
to actually remove them from your boat
top them off with distilled water and
then just use a little standalone
charger
and top off each individual battery and
then store them in your garage
if you live down south they're probably
plenty fine in your garage
where i live it gets really cold and
you'll freeze your batteries i've lost
enough batteries that way to learn the
hard way
i'll either put them you know in a
basement or
in my case with a heated garage i just
keep them out on the garage slab
or overhead storage but before i do that
before
i put them up i'm just going to top off
each battery make sure
if it's lead acid i got distilled water
in there hook up a little charger
this one's a convenient little precision
charger as well
and i usually do each for an overnight
period until i get a full
you know green indicator light you can
see here it's charging
you know take a look at your terminals
too if you see some corrosion up there
you want to clean those off with the
wire brush use a good dielectric grease
one other thing i failed to mention
earlier was phantom drains or
power drains from various accessories
hooked up to the boat like electronics
or networking hubs
i have a purple switch in this boat when
i turn it off
i cut power to pretty much everything
except the outboard engine
if your boat is wired properly your
on-board charger will still supply power
to these batteries
putting boats into storage clean and dry
reduces chances of damage due to rodents
or damage caused by freezing water
start by giving the exterior a thorough
cleaning it's always nice to start the
season with a clean boat
for the interior i remove all contents
and vacuum
and hand wash each storage compartment
with mild dish soap
again clean compartments and a few dryer
sheets keep rodents at bay
as well as mold and mildew drying is a
critical final step
place a high power fan over the aft
porthole and open up some bow storage to
allow
air to circulate and dry out the lower
hull this also dries out your bilge pump
and electrical components that may be in
contact with water
i then position fans topside to dry out
any remaining water or moisture and
storage compartments and decking
lastly store your outboard in the down
position to drain any residual water
that may be in the cooling system
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