Boat issues????

[1javelin]

Wondering if I am going to have any problems with my boat come spring.  This is what I did to get it up for the winter.  Left very little gas in the tank, hoping to keep some in the lines to prevent condensation.  Will drain all gas before filling up for season.  Almost ran it out of oil, will change all before season as well.  Unhooked batteries but left in boat.  Boat is in unheated garage.  Realistically, am I going to have any problems?  What should I do differently for next year, if any?  What isthe main thing I should check before putting in water?  Next water it sees will be Lake Ouachita in Arkansas, and that;s some big water to take a chance on.

[Durand Dan]

Before putting mine away I filled the tank all the way and added StaBil to treat the gas. Then I started it up and sprayed fogging oil in the carbs. After that I removed the spark plugs and sprayed fogging oil in the cylinders. I also always change the lower end unit oil before storing it. Then I removed the batteries and put them in the basement on a shelf so I could charge them a couple of times. All the electronic were also removed and brought inside.

[Revtro]

I was told by a couple of pretty reputable mechanics that it's better to fill the fuel tank up to prevent condensation.  That tank runs through pretty well in the spring with the stabil in it.  It doesn't seem to cause any problems.  I fill my oil up all the way too.  I store mine in an unheated garage and one year I left a sonar unit in it and ended having some issues with the LCD the following spring.  The cold caused some problems with the LCD slowing down and there were some after images.  So definitely take your electronics in for the winter.  I don't see how anything you've done will cause you any problems though.  Just run it with a garden hose and get some of the new fuel thru the system and you should be good to go.  Follow Dan's advice, he followed the standard winterizing procedure and sounds like he covered all the bases.  If you run a fuel injected motor, you can skip the fogging oil part and just put an ounce of 2 cycle oil in each cylinder and with the spark plug wires disconnected, use the key to turn the motor over a few times to work the oil in.  And always change the lower unit oil in the fall, just in case there's any moisture in there that might freeze up over the winter and cause damage.  Oh yeah if you have an onboard charger, you can leave the batts in and just charge them once in a while throughout the winter right in the boat. 

[1javelin]

Thanks.  I didn't change the lower end oil in the fall, but it will be changed as soon as it warms up here.  Hope no problems arise there.  I definitely will take advice and do differently next year, though we are hoping my father-in-law has his heated garage finished by then.  Save a lot of problems with that!!!

[DDBethke]

Like Tom said, "run it with a garden hose"...

I hate seeing boaters (I have only seen pleasure boaters do this) launch their boat and run it for the first time in the water Blowing all that pollution/smoke into the water.

We should all first run our outboards outside on a "Garden Hose" to burn off the winterizing fogging oil...

Duane

[PapaChris]

Wondering if I am going to have any problems with my boat come spring.  This is what I did to get it up for the winter.  Left very little gas in the tank, hoping to keep some in the lines to prevent condensation.  Will drain all gas before filling up for season.  Almost ran it out of oil, will change all before season as well.  Unhooked batteries but left in boat.  Boat is in unheated garage.  Realistically, am I going to have any problems?  What should I do differently for next year, if any?  What isthe main thing I should check before putting in water?  Next water it sees will be Lake Ouachita in Arkansas, and that;s some big water to take a chance on.

Sounds like you did it almost all right, Fogging the engine is also very important. Keeps this from getting condensation. The mechanics here have all taken a new attitude in the last few years on the gas thing. The newer high tech engines are so fussy, the manufactureres now highly recommend getting the tank as empty as possible before winter and still adding stabil. Reason being is gas is really so unstable anymore that it breaks down very fast in your tank, even with stabil it loses octain and other important attributes.

Then in spring you start out with the freshest gas avaible when you start with new fresh gas.

[Dan]

Good info. I do what was mentioned above, however, I didn't bring my graphs inside. One question I have is when I changed the lower unit there were some metal shavings on the magnet. How much is okay??

[motocross269]

I never thought about bringing my graphs inside...I should have known.

[Revtro]

Recently I heard something similar about the gas.  If you empty it out, is there any way to avoid condensation??

[1javelin]

I'm assuming the metal shavings are normal, or there probably wouldn't be a magnet there.  When I changed my lower unit oil after buying the boat it was the same way, and I know the guy took good care of it.  As for the gas, I didn't read that anyway, but I put two and two together(empty the lawnmower of gas, and don't use the gas that has been sitting in the gas can all winter).  Same principle, except thousands of dollars in difference.  I will fog the engine next year though, and change the lower unit oil shortly before storage.  Man boats are expensive!! 

[REEL_MAN]

Shavings in the lower unit isn't good There might be a few at initial break in but after that - trouble is a brew'in. You may want to check the magnetic plug several time during the summer and monitor to see if the shavings continue. If they do get it fixed sooner than after it leaves you stranded in the middle of Erie. One thing you might want to concider is going to a synthetic. Merc and Castrol make good synthetics. The viscosity is better so the gear faces slide rather than rub against each other and the lower unit will run cooler. If you do go airborn and the prop breaks loose conventional gear lube will burn very quickly  from over rev. synthetic is more forgiving. Plus you will see an increase in speed.
Make sure you monitor and try the synthetic

REEL MAN

[1javelin]

All my Johnson ever saw was Royal Purple, but now all I put in it is the Evinrude Full Synthetic.  Expensive, but it's worth it.  What could be causing the metal shavings?