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winter storage


ColinC

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I think you have a plastic tank. If so they don't get the condensation like the old aluminum tanks so no need to fill tank. I like to have room to add A half tank or more of premium fuel in the spring.

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On 9/8/2018 at 3:45 PM, Ballay said:

Full with fresh ethanol free gas and stabil for me. Sits in storage from late a October to late March. 

Don’t need stabile with non eth gas, unless I guess you have an aluminum tank, doesn’t go to varnish for years++++++ and nothing to separate and turn into water

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We are so lucky down here for batteries, they aren’t under a hood of hot car in summer and we don’t have real winter, have left switch on twice now in four years batteries charge right back up.  I don’t party cove ever so the stereo upgraded audio can’t do much damage.  Same batteries fir 4.5 years with no charger unless I screw up.  Just added stereo this year and even after most recent boneheaded move with key they charged right back up.  I may have same batteries with no tender fir the life of the boat . Now that i charged them twice, I may check fluid level and acid , MAYBE, this January month off season if we’re off this coming January, 

when you run batts 11to 12 months a year every weekend , they are sort of  indestructible , what cold  couple of nights a year we get, I run an Oreck ceramic space heater

Edited by granddaddy55
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11 hours ago, RCorsa said:

What does everyone do about the battery? I’m going to put my m235 in heated storage this winter but don’t recall a trickle charger 

I have a battery charger in my boat that I plug an extension chord to for storage.  I would think the 235 would have the same option but if it doesn't, just charge your batteries and then disconnect the cab;e from them for the winter.

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I add stabil for the last ride to the ramp with a near empty tank, then when I'm finished winterizing I siphon the last of the gas out by disconnecting the fuel line after the filter which is now mounted in the bilge.  Battery goes down the cellar.  Cooling system is vacuumed dry.

Edited by electricjohn
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Northeast gets cold in the winter, and this is how I was taught to winterize:

  • Full fuel tank, highest octane available (sadly, non-ethanol fuel is all but impossible to find...)   add "blue" Star-Tron; 
  • drain & replace all oils:  Engine (oil and filter), transmission fluid, Walter v-drive fluid;
  • start and run the motor for a few minutes.  lightly fog the internals (spraying into the Throttle body), stop motor;
  • drain fresh water from block and all lines, etc...   refill & flush a few times to get any loose 'scale' out of the block;
  • disconnect cooling hose on transmission cooler, and back-flush to ensure its clear;
  • refill the block\manually with 50/50 antifreeze (Environment friendly). That removes the air & helps deter internal FreshWater cooling system corrosion during idle months) ;
  • reconnect all cooling hoses and plugs so its ready to fire up in spring;;
  • remove the battery and store inside.

I had my doubts if the extra steps were really making any difference.   I did a inboard motor rebuild (previous boat in the 1990's) and was surprised at the condition of the block (~1500hrs) compared to other blocks I've seen.   Its probably overkill, but "Seeing was believing" for me...   

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I have stored our boat on a lift covered over the winter and stored our boat in a metal barn. I have two friends who had rodents get into their boat over winter. One raccoon who destroyed the seats and one with mice that left a mess. I trapped/killed about a dozen mice in the metal storage barn last year so was considering leaving boat on lift this winter. I checked on boat every two weeks last winter and was always afraid to find critters. On the other hand, The lift is covered and the boat is covered and wrapped.

Its near Knoxville, TN.

Any thoughts on pros and cons of winter storage?

Do any of you northern folks store your boat outside?

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Hi. New hear. First post  so to stick my foot in the door. I am in western Canada. Don’t have raccoons in this area but a lot of other animals looking for a meal and place to nest up

i have had boats for 25 years  always stored out side in a cheap portable tarp car shed. With me it’s just to keep the sun rain and snow off. I have stored with travel covers and mooring tarps. Tight of course 

and can say I have never found anything in any of them. But always cleaned them out washed them out  winterized and dryed before parking then. I use a good pressure washer soap as well and find anything I do that way has no issues. But tell ya park a pick up in the shed beside it and leave the back window open a bit and it’s trashed in the spring. 

 

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^ mine maybe staying in a carport this winter for the first time... does anyone do the mothball in pie plates trick by the trailer wheels?  My only concern is rodents getting in the boat..

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14 hours ago, minnmarker said:

I've found that dryer sheets work better than moth balls.

Same, any time we would store my dads classic car for the winter we would throw some bounce sheets around the interior, never had a problem with any rodents in the car.

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16 hours ago, Eagleboy99 said:

Block all the openings.

Clearly.  But I have a feeling those little buggers could climb up the cover straps and up underneath the cover.  Dryer sheets sound like a good idea.

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After 30+ years of outside storage (2x4 overhead beam w\blue tarp bungees to trailer) with no problems, suddenly  the last few years I starting having chipmunk/mice problems, and even black ants.  2 years ago, a chipmunk chewed thru a 4"rear plastic blower louver, only to get stuck at the bilge blower.  After that damage, I went to  "DefCom-1"  and threw everything I could get my hands on - into the boat for winter storage (tape everything, moth balls, dryer sheets, checked regular, etc...). 

Last winter the local Hardware store had some pine-smelling packages targeted for RV storage that claimed to "repell most critters" W/O leaving a foul smell.   Tried that last winter with good results.   Not ready to stand-down from DefCom2 just yet - until I have another winter w/o critter damage.

judging from the number of squirrels running around playing wack-a-mole on the road (in August) - I'm not optimistic about this winter's crop of critters lookin' at the 'BU (soon to be tucked away) and thinking: "Hmmm - looks like a pretty nice cott & 3squares/day"....   

 

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