Winterizing Your Boat: Expert Tips from "Engine Answerman" Bobby Cleveland

Posted On October 14, 2011
Even though we still have a few warm days left in the season, it's never too early to start thinking about winterizing your boat.  I recently had the opportunity to ask the Gold Eagle Company's "Engine Answerman" Bobby Cleveland for some advice on prepping boats for storage and here are the pearls of wisdom he shared: 

What are the important steps for winterizing both a two-stroke and four-stroke outboard motor?

Now is a great time to get your boat winterized and ready for the cold weather ahead. The number one thing to think about when winterizing your boat is to ensure you leave your gas tank full of fuel and add STA-BIL fuel stabilizer. If you’re fuel is fresh, you do not need to drain it, but if you’ve had it over a month, you should drain it. Once you’ve filled your tank and added the stabilizer, you should run your engine for a few minutes to make sure STA-BIL gets into the carburetor and injectors. By filling the tanks with fuel and stabilizer, you ensure there is less air in the tank to prevent corrosion, clean the carburetors, and fuel injectors. When you have air in the tank, it creates condensation, and since water can cause corrosion, the more you can eliminate water in your tank the better. I also suggest using a fogger to coat the inside of the engine when it is stored. STA-BIL makes a fogger that you spray into your carburetor as you turn the engine over, and it is sucked into the system to coat the inner lining and prevent corrosion.

What should I do with my marine batteries over the winter?
 
The battery should be removed and placed in a cold, dry place with a trickle charge on it.


What is a good fuel stabilizer to leave in my gas tank over the winter?

STA-BIL Fuel Stabilizer or STA-BIL Marine Formula, which eliminates the need to drain fuel before storage, prevents corrosion, cleans carburetors, and fuel injectors. They also protect the engine from gum, varnish, rush and corrosion and helps prolong the engine life.

Is there any other important information that fishermen should know when they are putting their boat away for the season?

Make sure there is no water left in the system. If possible, I recommend storing your boat inside a building or under a shed during the winter.

What is a common mistake people make when they store their boats?

The most common mistakes people make when winterizing their boats include 1) running their engines completely dry without any fuel, or 2) just leaving a half tank of fuel in their tanks that is not treated with a fuel stabilizer. Fuel can break down in less than a couple of months, and if moisture gets in, the fuel will break down even faster, which will cause damage to your engine. By taking these extra steps now, it will make taking your boat out of storage much easier and can save you a few thousand dollars in repairs this spring.

Check out more information on the Gold Eagle family of products (Including Sta-Bil Fuel Stabilizer) at www.goldeagle.com

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Jesse Martin
Jesse Martin

Joined November 18, 2010

Jesse Martin grew up fishing for trout and salmon in B.C. but discovered a new love in bass fishing in his teen years. He currently works as both a Seminarist and Fishing Guide in the South Okanagan, and is also a Pure Fishing Ambassadour. If you have any fishy news (reports, derbies, events) that you think Western Canada should know about, shoot Jess an email at wfnwest@gmail.com and he'll put it up on the WFN site.

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