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Boat Motor Storage

Deer&Ducks

Deer&Ducks

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I have a new-to-me fishing boat with a brand new Mercury four-stroke motor. I've never owned a boat and motor before, so this is all new. It didn't get but a few hours this Summer, so it doesn't need a lot of maintenance yet. I watched some YouTube videos on winterizing it, but I have a few lingering questions and you guys are probably the best source. I'm going to take the motor off the boat and store it in our basement for the winter, so freezing isn't an issue.

Some stuff I've seen say to run the engine dry, then store, while others do the stabilizer/fog/fuel mix? Thoughts anyone?
Assuming I need to do the stabilizer/fog/fuel option . . .
I just leave the fuel and stabilizer mix in the motor all winter?
Do I need to drain the tank next Spring and fill it with new gas or just fire it up and go with the stuff that sat there all winter?

Thanks, all!
 
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I don't have a boat, but I am a marine engine service engineer, and I have a little experience winterizing engines. It's been a while since I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express.

I'd recommend draining all the fuel except what will run the engine for a few minutes. Then add the stabilizer (I use double the recommended amount, but that's just me). Run the engine and "fog" it. You want a good coat of preservative on all the internal parts. Shut it down, and preferably drain as much fuel from the tank as you can, though if it has the stabilizer it should be OK for the winter.

Then the best thing would be to spray a VCI (volatile corrosion inhibitor) in the tank to prevent your worst enemy, rust. More is better. Even more is even better.

If it's in your climate controlled basement, that's the best case. Temperature swings will cause condensation in any engine... and this happens every night. If you run the engine everyday during the season, it's not a problem. But people don't realize even after a few nights/days of the temperature cycle, you can get an ugly coat of rust in your intake, cylinders, etc. We recommend running block heaters overnight to prevent the condensation, and if your boat's idle at the marina for longer than a week or two (i.e. you don't want to run block heater) then preserve the insides with VCI. That may sound extreme, but I deal primarily with salt water vessels so we've seen them all.

Oh, and for startup in the spring, just add fresh fuel.

Sorry I don't have a TL; DR version.
 
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Where are you at?

I ask because when I was in Colorado, I did something entirely different than I do in South Carolina.
 



Arizona is easy. I just drop some seafoam in my outboard and my honda gen and both start and run like champs. The generator I start once a month, the outboard will sit for as long as 6 months and start on 2nd or 3rd pull.
 
Cover the hole in the winter.

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FredsRedAxe said:
Arizona is easy. I just drop some seafoam in my outboard and my honda gen and both start and run like champs. The generator I start once a month, the outboard will sit for as long as 6 months and start on 2nd or 3rd pull.
Click to expand...
If you store in a place where the motor is subject to often below dew points, its best to fog the cylinders
 
FredsRedAxe said:
What does "subject to often below dew points" mean?
Click to expand...
Its when temps fall below the ability to hold the airs current moisture content, creating dew.
The moisture in your motor is vapor until it hits a cold surface, like a class of iced tea in summer
And by often, not alot of air gets into your motor, but it does, and with it its moisture/vapor.
The more often the vapor is replaced and the dew point is exceeded , the greater amount of water is condensing inside your motor.
It doesnt take much over time to cause problems
 
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I take my boat to the dealer and let them winterize it for me. Then I store my boat inside a storage facility. It's not heated but it's protected from the weather.
 

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