It was a beautiful spring day. A little early morning fog added to the scenery of glistening flat-calm water as our wake created multiple arrowheads piercing the glassy surface. The excitement of hopes for a successful fishing trip rose as I throttled the engine up to bring the boat up on plane. Our excitement quickly turned to confusion, as the boat seemed sluggish and wouldn't come up on plane. A quick check under the engine cover revealed a bilge FULL of water. The bilge pump discharge showed the bilge pump was doing all it could but was no match for what turned out to be a blown freeze plug. My son and I made it back to the trailer just in time and safely.

This incident was the result of improperly winterizing my boat. This happened a long time ago and oh, if I only knew then what I know now. Winterizing your boat will not only save you money and eventual repair costs, it will prolong the life of your engine and boat.

For the next few months, I've teamed up with Dave Cornelius to do a several part series on boat winterization. Dave is the owner of Dave's Mobile Marine in Elizabeth City, NC. He is a certified master mechanic and an active duty Warrant Officer in the U.S. Coast Guard.

We will cover Outboards, Inboard/ Outboards and Diesel engines. If your handy with tools and can follow simple instructions you can winterize your own boat, or a dealer/marine technician can winterize your engine for you. In the following paragraphs we will look at the different systems that should be winterized. This should not only be done for winter lay-up but also for prolonged periods of non-use. It also helps a lot to have a quality manufacturers manual for your specific engine.

The key areas that need attention are the engine, out drive (if applicable), fresh water system and salt-water wash down system, air conditioning, bilges and even your trailer. The biggest problem that occurs is freezing water in pipes, engines or tanks. Freezing water expands faster than the metal holding it causing tremendous pressure until it cracks. A cracked engine block or manifold is the most common and the most costly to fix. The engine needs quite a bit of attention; you should not let the engine start in the spring without running fogging oil through it in the fall. Fogging the engine is a process that introduces this oil into the Carburetors or fuel system while the engine is running, providing a protective layer on the bearings, pistons, rings and cylinder liners, which prevents metal to metal friction upon start-up later on. Mercury has a product called Storage seal, OMC has their own version or you can use a generic brand such as Rislone. Some engines have small plugs in the air box that you can remove but others that do not have the plugs need the air box removed so you can spray the fogging oil in it. As you spray this fluid into the engine (carburetors) it should smoke white smoke from the exhaust, this is normal. Spraying fogging oil into the all of the carburetors causes the engine to smoke and sputter. Once that occurs turn the engine off. If this is not feasible for your engine then remove the spark plugs and squirt some fogging oil into each cylinder and rotate the engine over a couple of times to ensure good oil distribution within the cylinders.

Next, drain the remaining gas out of the fuel system (not the gas tank). If it is carbureted, open the drain screws on the bottom of each float bowl and let the fuel drain out. These drain screws are normally small brass screws around the bottom of the float bowl. If you have a fuel-injected model, depending on which model you have, find out what the manufacturer recommends for where to drain the gas. Some people like to disconnect the fuel line from the engine while they are fogging it and let the engine shut off due to a lack of fuel, this is ok, but there is still a little gas in each carb that you need to drain out. I personally don't like this method because if there is any trash in the float bowl it will most likely be sucked into the engine and possibly damage one of the components. If I can't drain the carbs due to the lack of drain screws or the fuel system, then I have a small fuel tank with gasoline stabilizer already mixed in and I disconnect the boats fuel line going to the engine and then I run the engine with my fuel hooked up until it smokes, at least this way I know the fuel that is left will be treated. Add the prescribed amount of gas stabilizer to the fuel tank (s) and make sure to top off the fuel, this will prevent moisture from forming on the inside walls of the fuel tank and entering the fuel during storage.

Water will not sit in the power head of your outboard if the engine is straight up and down, however, if you leave your engine tilted up, water will sit in the gear housing behind the propeller. This could crack the gear housing. Some people have their boats shrink wrapped for the winter and cover the engine with it tilted, I have removed the plastic in the spring and found water in the housing, if you want to have it wrapped and the engine needs to be tilted then pour antifreeze behind the propeller then cover it.

Next, coat the whole engine with a corrosion inhibitor spray with silicone in it, I use Mercury Corrosion Guard or Am soil Metal Protector. This will prevent moisture from forming on the components. Spray everything, wires and all, then spray the controls and the gauge panel under the dash. Corrosion is bad for the electrical connections, spraying them prevents this from happening. If you have a trailer, spray it too. If there are any auxiliary systems such as wash down pumps, live wells, fresh water systems or air conditioning systems, these will need to be winterized also, we will talk about these systems in depth in upcoming articles. Finally, jack the bow of the boat up and remove the transom plug to allow water to drain out of the bilge, if this can't happen then add a little antifreeze to the bilge just to make sure it will not freeze, I always use non-toxic antifreeze in all my systems. Remember that a little preventative maintenance now will eliminate headaches in the spring!
Easy Steps:
1. Place Gas Stabilizer in fuel tank.
2. Use flushing device to hook water to the engine.
3. Start engine
4. Spray fogging oil into Carburetors
5. When smoke comes from exhaust, stop engine.
6. Drain remaining gas from Carburetors.
7. Spray engine with corrosion inhibitor.
8. Tilt Engine all the way down.
9. Disconnect battery cables
10. Place a little antifreeze into the bilge.
11. Cover the boat.