Winterize vs. starting up all winter

pequa1

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I have had a Yamaha c90 since 1999 and always fogged the engine, changed the lower unit oil, trickle charged the battery, added stabil etc. In addition the impeller and steering cable have been replaced professionally. What if instead of winterizing as described above, I would start the boat up all winter long. Long Island winters are normally nothing like upstate NY and outside of maybe a two week period of below freezing and some snow, would be able to hop under the cover (removing it partially for ventilation) and run the engine with a hose and muffs. Any drawbacks to this ? I may be selling the boat in the spring and thought this might be an option.
 

GA_Boater

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I guess I don't understand your question. Are you trying to avoid spending a little if you decide to sell the boat come Spring?
 

Sea Rider

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Not an isssue if you don't want to winterize the engine as for offf-season. You can run it once each 15-30 days for some minutes on muffs to keep all parts well lubricated. If you want run the engine on muffs, disconnect fuel hose while doing so and let engine die. Prime engine on next run and so on. I never winterize my engines, are periodically started from time to time, can go boating whenever pleased as opposed to de winterizing.-

Happy Boating
 

pequa1

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GA-Boater- Main reason is to be able to sell it anytime during the off season, if that's what I choose to do. (Wife and I mainly kayak now.) Plus, I have always topped it off and rather than doing that and adding stabil wondered if I could avoid popping for 30 gallons of gas and the stabil and the fogging oil, etc. etc. and just run it monthly. I thought most of the water from the muffs and start up would simply drain out as it must have done the last 14 winters ( ? ) If the battery weakens in the cold I can easily charge it in the boat after opening the hatch and letting any fumes dissipate...
 

ihearth2o

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Sounds like it would work and I agree it would make selling easier as you won't have to "re-winterize" after every potential buyer comes to take a look. Keep in mind though that winterization is typically considered standard maintenance and some (offseason) buyers may be turned off by the "perceived" lack of care by not winterizing as per manufacturer recommendations. Of course you could tell buyers that you've winterized your boat religiously for 14 years but whether they decide to believe you is up to them. You may end up holding on to the boat until spring anyways. Just a thought.
 
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Chris1956

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OK, Stabilize the existing fuel at the end of the season, and change the gear oil. Now, if you want to winterize further or not, it makes no real difference on an outboard.

Do you plan to have water available all winter to run the motor for a prospective buyer?
 

dingbat

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Stabilize the fuel and change the LU oil. Evrything else is optional.....
 

pequa1

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It just seems like a waste of money to throw in 30 gallons of gas, and then add stabil for the whole tank. I agree that I doubt I have any buyers at all come by from late fall through March anyway, but has anyone ever NOT topped off the tank, and only added the correct ratio of stabil ? Lower unit gear oil change is easy and cheap. and thank you gentlemen for all the comments and advice !
 

dingbat

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It just seems like a waste of money to throw in 30 gallons of gas, and then add stabil for the whole tank. I agree that I doubt I have any buyers at all come by from late fall through March anyway, but has anyone ever NOT topped off the tank, and only added the correct ratio of stabil ? !
In 30+ years of boat ownership, I have never topped off my tanks (154 gallons) for the off season. Treat what is left in the tank the last day of the season and top off in the Spring
 

Silvertip

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Treat the amount of fuel in the tank at the time and run the engine long enough to draw the mixture into the engine. Change the LU lube and put it to bed. Unless an engine is not going to be used for upwards of a year there is no need to fret about about fogging.
 

bassman284

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It just seems like a waste of money to throw in 30 gallons of gas, and then add stabil for the whole tank. I agree that I doubt I have any buyers at all come by from late fall through March anyway, but has anyone ever NOT topped off the tank, and only added the correct ratio of stabil ? Lower unit gear oil change is easy and cheap. and thank you gentlemen for all the comments and advice !
-I may be a little weird, but I never top off my tank and I use Stabil year round. I boat mostly in no wake lakes and so use very little gas. I never fill my 19 gallon tank more than half full. I live in Iowa where it gets fairly cold during the winter but mine is stored in my garage where it never gets below about 43-44 degrees even if 15 below outside. Not sure this helps.
 

pequa1

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actually, you have all helped and I truly appreciate it. I thought that I would get an inordinate amount of condensation in the fuel tank if I didn't top it off for the winter months here on Long Island, NY. If that's not the case than I will just use that Starbrite additive, Stabil, change the LU gear oil and fog the carbs and NOT throw in a hundred bucks worth of gas in case I do sell in the spring before I even start fishing.
 

jkust

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I suppose in the most basic sense, if you don't have any water in your lower unit gear oil (of course how do you know until you drain and replace it), the least you'd have to do is make sure the engine tips downward and the water drains out. I don't know your particular engine and so whether it is fuel injected or not would help me decide on fogging it or not. Adding some stabil takes all of 20 seconds so that to me isn't even worth a mention if you already have the stuff in your garage from prior years. When discussing fogging generally, here in MN there is the distinct possibility each year you may only get 8 weeks of use out of your boat and possibly zero weeks out of your snowmobile so at least I personally see fogging carb engines as beneficial. On years I didn't fog my one last carbed sled for example, my good intentions of starting it up periodically last about a month then I pay the price with a gummed up carb even if I just cleaned it the prior season.
 

pequa1

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Yes, at this point this November I will just add Startron (sic) additive, Stabil to the less than half a tank of gas, fog the carbs and plugs, remove the battery and store it in the garage, and change the lower unit gear oil. the only thing I am not going to do is top off the fuel tank as most replies seem to indicate that condensation will be taken care of by the additive and the Stabil.
 

UncleWillie

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Condensation on the Inside of the tank is highly over exaggerated.
Condensation occurs when warm humid air meets a cold surface.

Consider a mostly empty tank....

If the temperature suddenly drops, the tanks is still warm, and the dew point of the air is low.
The evaporating warm fuel in the tank will vent OUT the vent as the tank slowly cools down. Little or none of the dry air will enter the tank.

As the temperature suddenly warms, the cold tank will "sweat" water all over the OUTSIDE of the tank from the condensing warm humid air.
The air in the tank will again vent OUT as the tank slowly warms up. Little or none of the warm humid air will enter the tank.

The physics of the situations work in your favor.
 

dingbat

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Condensation on the Inside of the tank is highly over exaggerated. Condensation occurs when warm humid air meets a cold surface. Consider a mostly empty tank.... If the temperature suddenly drops, the tanks is still warm, and the dew point of the air is low. The evaporating warm fuel in the tank will vent OUT the vent as the tank slowly cools down. Little or none of the dry air will enter the tank. As the temperature suddenly warms, the cold tank will "sweat" water all over the OUTSIDE of the tank from the condensing warm humid air. The air in the tank will again vent OUT as the tank slowly warms up. Little or none of the warm humid air will enter the tank. The physics of the situations work in your favor.
+1.....
 

JoLin

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Hi, Massapequan. Greetings from West Babylon. I agree with the others. Change the LU fluid, stabil-ize your fuel and run it long enough to treat what'll sit inside the carbs and fuel lines. I've never concerned myself with filling the tank. I lay up the boat with whatever is in the tank when I quit for the season.

My .02
 
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