Winterizing

I have pulled my boat out of the water a couple of weeks and have it at home. Being my first summer with a boat I now need some information on what is needed to get the boat ready for winter. I have a 90hp outboard motor. I have changed out the lower end unit oil, but that is all. Do I need to put some stablizer in the fuel system and "fog" the plugs? Any insight would be helpful. I will be keeping the boat outdoors covered with a tarp.

Re: Winterizing

Definitely fog the motor. I always drain the fuel and burn it in my vehicle. Fill up my tank 3/4 full and top off with boat fuel.

Re: Winterizing

I believe there is a pretty in depth thread in the Frequently Asked Questions Forum about winterizing. The stabilizer really should have been mixed and ran through the motor already. The most important thing you have already done. Too many people change that lower unit in the spring only to find it is broken from the water inside it expanding and cracking the lower unit. The best things to do is to pull the batteries and keep them in an area where you can put a charge on them monthly and keep them in a room that stays above freezing. A properly charged battery will not freeze below zero but cold weather can draw a battery down. If it is easy enough to get to it would not hurt to drain the fuel bowls on the carbs and remove the plugs and spray some fogging oil in each cylinder and then hand crank the flywheel a couple of turns clockwise then re install the plugs and wires.