New Owner of 93 Bayliner, Questions about Outdoor Winter Storage

FastFission

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Sep 3, 2011
Messages
134
Hi everyone,

After lurking on a number of forums for several months, watching Craigslist and few other sites for about a year, we finally bought our first motorboat a couple of weeks ago(93 Bayliner 1952 Cuddy Classic, 3.0 Merc I/O). I do have to say that this forum was a great help.

We just got one good day on the water and freezing temperatures are on the way, so it's time to put her up for the winter. We previously had an old MacGregor sailboat that I stored under a tarp with the outboard inside. I want to do a better job with this boat, so...

I've been looking at covers and it appears I can either go with a cheap generic for about $70, or get a mid-range fitted cover for about $250. I'm curious what everybody's experience is with storage covers. Also, are the plastic vents a good idea? We've got a pretty dry climate, but can figure on snow from about November through March.

Also, I've read that I should keep the outdrive full down and the boat tilted toward the rear. With the height of my outdrive as it sits on the trailer, I can do one or the other. What's preferred? Do I need to block the trailer up enough to do both? I plan to block it up a little to get the tires clear of concrete.

Thanks,

Carl
 

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Summer Fun

Banned
Joined
Mar 2, 2002
Messages
2,251
Re: New Owner of 93 Bayliner, Questions about Outdoor Winter Storage

Outdrive always down & Shrink wrap is the way to go. :).

If you take it off carefully you can reuse it for about 4yrs. :)
 

Raystownboater

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
May 16, 2010
Messages
507
Re: New Owner of 93 Bayliner, Questions about Outdoor Winter Storage

Get the best cover you can afford but any cover is better than no cover. Just make sure the snow and water don't pool in any low spots and it should last you a couple years, no matter what the quality is. Now, before you cover it, you have some work to do. You need to winterize the engine by removing all the water from the block or flushing it out with antifreeze. Then you can fog the engine and drop the outdrive in the full down position. That will prevent any water from collecting in the cone and freezing. Tilt the bow up as far as you can and you should be good to go until spring.
 

mrchev

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
May 10, 2011
Messages
124
Re: New Owner of 93 Bayliner, Questions about Outdoor Winter Storage

personally i put the tires on 2x10 and clean tires and Armoural them. i tilt boat enough so bow is higher then i tilt outdrive down till its as straight as i can get, then bag the out drive.i was sent a email about a cover that is like shrink wrap but reusable, pretty neat deal. pm me and i will send you the email.
 

FastFission

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Sep 3, 2011
Messages
134
Re: New Owner of 93 Bayliner, Questions about Outdoor Winter Storage

Thanks, I've already drained everything, but I'm going to have the local boat shop do the winterization for me this year (I might try it myself once I get a little more educated). I'm planning to put a post under the cover to keep the water from pooling. If figure I'll probably need to knock the snow off from time to time.
Get the best cover you can afford but any cover is better than no cover. Just make sure the snow and water don't pool in any low spots and it should last you a couple years, no matter what the quality is. Now, before you cover it, you have some work to do. You need to winterize the engine by removing all the water from the block or flushing it out with antifreeze. Then you can fog the engine and drop the outdrive in the full down position. That will prevent any water from collecting in the cone and freezing. Tilt the bow up as far as you can and you should be good to go until spring.
 

FastFission

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Sep 3, 2011
Messages
134
Re: New Owner of 93 Bayliner, Questions about Outdoor Winter Storage

I'm not sure I want to shrink wrap, since I plan to do a little work on the old girl whenever the weather isn't too bad. One reason I bought her was to have a project to play with, and the accessory wiring looks like monkeys have been at it, so there will be some wiring done this winter.
Outdrive always down & Shrink wrap is the way to go. :).

If you take it off carefully you can reuse it for about 4yrs. :)
 

Raystownboater

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
May 16, 2010
Messages
507
Re: New Owner of 93 Bayliner, Questions about Outdoor Winter Storage

One other thing you'll want to do is add some stabilizer to the fuel and run it for a few minutes to get it through the entire system. A few good ones are "Startron", "Marine StaBil", or "Seafoam".
 

ezmobee

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Mar 26, 2007
Messages
23,767
Re: New Owner of 93 Bayliner, Questions about Outdoor Winter Storage

iboats has a wide selection of covers. I got my cover from here http://www.safeguardcovers.com/ and am quite pleased with it for the price. Check their ebay store as well.
 
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