Using a Outboard During the winter months

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As all of you who live in cold climates during the winter I too winterize my boat for the year normally when an extended period of cold weather is upon us in Michigan. However last winter in Michigan was warmer than normal and 90 percent of the year we had overall high temps above freezing with some cold night and most of our lakes never froze and if they did it was skim ice and thats it. We had guys fishing Lake Erie, Huron and Michigan by boats in January.

So here is my question. I do I go abouts using my outboard during the winter (pending no ice) and still safely use it and not cause any engine problems from freezing temps? Do I constantly winterize it after every use or what should I do? I do not own a garage. Guys winter steelhead fish all the time in Michigan so I know I can use my outboard during the winter.....but what would be the procedure to do so to prevent damage? Thank you!
 

ondarvr

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Re: Using a Outboard During the winter months

Leave it in the down position and you are good to go, nothing else is needed.
 

robert graham

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Re: Using a Outboard During the winter months

I'd just go ahead and use it like normal, keep Stabil or Seafoam in your fuel, check your fuel/water separater. I've used my 90C Yamaha down to 28 degrees and honestly, the cold bothered me a lot more than it did the motor....in fact, I don't think the motor even knows or cares about the cold!;) Now on any morning, hot or cold, I crank up the motor and let it sit and idle while I'm getting everything ready to shove off....gives it plenty of warm-up time!
 

dingbat

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Re: Using a Outboard During the winter months

I fish all winter. I just raise and lower the motor a couple of times to get all the water out of the powerhead once I get the boat back on the trailer. Store the motor in the down position
 
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Re: Using a Outboard During the winter months

Really??? Thats it??? Part of me is kinda surpised. Everyone preaches to be so careful when the temp drops below freezing that engine damage if not winterized will happen. I figured it would have been to re-winterize it over and over again. My first 2 boats were IOs so I never used them during cold months past mid October in Michigan. My last boat was an outboard but I winterized it because our winters were so cold and ice was on the lakes till late March. But last year guys were killing perch in Erie and salmon and steelhead in Lake Mchigan by boat as early as January and I want to take advantage of a possible warm/ice free winter again this year and do some fishing by boat. So just store in the down position (which I do anyway) and Seafoam or fuel stablizer and I am good to go!?!? Should I run the fuel out of the carbs after each use also? Just storing the outboard down will drain all the water out of it? No need to start again briefly to get water out?
 

Sea Rider

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Re: Using a Outboard During the winter months

If it's a portable engine and temp is below 0?C, tilt engine above water level, pull recoil starter to drain water out completely before removing from transom. Posters have pros and cons about runing carb dry after use, if it's a 2 stroke, a must do, can gum up carb if mixed fuel stays too long inside carb. If it's a 4 stroke, posters will advise.

Happy Boating
 
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Re: Using a Outboard During the winter months

If it's a portable engine and temp is below 0?C, tilt engine above water level, pull recoil starter to drain water out completely before removing from transom. Posters have pros and cons about runing carb dry after use, if it's a 2 stroke, a must do, can gum up carb if mixed fuel stays too long inside carb. If it's a 4 stroke, posters will advise.

Happy Boating

It's a 150 V6 Johnson VRO
 

JEBar

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Re: Using a Outboard During the winter months

if it is to be used on a fairly regular basis, lowering and draining the motor as stated is about that is required .... no use to fog it if it will be used again in the not too distant future .... in addition it is important to make sure the boat's live well, pumps, drains, bilge and such are drained after each outing .... as the original poster mentioned, winter severity can and does vary widely .... winter before last we had extended periods of harsh, subfreezing temps .... last winter we had a very warm winter without much subfreezing temps

Jim
 
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Re: Using a Outboard During the winter months

Thank you very much for all the replies. I am gonna play it by ear. If the weather is good I will do as you all mentioned and make sure all the water is drained out of the motor, bilge pump, bilge are drained. If it looks like it will be too harsh to fish or I know I just wont be for a while I'll winterize it. If we have decent weather I plan on fishing at least once a week weather permitting. What would you recommend, not just for winter use but throught the year Stabil or Seafoam? I know how harsh gas is now. I do decarb about every 100 hours.
 
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Re: Using a Outboard During the winter months

I'd just go ahead and use it like normal, keep Stabil or Seafoam in your fuel, check your fuel/water separater. I've used my 90C Yamaha down to 28 degrees and honestly, the cold bothered me a lot more than it did the motor....in fact, I don't think the motor even knows or cares about the cold!;) Now on any morning, hot or cold, I crank up the motor and let it sit and idle while I'm getting everything ready to shove off....gives it plenty of warm-up time!

All I can see is a fuel filter....does the fuel filter have a water seperater in it or is it seperate? This is my first Johnson Outboard I have owned and see nothing that looks like a water seperater that I have seen in the past.
 

82rude

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Re: Using a Outboard During the winter months

Thank you very much for all the replies. I am gonna play it by ear. If the weather is good I will do as you all mentioned and make sure all the water is drained out of the motor, bilge pump, bilge are drained. If it looks like it will be too harsh to fish or I know I just wont be for a while I'll winterize it. If we have decent weather I plan on fishing at least once a week weather permitting. What would you recommend, not just for winter use but throught the year Stabil or Seafoam? I know how harsh gas is now. I do decarb about every 100 hours.
i see no issues using the motor as you plan to.personally id change the lower unit oil just before the cooler temps to make sure theres no water what so ever in there and other than that maybe ,just maybe id use a little bit of gas line anti-freeze in the fuel.make sure you use the right stuff as some of it is not compatible with 2 stokes.i found that out last year with the snowmobile as the bottle i bought said right on it not to use with 2 stoke motors so in the truck it went and now i read the instructions on the back carefully first.
 
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Re: Using a Outboard During the winter months

i see no issues using the motor as you plan to.personally id change the lower unit oil just before the cooler temps to make sure theres no water what so ever in there and other than that maybe ,just maybe id use a little bit of gas line anti-freeze in the fuel.make sure you use the right stuff as some of it is not compatible with 2 stokes.i found that out last year with the snowmobile as the bottle i bought said right on it not to use with 2 stoke motors so in the truck it went and now i read the instructions on the back carefully first.

I'm kinda anal about maintenance....some say I am overboard but it gives me that warm fuzzy feeling that my motor will perform. I always deacarb and change my lower unit gear lube every 100 hours....I'll do that all just before its cold like you said maybe I'll swap the spark plugs too.
 

Home Cookin'

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Re: Using a Outboard During the winter months

Your outboard won't care at all about the temperature. They also do not need winterizing (long term storage, summer or winter, is a fuel mainenance issue).

A maintenance item to be aware of is lower unit fluid--if it has water in it, it can freeze and crack. Fix the problem so there is no water in it--just check it before freezing.

Fuel lines freeze and batteries get weak; the water is deadly. Those are not directly your question but they are concerns.

re: "Everyone preaches to be so careful when the temp drops below freezing that engine damage if not winterized will happen." Those people do not know. They are probably the kind of people who assume every boat is a trailer-kept Inboard/outboard.

If your boat is on a trailer: as said, you lower it to drain it. If you then have to raise it back up for storage, that in itself is not a problem, because it's dry. but you can accumulate rain water through the prop, causing problems.
 

Sea Rider

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Re: Using a Outboard During the winter months

Why winterize it at all, if you happen to store your boat on a trailer at a garage, take it out and place ear muffs, start engine, ran at idle, fast idle for a minimum of 5 minutes and back again to storage. You could do that each 10-15 days, recharge bat on the way while engine is runing. Having your engine run periodically and remaining well lubed inside, you could use it at any moment. Like the boys scouts "always ready".

Happy Boating
 
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Re: Using a Outboard During the winter months

You guys all have given me some get input, I appreciate it very much. Sound like I will be fishing this winter weather permitting. Makes me glad I decided to go to an outboard versus the IOs I have always had in the past!
 

Mi duckdown

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Re: Using a Outboard During the winter months

As long as your lower unit has No water in it, and unit is in down position you have nothing to worry about.
 

nwcove

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Re: Using a Outboard During the winter months

gee, there are guys that use ob's here for lobster fishing in january ( minus 20c), the boats stay in the water, and in some ports the ob guys wait for the bigger boats to break ice so they can get out of port.
 

Home Cookin'

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Re: Using a Outboard During the winter months

another thread confirming the superiority of outboards over i/o's.

Anyone missing that "sundeck" while striper fishing?
 
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