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Winter Lay-up with Spring in MindNov 17 '01 Write an essay on this topic.The Bottom Line With a little common sense you can winterize your boat making it easy to get back in the water come spring. It is indeed rare in ones lifetime to be able to share completely those important moments in your life with that special someone. The good times are shared equally with the not-so good times. So it goes when at the end of a productive fishing season everyone pitches in to put the boat to bed. Enter Seargent…, I mean the Mrs. Each autumn Lynda takes point on the task of putting the rig to bed for the winter. As soon as the leaves are off the trees she begins planning the annual chore. The task usually means rising out of bed early on one of those cool crisp early November, Saturday mornings. While I’m still shaking the sleepiness from my brain a sharp, determined Lynda orders the first job of the day. Head down to the Marine Supply store and pick up the items on the list. No time to make breakfast today so the last instruction is to pick up some bagels and plenty of coffee. By the time I returned from the store, Sarge, uh, I mean Lynda has already got the tarp spread out on the lawn. Our first task will be to hook up the fresh water supply to the outboard and run the engine for about thirty minutes. Doing this will allow the engine to warm to operating temperature and the fresh water will flush out any salt deposits that may have accumulated during the season. While the engine is idling we will begin removing items from the boat. Tackle box, rods, electronics and coolers will be stored safely in the garage along with a spare seat. The deck is covered in indoor / outdoor carpeting so Lynda will grab the Shop Vac while I start working on the motor. There is a three-step approach I use to lay up the motor. 1) I shut off the motor, open the engine cover and attach the hose from a can of engine tune oil to the carburetor intake valve. Start the engine and with the valve in the run position I spray two short squirts into the carburetor about a second apart. Then I shoot a 20 second spray until the engine stalls. If the engine does not stall I’ll shut it off. Allow the oil to sit in the engine for about an hour. In any case follow you r engines manufacturers directions. 2) While the engine is off I’ll change out the lower unit oil. This prevents any moisture that has accumulated over the season from corroding parts over the winter. I’ll also grease the swivel on the lower unit, the steering linkages and the ball bearings on the trailer. I’ll leave any excess grease in place to help seal the bearings. 3) After waiting the hour, (this is the time Sarge will let me eat my bagel), I’ll get ready to fog the engine. Fogging the engine places an oily coat in the cylinders to prevent corrosion. I’ll hook up the cooling water and once again run the engine until it reaches operating temperature. Then I’ll shut off the engine and hook up the can of fogging oil to the same valve that was used to spray the tune up oil into the engine. Two short blasts into the carburetor while the engine is running and then a 20 second spray until the engine stalls. If the engine does not stall shut it off. This is the last step as far as engine lay up goes so don’t restart the engine until spring or you will have to re-fog it again. The next step is to remove the battery and the portable gas tank. The best way to store the battery is off of the floor. I’ll place it on the workbench. Before storing the gas tank I’ll try to run it as dry as possible. Any residual I’ll pour into the lawn mower and use it when I mulch all the leaves in the yard. While I’m busy with the engine work Lynda starts washing the boat down. We’ll jack the front of the trailer up and make sure the plug in the transom is out. Lynda will start at the bow and wash everything down towards the stern. She’ll then move to the outer hull and scrub that down. We will let the boat dry out for a couple of hours. That’s why a fairly warm sunny day is best. I’ll spray oil such as WD-40 on the trailer winch and hitch mechanism to help prevent them from rusting. I’ll loosen the tie downs and bow strap to take tension off of the hull. Once the boat is dry I’ll lower the bow to it’s normal level. Next we will cover the boat. I use an 18-foot blue painters tarp but if you can afford it a fitted cover will be the easiest to install and remove. We make sure that not only is the boat covered, but also the motor and as much of the trailer tongue as possible. We’ll lace the boat somewhat like a shoe using the eyelets on the tarp. Then we will use a few milk jugs full off water tied to some of the other eyelets to keep the tarp from flopping in the wind. Last but not least I’ll make a punch list of things that need to be addressed in the spring. This year the list will consist of items like new trailer tires, new battery and repairing the casting deck. I’ll note these items in the boat log book so I don’t lose the list come spring. Making a list will allow me to buy the items I need slowly rather than draining the budget all at once. Once again Lynda’s gung ho attitude has come through. With her help and a little planning the boat is tucked away for the winter. Come March repairs can be made and the boat will be ready for the early spring striper run.  |
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