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winterizing bass boats
what all do you guys do to winterize your bass boats? I'm in michigan. |
buckyevans
Nov 15
2004
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| The best way to winterize a bass boat is to load it onto your trailer, drive
it to Florida, and fish all winter. |
Richard
Nov 15
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| I don't really winterize my boat, preferring to keep it ready for fishing on
the rivers or a quick trip south. But, every fall, I do the following. Change the lower unit lube.
Shoot some fresh grease into the Bearing Buddies on the trailer, re-pack the
wheel bearings if that hasn't been done in a while.
Clean the boat up, vacuum the carpet, wipe down the hull
Slightly prop open the compartments to allow air circulation
Empty out all the "stuff" that's accumulated.
Make certain that all four batteries are fully charged. Additional things that could/should be done, that I don't. Fog the engine.
Add enough fuel to fill the tank and add Stabil (or any other fuel
preservative) to the gas tanks
Bring in all tackle, change line, clean/lube reels, clean the handles on the
rods, check eyes/thread wraps for damage, replace rusted hooks on lures,
re-organize the lures (getting rid of those that didn't produce) |
Steve
Nov 15
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| Well, since you are not going to Florida for the winter I have a few
suggestions too. I have heard that it is a good idea to loosen all of the drags on your reels
for the winter. I do this. My local marine dealer suggests leaving very little fuel in the tank,
winterized of course with an addititive, then adding fresh fuel in the
spring. I wonder about condensation, but they say it should not be a
problem. I don't agree. Also, when you charge your batteries make sure they are filled with water
and don't overcharge them.Check them once per month during the winter. We start fishing in March, so winter is not too long here, just 3-4 months. Rick |
Richard
Nov 15
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| I'm with Steve on all points except one - I always add fuel stabilizer to my
fuel before my last trip out. Todays fuels break down quickly & sitting for
a good 3 months or more in these Northern climates, as much as it pains us,
can make for an expensive job when the weather breaks without adding a few
bucks worth of Stabil.
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go-bassn
Nov 15
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| In the days of my 150hp Johnson... I agree with this 100%. As Steve, I never
did the "gasoline" thing during the boats down time. I paid the price each
spring with needing to have all 3 carbs rebuilt. The jets and the like
always clogged up. I corrected this problem by fishing all "winter" here in Florida and getting
a smaller boat with an 8hp engine :) To add an item, you may want to consider giving some of the metal items a
light shot of an marine oil based protectant. |
Todd
Nov 16
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| I'm with you all the way on what you do Steve, except that I do fog the
engine (and by doing so, the carbs) and I do add Sta-Bil to the fuel system. Also, once charged up, I unhook my batteries from the boat's power wires
(but leave my on-board smart charger connected) and plug in my charger at
least once every month I don't get out on the water, for a day or so, to
make sure the batts stay up and don't dip too far into the dead zone. I've also taken to putting my boat up on jack stands if it is to be idle for
any length of time, to keep the tires from "flat spotting" so badly. As for tackle removal and cleaning, I do that after every trip. I don't get
to go out enough, so I have plenty of time for cleanup after each day on the
water. ;-) |
SimRacer
Nov 16
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| I actually went out and counted the rod/reel combinations that I have in the
boat. I have 25 rods and reels currently in the boat! There's not enough
time to keep up with all of those, so I have to empty the boat and bring it
all in. The downside to that is now my wife really knows how much stuff I have.
Luckily, she doesn't give me a hard time about that. |
Steve
Nov 16
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| If you're like me and allot of other guys here, I'm sure, I sure hope,when I
die, she doesn't sell the stuff for what I said I paid for it!!!
--
Steve C. |
Steve
Nov 16
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| Hi Bucky , I'm from Mich. too (Plymouth) Where are you at? I've got a
guy up by my cottage that shrink wraps my boat, winterizes it, and
stores it for the winter for $200.00 And when I go to pick it up in the
Spring he has it ready for me to get in & fish . Talk about no hassle
!! |
bassintheweeds
Nov 16
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| Lol Steve, if your wife's like mine she'll be reading that in your outbox...
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go-bassn
Nov 16
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| maybe that'll be a good thing......for her and if I'm lucky I won't
hear about it, hard swallow <g> give me the blindfold and a last cigarette
;-)
--
Steve |
Steve
Nov 16
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| Hi all, we have been using a new technique on Mercruiser EFI engines |
dc103
Nov 17
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| Nah, she's got her own computer and doesn't touch mine. Besides, I'm
fortunate that she's really cool with me fishing. As long as the money for
it doesn't come from the household budget. |
Steve
Nov 17
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| I like the sound of that. |
Bob
Nov 17
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| Wow! 25? My boat ain't even big enough to carry that much stuff...my normal
rod count is 8, two way-too-big tackle bags and a spinnerbait box...and I
thought I had a lot of stuff. lol > The downside to that is now my wife really knows how much stuff I have.
> Luckily, she doesn't give me a hard time about that. Same here. The wife knows that fishing is my therapy, so she doesn't mind
too much the time or money I put into it. She goes out with me about half
the time anyway, she's a pleasant gal for an outdoorsman to be married to, I
admit. |
SimRacer
Nov 17
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| How would you deal with a 4-stroke (115-Honda) ? You wouldn't "fog" a
4-stroke, would you ? |
Shawn
Nov 17
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| >4-stroke, would you ? |
dc103
Nov 18
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