maintenance for your boat while sitting ?

[Doug H.]

For those of you who don't have luxury of putting your boat in the garage, what do you do to prep for the winter ie. gel coat, gas tanks, swim steps, trailor "tires" seating cushions, additives, anything to help be ready for the next season.
this is my formula: fill gas tanks to the fullest (condensation won't run down) air out cushions, lift trailor up on jack stands so tires won't get any flat spots and put wheel covers on them.
on a nice day pull off cover and check around for unwanted critters, then start engine to warm up a bit and check gauges, shut down, sit in it for a minute and pretend (river)
if you have suggestions for our open element boats and how to take care of them please add to our list and what you do with yours ? :) :) :)

[bordsmnj]

that's easy......take it out to elsinore every other week:D

[Dr. Eagle]

Originally posted by bordsmnj
that's easy......take it out to elsinore every other week:D
Ha Ha...LOL.
My process is as follows, but I live in the north cali, so it may not get as cold where you are:
1. put prescribed amount of Stabil in fuel tanks and fill to maximum
2. Run the engine on the hose until fuel with Stabil is all the way into the engine/carb/efi.
3. Change oil and filter
4. Change fuel filter.
5. Change drive oil.
6. Clean off the engine with simple green and water (following the oil changes) and wipe down with a rag/towel.
7. Run the engine on the hose to operating temp and check for leaks (helps to dry it off too)
8. When dry, spray the engine down with WD 40, silicone spray or other protectant. I had my old boat stored in a yard for one year and did not do this, the carb looked like it was growing wiskers from the corrosion next spring.
9. I have installed a Guest battery maintainer and hook it up to power to keep the batteries fully charged.
10 I place 2 light bulbs in the engine compartment to run when it is cold...I have a cord with a in line (line voltage) thermostat that I bought some time ago to turn the light on when it is cold. I also have a Westmarine power air drier, a small unit that looks like a UFO that is really a small fan and 60watt heater. I have done this instead of draining the engine water jackets.
11. Remove the main water pump hose, push it down to drain as much water as you can and dump in a gallon of non toxic anti-freeze. This will help prevent a freeze if the other stuff doesn't work, but the main reason is to help prevent rust in the block.
12. pull off all the cushions and place them where they will get air all around them, and not hold moisture in the seat base.
13. Lift the bow up on a stand so the bottom will drain out the drain plug, if any water gets in.
14 Fully inflate the tires, clean with simple green and apply 303 protectant to the tires.
15. Wash the boat and wax it.
Sounds like a lotta stuff to do, but it goes right back in the water in the spring ready to go.

[JetBoatRich]

Doug I thought we talked about this, we live in So.Cal so you need to go out all year:D Tell you what I will come by since ypur tanks are full and hook it to my truck and take it out for you:rolleyes:

[beyondhelpin]

I don't stabilize the fuel as you don't need it for anything under 6 months.
What I do do is:
change oil
lube outdrive-steering fittings and trailer hubs
I run an onboard charger on my batteries so I check and fill each battery with distilled water
clean and put 303 protectant on all upholstery
open all compartments
put in drier setup
wax if not done recently
pump 5 gallons of RV antifreeze thru motor (really cool set up I got from Boat World) no engine draining required!
change outdrive oil every other year
change fuel separator every other year
change water pickup impeller every other year

[h2oski2fast]

Put it back in storage as I'll probably be using it again in a couple of weeks.