Displaying items by tag: winter

One of the most frustrating things that can happen to you when you're finally ready to leave the dock is a motor that wont start due to your battery. If you're an avid boater, chances are you have been there and know exactly what I am talking about. Whether you forgot to charge it from the time before or you didn't properly store it in the off season, theres no doubt that it will totally wreck your day. One of the best things you can do for your battery is to properly store it during the winter months to ensure your not dead on the water next spring.

Being a boater in Michigan, you cant really compain about the weather we have had this year. Its now mid November and we are just starting to see the cold winds from the north roll into the state. I mean, an extra month or so out on the water is never a bad thing, but now its time to kick it into gear and winterize the boat for the upcoming months ahead. Winterizing the boat is one of the last things we want to deal with in the fall, well other than raking the leaves, but its essntial to protecting your investment and utilizing all of your days on the water next spring. Boats can be expensive to own but fixing broken parts due to poor winter preparation can get even pricier.

Unless your a duck hunter or fishing the rivers this fall in Michigan, its probably a good time to think about winterizing your outboard and shrink wrapping your boat for winter. Yes, there are still going to be some good days of boating ahead, but when the thermometer drops, getting your boat out of the water is the last thing you will want to take care of. Dealing with the cold, rain, or possibly even snow will just make the task at hand that much harder and unenjoyable. 

Winterization season. Its a sad time of year for serious boaters and die hard lakers when they come to the realization that they have to prep the boat for the winter months and store it away until spring. To be honest, its not something any boater looks forward to, but if not done you can have some major issues and huge costs on your hands come spring time. If you are like me and winterize your outboard on your own you are going to want to do it by the book. That means treating the fuel system with stabilized gas, changing the gearcase lube, fogging the powerhead and lubricating all of the moving parts. Even if you do all of these things to a T, you can still screw up and make some huge mistakes that will leave you at the dock next season.