Thread: Storing My Boat

This my first time I'll be storing my boat in an unheated commercial storage. Always kept it in our heated garage

Just a couple questions.....

(1) What kinda prep do I need to do for the batteries ??? Fully charge them and forget about it ??? Keep the on-board charger hooked up. They are supposed to shut down when the batteries are fully charged or take batteries out.

(2) Is adding marine stabil to the gas and running it enough to get it into the carbs good enough ???

Thanks - leadshot

Check this thread out.


Winterizing your Boat

This is alot and not all a "have to do" to be okay. Where do you live?? What are your coldest temps??

Seafoam is better than stabil. IMHO

Batteries take them out and put them some place safe inside....not in the winter weather...get a battery maintainer and not a charger...some do not shut off and can overcharge. Charge them up fully then put a maintainer/conditioner on them. Thats the best way....make sure all water is out....and MAKE SURE ENGINE IS DOWN...not up....let water ALL drain out. That thread should say that but jsut wanted to throw that back out there.

Scrapper - Thanks for the Link. It helps a bunch. I live in mid-Missouri where I'd say 20 - 30 degrees are more the norm but zero or below is not uncommon.

Seafoam ??? Not seen it up here but Stabil is everywhere. I'll check the local marine dealers.

Maybe I'll just winterize Mama's truck and put the boat back in the garage

That would be the best bet! Put the boat in the garage....lol. I'm in south arkansas and most winters aren't to bad...but we still get busted lower units and blocks. The main thing is getting all the water out. You can find seafoam at walmart or napa or orielys and such around here. In red and white can. You can get seafoam deep creep and fog the engine with it.

Take your batteries out, and put them in the house, and keep them charged. Might be overkill, but has worked for me. Still running the same batts for about 4 fishing seasons, now. If your storing your boat outside, you might also want to look into moth balls or other things to keep mice out of your boat, and chewing up your wires.

Thanks for the replys guys but I'm gonna put the boat in the garage again. It is a PITA to do it with the my garage sits ( it is to the side of the house ) but it will be warm and cozy in there. The boat is a heavy azz 2072 SeaArk.

The place I was thinking about parking it had DeCon sitting out in the bay