How do you leave your boat?

[rickswanson]

when parked, i loosen winch strap, leave back straps hooked up, remove motor totor, let motor all the way down, drain live well, hook up on-boarder charger. jack bow up as far as possible, i never run gas out of motor. use seafoam only 2-3 tanks a year. i keep the motors running, at least 20 mins a month, in barrel (old 50's motor)or on muffs (newer motors) or just take it out, so i dont use any stabil.

[EnonEye]

I've always released the pressure off mine, front and back. Why? Just seemed like good sense to take pressure off them when not needed. However, I forgot to do that this past winter when I put it in storage. If I have any ill effects when I get it out next weekend I'll let all know here.

[Quackrstackr]

It's best to run the fuel out...
Gas evaporates and leaves behind the oil!

99.999999% of motor failure is leaving gas in the carbs.

If you have an oil injected motor you will have nothing but oil in the carbs if you run the fuel out....

The oil pump keeps pumping when the carbs start starving.

I park mine with the motor down and leave it strapped, but it is an aluminum boat. If you leave heavy tension on straps on a fiberglass boat for extended periods, you will eventually start getting spiderwebbing stress cracks in your gelcoat around the tiedowns. It may take several years but the likelyhood of it happening is pretty high. Been there and done that as well.

[Wind Knot]

It's best to run the fuel out...
Gas evaporates and leaves behind the oil!

99.999999% of motor failure is leaving gas in the carbs.

This is a yes and no answer. Here's the deal- it's best to empty the carbs during long-term storage because evaporated fuel can and will leave undesirable deposits in the carburetor. This can be a huge problem for carbed four stroke motors that have smaller jets than their two-stroke brethren. However, running a motor 100% out of fuel can be hard on it, especially on a three cylinder motor where one cylinder is going to run dry and it could run dry for a while, causing premature wear and cylinder damage. Most 40-75 hp motors are three cylinders. Many are inline fours and it could be even worse. It may not be horrible cylinder damage, but it's going to happen. It's kind of like the guy who cranks up his outboard bone dry at the boat ramp to make sure she fires before he goes to the hassle of backing it down the ramp. It's just not necessary.

In this day and age, a good quality fuel additive and a fuel/water separator are practically a necessity for all motors. I would not run an outboard without one.

There are two better options.

The first option is to crank the motor up once a month on muffs and let it run for ten to fifteen minutes. In my experience, this is the best option because it keeps things moving around.

The second option is to drain the carbs. On my Mercury, draining the carb bowl is as simple as unscrewing one screw in the bottom of the carb bowl. Three screws, three drained carbs, no piston scouring.

Personally, I'd take these two options over running the motor dry.

[Eager Beaver]

I lower the motor and take the pressure off the winch strap and back tie downs. I hook up the on-board charger and leave it until I am ready to use the boat. It will charge the batteries and then keep them charged with a trickle charge while it is sitting. Over the winter I take it in and have it winterized and they fog the motor and then run the gas out of the motor. I have done this since it was new and it is a 96 force motor. It starts right up in the Spring with no problems. EB

[Bigdaddyii]

I just wish I had a boat to worry about these things.

[Davey Jones]

Say what?

The exhaust valve can be in an open position allowing water vapor to enter the cylinder then you get oxidation inside your motor and possibly some ring problems.

[Hanr3]

It's best to run the fuel out...
Gas evaporates and leaves behind the oil!

99.999999% of motor failure is leaving gas in the carbs.

Ummm, you can't run the fuel out of the carburators. There will always be some left in the fuel bowl. Leaving it sit for extended periods and the gas will evaporate leaving residue, commonly referred to as varnish. Oil is a different issue.

[south point]

I don't leave my boat sit much, but if I did I would add stabil to the fuel and maybe fog the cylinders. I also recommend jacking the trailer up until the tires are off the ground, then putting jack stands under the frame of the trailer, thus relieving stress on your springs and preventing flat spots from forming on your tires.

[crappiedoc]

Leaving your boat for extended periods of time? Well, to quote Bill Dance, "Don't do that".