Winter Maintenance
If you have winterized your boat and
put it away until the spring you will only have to
go through a decommissioning exercise before you are
up and running in the spring.
There are some issues to consider if
you leave your boat in the water over the winter
months especially if it is gasoline powered.
Start it up regularly.
Engines should be fired up every few weeks to keep
the oil warmed up and circulated throughout the
crankshaft, top end and various oil galleries.
Put on some extra
lines and run it in gear. Get the engine up to
running temperature.
When an engine is shut
down and depending where it stops in its firing
order either an exhaust or intake valves remains
open in one or more cylinders. The cold moist sea
air is not kind to the insides of engines especially
if they are left sitting for long periods of time.
Keep your
fuel tank full when you put your boat away.
Even after a day trip. A partially full tank will
allow
condensate (water) to form on the inside of the fuel
tank. The water will go to the lowest point in the
tank, the bottom of the tank. The suction side of
the fuel line pick up is in the bottom of the tank.
It is safe to add a
small amount of methyl hydrate (isopropyl alcohol)
to fuel in a gas tank. It will serve two purposes.
It will mix with water making it a burnable product
mixing with the gasoline. On cold wet days it will
prevent fuel from icing.
Another by-product of
water is rust or crud that that will form in the
bottom of your fuel tank. That is the last thing you
want in your fuel system and the first thing that
will stop you especially if you start bouncing
around stirring up the sediment in the tank.
Fuel stabilizer should
also be added if you do not go out too often during
the winter. Gasoline is now aerated. It is good for
about three months before it starts to break down
and lose its volatility. Lighter chemicals quickly
evaporate and the remaining heavier chemicals make
the remaining gasoline a less volatile.
Remember to start your
engine regularly over the winter months.
