Winter in water w/ outboard

sidecar7 · #1 09-02-2009

My wife and I enjoy sailing in cool / cold weather. This year we are planning on keeping our catalina 22 in the water (Worton Creek, MD) this winter. The motor can be tilled up completly out of the water. First time we are doing this. Any adice on how to prep the outboard for this? Or should I put her up on the hard over winter?

Thanks much,

Dale

bheintz · #2 09-02-2009

Dale,

Many people who keep boats w/ outboards in the water over the winter suggest that you keep the outboard in the water over the winter (to keep it from freezing).

On a sailboat I'm not sure how practical that is. One option is to remove it and winterize it every time you use it. A second is not to use your outboard during the winter and plan to sail in and out of the creek.

Root · #3 09-02-2009

I see a lot of small boats, such as the tenders our lobstermen use, in the water all winter. While the coast does not get the really low temperatures we see around the state in the winter, ME is a good deal colder than MD. The motors stay down. The downside to this is that those motors do not last long.

timebandit · #4 09-02-2009

Feel free to bash the socal sailor if you want----

I think that if you tilt the motor up and let it drain and then let it back down and let the remaining water flow to the lower unit and then tilt it again you should remove all the water and just leave it tilted up.

I know when I just pull my boat out of the water and remove the motor pryor to towing very little water (10 drops or so) comes out after turning all around getting it off and into the truck.

US27inKS · #5 09-02-2009

Leave the motor down, but if your mount comes up far enough to get it out of the water, do that. My mount will bring all but the tip of the skeg out of the water, then it tilts. If I tilt it, and it rains, water can collect in the lower unit. Then when it freezes, I've got trouble. So I pull the engine up as far as possible, but don't tilt.

Root · #6 09-03-2009

It's not just the ice that is the problem. The motors stay down to keep the zincs in the water. With the skeg in the water but not the zincs, they do not prevent electrolytic corrosion that is the big life limiter to outboards operating principally in salt water.

It's worth while to check them regularly. They don't last as long as most owners think, especially on boats that have some sort of battery bank that may be leaking a little current, or that live in a marina where current leaks may occur.