Boat opener

[zman]

Well everyone

what do most of you do when you first pull your boat out of storage after the winter

I had mine winterized and shrink wrapped just woundering if there is anything I should do special

Do any of you pre start them at home before your trip?

I seen that thing you can hook up to the motor with the garden hose and start it never tried that before, but might be a good idea before I make my first trip.

[Victor]

get a pair of muffs which you can put over your motor and you can run the motor on your driveway before heading out ... that way if anything wrong with it you don't have to drive to the lake to find out.

 

this is my first spring taking the boat out, things that i have heard/read are like ... change the plugs, replace the lower unit oil, re-grease/repack trailer bearings.

 

i do this before every trip but some people might not, don't forget to check the trailer lights as well.

[ohhenrygsr]

Hey Zman. It's easy hope you changed your lower unit gear oil last year but if you didn't do it before you go out and also look at the color of the oil coming out and get new o-rings for the 2 screws.

 

-Must make sure your batteries are charged no little critters are in your boat or in your motor.

 

-Also one thing that is over looked is the 4 bolts holding your outboard on make sure they are tight and do that about twice during the season.

 

-Just get all your stuff ready and go launch the boat if the launch is close to you. If not you can get a pair of ear muffs at your local marina or Canadian tire run a garden hose to it, it hooks up on the lower unit. Prime your bulb then start her up if she fires up run it for a couple of seconds then shut it off. Now you know your engine runs and your ready to launch your boat .

 

 

 

 

 

-I Always change my plugs every year and my wires every 2 years but before i do change my plugs i run last years gas close to empty then install the new plugs and keep last years plugs as spares.

 

-Give your Trailer a once over and make sure your lights are working and tire pressure is good.

 

-Check Tires for play and grease the bearing if you have bearing buddies.

 

When on the water give your systems a good run Livewell, Bilge and outboard

Edited April 28, 2009 by Henry Nguyen

[boatman]

I always start my motors at home for the first time. Nothing worse than being the guy at the launch who can't get his motor started. And you won't win any firends if you block the launch by trying to "test" your motor with the boat on the trailer on the ramp.

 

You should change your lower unit oil in the fall if you keep your boat outside over winter. If water from the boating season finds its way into the lower unit it may freeze and break the lower unit housing.

 

I don't believe in changing plugs every year. I change them when they need it. Some will say at $6 a pair its "cheap insurance", but new plugs fail too. If you are on the water for hundreds of hours every year then go ahead and change the plugs every year, but for most folks the plugs will last for years. Of course, in my case I have a couple dozen outboards to maintain so changing the plugs every year would equate to about $150. To me that's not cheap insurance its madness.

[zman]

Thanks for all the tips

As for changing the oil in the lower unit, I got a marina to winterize the boat so I hope he did it

I think this winter I'm going to do it all myself

[lew]

Make sure the wheel wrench for your car wheels will fit the lug nuts on your boat trailer wheels, because very often they don't, and you don't want to find that out when your sitting on the side of the hiway somewhere.

[rob v]

That's a good recommendation Lew. I went out and bought myself one of those T tire irons (4 different nut sizes on it) from princess auto a while ago and keep it in the truck. fits every wheel nut I,ve ever come across and much easier to use then those bloody things that come with the vehicle.

 

I read somewhere that a good thing to check the first time in the water are your livewell and bildge pumps to make sure a) they work and nothing has frozen and cracked which could end up flooding your boat.

[Rizzo]

I read somewhere that a good thing to check the first time in the water are your livewell and bildge pumps

 

...and if they don't work, don't panic, might just be the fuses!

[fishboy]

keep a set of old plugs to use the first time you fire it up to burn off the fogging oil, that way you don't foul your good ones

[JeffBornFishin]

Make sure the wheel wrench for your car wheels will fit the lug nuts on your boat trailer wheels, because very often they don't, and you don't want to find that out when your sitting on the side of the hiway somewhere.

 

Good point Lew.

 

Something to add...take some plywood or other wood material that will fit under the jack incase you get stuck lets say on the 401 in the rain in the dark on a Sunday night on a soft sandy shoulder Yeah that was us last Sunday

 

Another good tip is rip up some 2X4 or 2X6 and make some wedges just in case you need to keep things from rolling away.

[sonny]

Make sure the wheel wrench for your car wheels will fit the lug nuts on your boat trailer wheels, because very often they don't, and you don't want to find that out when your sitting on the side of the hiway somewhere.

 

 

You might think this funny,,,but i found out the hard way one day last year!!,,,Thanks to the farmer that i broke down in front of for helping me,,,,if it wasn't for him,,,i might just still be sitting there,,lol,,,

 

It's a good thing to check!