Is it safe to leave the boat in the water

[buckhorn250]

I have a cottage on Upper Buckhorn and I'm hoping to splash the boat on Easter weekend. Should I have any concerns if it dips below freezing or not. thanks any advice appreciated.

[Nipfisher]

I am certainly no expert....but...from what I have been told...as long as the foot remains under the water (not trimmed out) then there will likely be no damage to your motor. Electronics that become wet then freeze may be an issue.

[mike rousseau]

keep you motor trimmed down in the water and youll have no issues... just be careful when you go to run it the next day... dont force anything... let it really warm up...

[fishindevil]

yes let it really warm up just as mike said !!! very very important !!! keep it trimmed down and your good to go

[dave524]

Is it an outboard or an I/O?

[mike rousseau]

i had several "obsticals" to overcome being out in my boat all winter...

 

had my throttle cable freeze up... had to poop off the throttle arm and throttle by hand to start up and move out from the launch in quinte... was 20 minutes or so till the throttle cable released...

 

other issue one day was i had killed the engine in foreword on the previous outing... so when i went to shift to neutral to start the motor... it was frozen and wouldnt shift...and your motor wont start in gear... ended up taking a closer look at everything attached to the shifter... discovered that there is a button the gets pushed when your in neutral... so i pushed the button with a screwdriver... got her started in gear... 5 minutes later all was fine...

 

 

these are the kinds of issues you may face in cold conditions...

 

 

but as long as your patient youll be fine

[buckhorn250]

Its a outboard.

 

Thanks for all the insight guys...can always count on great input from this forum.

[dave524]

Its a outboard.

 

Thanks for all the insight guys...can always count on great input from this forum.

 

Your fine following the previous recommendations, an I/O I'd be nervous.

[davey buoy]

Your fine following the previous recommendations, an I/O I'd be nervous.

 

Dave,that's why my i/o stays put till end of April:canadian:

[Jer]

Well my boat's been in the water on the same lake for a week now...and I have no plans to remove it any time soon. You'll have zero issues as long as, as others have mentioned, you keep the motor down in the water.