Any need to winterize in the South?

[Cajunborn]

I'm located about 40 miles south of Atlanta and I have a covered lift. You guys think I need to winterize or is cranking her up every several weeks or so good enough?

 

[Scottintexas]

it depends on what your definition of winterization is,

If your going to put some fuel stabilizer in the tank and going to run it around the lake once every month or two I'd be good with that,

 

[tabbibus]

Been thinking this myself. But what if life gets in the way and January comes around and you didn't take her out for a spin? Are you in trouble? I'm a bit north of Atlanta as well.

 

[Dan_NC]

I'm in North Carolina, and I don't winterize. I just get my yearly service done leading right into the fall and always use a stabilizer.

Luckily our boats don't have the freeze issues that others experience in the winter. Just make sure your ballasts are empty and you blow the water out of the motors after each use.

 

[Gym]

You southern boys may want to use the phrase seasonize rather than winterize. Your main concern is putting your boat to bed for a nap for a month or two. Treat the fuel, change oil and plugs if necessary. Lubricate, clean, dry & cover the boat. If your operating in salt water I would fog the engines. Don't forget to service your trailer also.

 

[Dan_NC]

I was going to caveat, inline with @Gym, your money would be better spent buying a solid 2 bank battery tender (like ProMariner). Additionally, if you want to go above and beyond, you can put your trailer on jack stands, just to ensure your trailer tires have the longest life possible. Otherwise, I'd just look at what upgrades you want to do and start getting parts. It really helps the winter months pass quickly (in the south) when you have the boat in your driveway making mods.

 

[tabbibus]

I was going to caveat, inline with @Gym, your money would be better spent buying a solid 2 bank battery tender (like ProMariner). Additionally, if you want to go above and beyond, you can put your trailer on jack stands, just to ensure your trailer tires have the longest life possible. Otherwise, I'd just look at what upgrades you want to do and start getting parts. It really helps the winter months pass quickly (in the south) when you have the boat in your driveway making mods.

Mine will spend winter on a slip, but raised on the lift. Still plan to finally add them TV and LTs.

 

[Julian]

NC here, and the only thing I am careful about is the ballast system. Would also apply to fresh water wash down tanks and pumps. Other than that....rev her up to blow water out after each outing, add stabil and have the batteries on chargers and you are good.

 

[Rooster585]

One note on the battery charging - I would recommend floating the batteries with a good charger for a day or two then turn off the charger(s). It is not good, at least for a lead-acid battery to leave charging for days on end. This includes chargers that "maintain" the battery. I have personnel experience with this, leaving batteries plugged in at the storage building with a quality dual charger / maintenance only to return a month later to find an exploded battery. Had plenty of ventilation while in storage W/>1 year old batteries. In a discussion with a distributor and doing a little of my own research, no battery manufacture recommends leaving a battery on maintenance for an extended period of time.
Since then I float for a couple of days, unplug, then plug in a couple of times over the winter to "top off" the battery. Once more in the spring while I'm getting her ready. I just sold a boat with a battery that was over 5 years old and still going strong.

 

[Beachcampin]

One note on the battery charging - I would recommend floating the batteries with a good charger for a day or two then turn off the charger(s). It is not good, at least for a lead-acid battery to leave charging for days on end. This includes chargers that "maintain" the battery. I have personnel experience with this, leaving batteries plugged in at the storage building with a quality dual charger / maintenance only to return a month later to find an exploded battery. Had plenty of ventilation while in storage W/>1 year old batteries. In a discussion with a distributor and doing a little of my own research, no battery manufacture recommends leaving a battery on maintenance for an extended period of time.
Since then I float for a couple of days, unplug, then plug in a couple of times over the winter to "top off" the battery. Once more in the spring while I'm getting her ready. I just sold a boat with a battery that was over 5 years old and still going strong.

I just installed a dual battery charger myself and was wondering about this. I was looking for an automated solution and the best I could find was a weekly instead of monthly timer. Would having it charge on a one day out of seven cycle be consistent with some of the research you've done?

https://www.amazon.com/Century-Heavy-Digital-Programmable-Timer/dp/B07G9RK4VV/ref=pd_di_sccai_1?pd_rd_w=CwZMY&pf_rd_p=c9443270-b914-4430-a90b-72e3e7e784e0&pf_rd_r=N1JES75GHXFBAMYJ39MY&pd_rd_r=9c356052-8c24-4a7b-8ae3-90d9620b150f&pd_rd_wg=ET3yZ&pd_rd_i=B07G9RK4VV&psc=1

 

[Rooster585]

I just installed a dual battery charger myself and was wondering about this. I was looking for an automated solution and the best I could find was a weekly instead of monthly timer. Would having it charge on a one day out of seven cycle be consistent with some of the research you've done?

https://www.amazon.com/Century-Heavy-Digital-Programmable-Timer/dp/B07G9RK4VV/ref=pd_di_sccai_1?pd_rd_w=CwZMY&pf_rd_p=c9443270-b914-4430-a90b-72e3e7e784e0&pf_rd_r=N1JES75GHXFBAMYJ39MY&pd_rd_r=9c356052-8c24-4a7b-8ae3-90d9620b150f&pd_rd_wg=ET3yZ&pd_rd_i=B07G9RK4VV&psc=1

Here is a recommended charging document for deep cycle and AGM batteries. There is a lot of conflicting documentation out there. I personally land on the side of not leaving the batteries plugged in, unless I am boating 1-2 times a week.
This document recommends every 30 days. I don't think once a week would hurt.
"https://www.usbattery.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/usb-charging-recommendations.pdf"

 

[WREKS]

@Dan_NC, @Julian I have always been concerned about overheating the engines when not on the hose. When you blow the water out of the motors after flushing, how long do you rev motors and at what rpm?

 

[Julian]

@Dan_NC, @Julian I have always been concerned about overheating the engines when not on the hose. When you blow the water out of the motors after flushing, how long do you rev motors and at what rpm?

I run them no more than 30 seconds....probably more like 15-20, and rev them up to 4-5000rpm.....3-4 quick blips up.