Basic Boat Maintenance
Pt. 2 - Putting The Rig to Bed
November 13, 2008
All of my reference comments from the last article (click here for Part One) apply to this one as well, with one added. The addition was “pirated” from River Smallies Website and while it is specific to smaller, fuel-injected Mercury four strokes, the same should apply to most all other four strokes as well, injected or not.
What we are really aiming to do with laying up the rig (Boat, Motor and Trailer) is to do so in such a way that water damage, chemical damage (primarily fuel system), corrosion and freeze damage, don’t occur.
For some of us the boat lay up period may well be and in-and-out, on-and-off thing. For folks further north, it may be for several months. You are the one that will have to make that decision, which in large part determines how much of what you should do.
I’m going to start with the Battery/Batteries, and because the technology has changed so much of late, I must make the strong statement that this section applies ONLY to Lead/Acid batteries, both starting and Deep Cycle, and nothing else. Truth be told the lead/acids are what I know and I’m too durned old to want to take on the “new” technology!
I have always stored my batteries, starting with a full charge, charging again around Christmas time then charging one more time, when getting the boat ready for the season. Why? Because it always worked for me, and I suspect it will work for you as well. I have, with one exception, gotten three or more years of service from all of my batteries - I SUSPECT that the one exception, a “sealed” Maintenance Free type was destroyed when I overcharged and cooked the electrolyte out. It might have be salvageable but I broke the caps getting them out so I let it go.
Out here in Arizona, where I might use the boat a couple of times thru the winter, I store the batteries in the boat, right where they live all summer. Now I know that with the advances in case materials, its supposed to be un-necessary to keep them off of the concrete when storing, but I have always stored mine on boards to insulate them (electrically and temperature wise) from the concrete.
If I was going to remove them from the boat, I still would store them on wood. Might not be necessary any more, but I never had it HURT anything! Make sure that there is no water trapped anywhere in the boat, which could freeze, possibly damaging pumps or other mechanical items.
I hear you thinking…old, almost ancient? Certainly! Stuck in my ways? You Betchum, Red Ryder! I still believe if it ain’t broke, don’t “fix” it.
Now, the following is an opinion, mine, and we all know what they are worth. But, if you have a good dealer, one who is lucky enough to have a good mechanic, and one that you have had good experience with, it may very well be cheaper and more advisable to have them do the lay up maintenance for you. For many of us (lucky ones?) it may very well be the only time on most years that the mechanic even sees the motor. And the fact that they do see and run it may prevent a serious problem from developing,
Here’s a “for real, for instance” - I had been experiencing a “too rich at idle” problem, with my Honda. It was what I would call borderline, and while I wasn’t completely satisfied with it, I was living with it. I think the problem was mostly because of the altitude difference between Lake Powell (3500 feet) and the dealer, (6000 feet).
This was complicated by the fact that the adjustment screws were sealed, which is common on many new engines, and further complicated by my reluctance to be twisting them anyway! That is a very quick way to lean out and burn up a motor if you don’t really know what you are doing.
Anyhow, on the second trip to the dealer their very good mechanic found that the float valve in one of the carburetors had been set slightly high at the factory. He adjusted it, under warranty, which altered the performance to my complete satisfaction.
Now the point to all of this! Even with my mechanical background and training, had I ever found it and looked at it, I wouldn’t have known what I was looking at! I just don’t have that kind of experience on these motors.
There is a time for us amateurs, and a time for the pros - and the smart folk know the difference. Which leads us back the beginning of this piece - smaller (and maybe larger) injected Mercury four strokes. It seems the factory isn’t quite together on just how to fog the cylinders, a procedure for putting preservative, in them. There are several ways to do this, thru the air intake, with the engine running, thru the spark plug holes, with it stopped, being another.
It seems it’s difficult to put the fogger in the air intake, maybe impossible, and very difficult to even get TO the plugs to remove them. As near as I know, it’s still not completely resolved, at the factory, I’m not even sure which specific motors it applies to, but if you are going to “lay up” a Mercury, you need to find out.
One thing I almost let slip away - always, every fall, drain and replace the lower unit lube. One little piece of modern fishing line around the prop shaft can take the seal “out” in a heartbeat. That can let water in, and if it freezes, it can easily turn into a very expensive repair!
By doing all of these things, both periodic maintenance and off season, slowly, carefully and by the book, I suspect you can can turn a five-year engine into a fifteen-year engine, and a fifteen year engine into a long, long term friend!
Finally, let’s turn our attention to the trailer! First off, I slack off on all of the tie downs that secure hull to trailer. On my rig, I suspect that over a prolonged period, like two to four months, with the constant pressure of “travel” tie downs, it might just put a bow or hook in the hull. Not very likely, but why take the chance? I also remove the light bulbs and spray the bases with WD-40, which I’m a big believer in. Also a shot of the same lube on the winch ratchet assembly won’t hurt either.
Visually inspect the tires, and if possible jack up the trailer and rotate them slightly when doing the mid-winter battery charge, to minimize flat spotting. I usually hire out the wheel bearing grease and seal change because for me, it’s just a nasty job. But make no mistake; this is the time of year for wheel bearing maintenance for the same reason you serviced the motor lower unit - trapped water creates havoc in wheel bearings and lower units.
The care you give the rig, both during the operating season and for lay up will most likely more than pay for itself. I have heard that the new OMC, and probably the new Mercs, have long maintenance intervals. Maybe I’m convinced and maybe I’m not, but I sure feel better if my dealer’s mechanic looks at my motor at least once a year!