Lateral Lines

For boating anglers who live in northern half of the United States, fall takes on additional urgency as the inevitable date of permanent freeze approaches. The days tick slowly, yet surely, toward the the date when we must perform the sad but necessary feat of winterizing our boats to endure the harsh winter ahead

In our last installment we covered engine matters as part the your annual winterization ritual. Once we've addressed matters of the engine, which begins sometime in early fall by adding stabilizer to our fuel, it's time to address what happens when the thermometer drops below 32 degrees Farenheight (0 for those of you wise enough to be on the metric system ).

Lower Unit

First of all, let's contradict the commonly accepted wisdom that even a small amount of condensation in the lower unit fluid can destroy it. This myth keeps many anglers from some great late season angling, since they fear taking their boats back on the water once the lower unit fluid has been changed. While large-scale intrusion of water can damage lower unit seals and mechanicals, the simple fact is that it is almost impossible to prevent a small amount of condensation from ocurring during the course of a winter - more so for smaller outboards with their thin steel or aluminum enclosures.

Dropping the lower unit fluid in anticipation of freezing temperatures is wise, however. It's always a good idea to use fall winterization to drop the old fluid and check for any milkiness or severe discoloration. Major problems arise when your lower unit fluid takes on a chocolate milk-like appearance. This signifies that there is a greater problem stemming from worn or ruptured seals that are allowing significant amounts of water into the lower unit. If you've recently changed the fluid, however, the appearance of nearly-normal fluid which contains a wisp or two of condensation-related water intrusion may signify nothing more than than a lower unit which has been submerged in warmer water on a cold morning or vice versa.

Pumps and Hoses

Herein lies the weakest link in the ice chain. Let's face it: many pumps and hoses in the bowels of your boat are made from a material well known to have a hate/hate relationship with ice - plastic. Since these pumps and hoses are enclosed, a mild overnight freeze usually poses no threat. When the temperatures dip below the freezing point permanently, though, it's best to make sure that care has been taken to dry or freeze-proof your plumbing.

If you fish up until the last moment, a final treatment of your bilge area using a gentle RV/Marine antifreeze like that made by Peak is an excellent solution. Depending on the configuration of your bilge/livewell pumps, you may need to purchase enough anti-freeze to successfully cover the pumps in the bilge area and livewell drains. In my case, it requires 5 gallons of anti-freeze.

Treat your livewells first. After jacking your tongue up so that all water in the boat drains toward the stern, close the drains, pour in the anti-freeze and run the aerator pumps on recirculate for several minutes. Before opening up the drains on your livewells, place a five gallon bucket under the drain or pump-out to save the anti-freeze for the next step. Please note that though most rv/marine anti-freeze is considered safe by the FDA (PDF on link), it is advised that anglers run their livewells for a time in the spring to prevent any ill effects on your fish, bait or self.

Next insert your boat's drain plug and pour the used anti-freeze into the bilge area. If your boat is equipped with an automatic bilge pump, you may want to take precautions to catch any antifreeze which is expelled over the side when your bilge pump engages or disconnect the pumps from the electrical system until you are ready do do so. Once the antifreeze covers the bilge pump to the half-way mark, you can engage the pumps to run the antifreeze through the system. After the pump(s) stops expelling water you may turn off the electrical and pull the drain plug, placing a bucket behind the stern to catch the remaining anti-freeze. The bulk of your boat's plumbing has now been winterized and should remain intact through even the harshest winter.

Gauges

Despite covering the major vulnerabilities in the ice chain, there are a few additional vulnerabilities to address. The first of those is the one which I always neglect: the water pressure guage. If your boat is equipped with a water-guage, disconnect the hose at the gauge. The hoses are usually attached with a spring clip which can easily be disengaged with a pair of pliers. Gauge hoses are generally made of a soft rubber and can handle a freeze, but the gauge is vulnerable. If you fail to do this, there's a good chance you will be replacing the gauge come spring.

Speedometer hoses are less vulnerable as they are mostly self-draining, but if your boat is so equipped and debris has become lodged in the speedometer pick-up, a (very) small drill bit turned by hand will be necessary to remove the clog from intake. Simply turn the bit clockwise by hand and remove occasionally to clear the foreign material. Once you have removed the obstruction, a small drip from the speedometer intake on the lower unit signals that the system is draining properly once more.

Last, make sure you store your boat over the winter with the outboard or stern-drive in the vertical position (i.e. -trimmed in) to ensure that any remaining water in the cooling system is expelled.

In Summary

Ironically, water can be both native environment and worst enemy to your boat, up here in the North Country. By taking the time to winterize your plumbing, you can ensure that when your boat floats free again in the spring, the excitement of your time on the water is the tug on the end of the line.

Coming soon in our Winterization Series: Critter Control.