Nine Steps to Better Boat Storage
By Gary Carter

Proper preparation for periods of extended storage of your outboard requires a comprehensive look at the entire boat/motor/trailer package.

Gather the following items, along with your boat, fuel tank filled, in an area where you can run the motor on your "flushing" attachment.

•   Storage/fogging oil,
•   Fuel stabilizer like Sta-Bil or OMC 2+4
•   Anti-corrosion spray
•   A good spray lube product like LPS2 or OMC 6 in 1
•   A trailer jack
•   Your toolbox

Proceed as follows:

First, add some fuel stabilizer to a full tank of gas.  Add 1 ounce of stabilizer for every gallon of gas left in the tank. Why should you fill the tank?  Condensation. And oxidation and subsequent spoilage. I hope you can get undoped gas - oxygenated and gasohol Fuels are a NO-NO! if you can't get anything else, you'll need to  drain ALL the fuel system. Yes! AAALLLL. The lines, the VRO on OMC motors, the whole deal.

Second, start the motor on the flusher, run it up to warm (about 10-15 minutes) to ensure that the treated fuel gets in to the whole system. Apply the fogging oil to the carburetors equally (some motors have a fitting you can apply this thru). But, you will probably have to look around for openings to shoot the stuff through, maybe even remove the carb. cover. The engine will smoke more than normal!  Some manufactures want you to disconnect the line and run the motor out of gas at IDLE (I can't reccommend this). Keep fogging.

Third, after the motor is run, unhook the flusher and drain the gear case and refill with fresh lube. If there is water in the old stuff, (milky colored fluid) it could freeze and burst the case. This also indicates a need for prop shaft seal replacement.  A bad $10 seal could cost you a $1000 lower unit.

Fourth, pull the spark plugs (this might be a good time to replace a season's end old spark plug).  Tilt up the engine and spray more storage fogging oil in the cylinders directly, turn the engine by hand to distribute it on the cylinder walls. This should take care of the motor internals. While you have the engine cover off, it's a good time to clean all of the year's crud from inside the housing and coat electrical connections with anti-corrosion spray.

Fifth, (unless you have hydraulic steering) disconnect the steering link arm from the motor and unscrew the big nut on the motor tilt tube (sounds like fun hunh?). Just because you have a newer outboard with those cute lil grease fittings doesn't mean you shouldn't inspect the cables.  Remove the steering cable from the motor and extend the cable all the way out. Run an oily rag down the tube to remove all the crud from the bore. Clean all the gunk off the cable and let it hang down for awhile to get any water out. Next, spray the cable and the tube with the anti-corrosion spray.  Now you can either re-grease the tube and cable and re-install it or leave it off and extended, hang it up under the well where it won't get in the weather.  For hydraulic steering, remove the extenders that hold the cylinder and remove the rod through the tube, clean as above. A little preventive maintenance here can help avoid large repair bills later.

Sixth, battery storage.  Disconnect the battery/batteries and REMOVE it/them from the boat, put it/them inside on a board and keep a trickle charger on it/them a couple days a month. Clean the terminals with soda and spray with the anti-corrosion treatment.

Seventh, spray the area around the base of the powerhead and the trim (if equipped) with anti-corrosion spray.

Here's a tip for salt-water outboards!   If the inside of your motor cover has a foam sound blanket and you use the motor in saltwater, see if it is a closed cell foam.  If it's not, THROW IT AWAY!! Salt is hygroscopic, (it attracts moisture). The foam blanket and saltwater will do a real corrosion job on your engine!

Eighth, store the motor tilted DOWN in a running position.  When you put the cover back on the motor, don't wrap the motor in plastic.  Why?  The plastic makes a great moisture barrier and keeps any moisture from evaporating.  A canvas boat tarp or cloth  that will "breathe" is much better. Otherwise condensation will never dry off the block.   Same for the boat.  It's gotta breathe. If you have a really fancy rig to store, look into inside storage.  It could be cheaper than repair bills from weather damage.

Ninth, it's time to check out the trailer. Jack it up and pull the wheels and hubs. Repack the bearings, if you have buddy bearings, make sure they are full. Consider putting the trailer on blocks and storing the tires in the garage. Spray an anti-corrosive on any unprotected iron.

Well, that's about it! Good prevention in the fall means happy times in the spring! Maybe you can save enough money to make a down-payment on that new rig you've been eyeing. Oh, by the way! Make yourself a note to check your registrations and insurance.   Guess what they check in the springtime besides your fishing license?

-Gary Carter

For more information by this contributing author, please visit:
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