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Steps for Winterizing a Pontoon Boat Clean the hull. Clean the boat’s interior. Drain and replace the engine coolant. Spray with fogging oil. Step 5: Change the engine oil and replace the filter. Step 6: Disconnect/remove the battery. Cover the boat with a tarp or a specially-designed pontoon cover.
Do pontoon boats have to be winterized?
How to Winterize a Pontoon Boat – Avalon Pontoon Boats. Preparing your pontoon boat for the winter months is absolutely essential to protect your investment and to ensure that your boat is in great shape and ready for use in the spring.
What do I need to do to winterize my pontoon boat?
Tips for Winterizing and Storing Your Pontoon Clean the boat inside and out. Apply mildew and rust protection, and ensure the boat is completely dry before it’s covered. Remove accessories, water equipment, and fishing equipment to prevent moisture build-up. Cover the boat whether it’s kept inside or outside.
How do you winterize an outboard motor on a pontoon boat?
2. Winterizing the Boat Engine For outboard engines, disconnect the battery. For inboard/outboard engines, drain the engine block according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Spray fogging oil into the carburetor, down the spark plug holes. Fill the gas tank at least ¾ full.
Do pontoons need to be drained?
Not all pontoon boats have drain plugs. Some do, some don’t, and it seems to be down the manufacturer’s discretion about whether or not to include them in the design of the pontoon tubes. Older boats did tend to have drain plugs, with newer pontoons having an improved design where they have been deemed unnecessary.
How much does it cost to winterize a pontoon boat?
The Cost of Paying to Have Your Boat Winterized As noted above, the average cost of having a professional winterize your boat for you is about $300.
What happens if boat is not winterized?
If You Don’t Winterize Your Boat, Here’s What Happens: Water freezes and expands and can damage anything it’s trapped inside. Water may seep into unprotected spaces to do this. Acidic and corrosive wastes, salt and corrosion buildup can damage delicate parts in engines. Fuels break down or grow dirty.
How much does it cost to store a pontoon boat?
It varies in different parts of the nation and according to your boat’s size. To get a general idea of the potential costs, you can figure on spending somewhere between $50 and $200 per foot of boat indoors and $20 to $50 per foot of boat for outdoor storage, per season.
How do you winterize a boat outboard?
Winterizing Your Outboard Motor Drain the crankcase oil (Four-stroke motors) Install a new oil filter (Four-stroke motors) Filling the crankcase with new oil (Four-stroke motors) Changing the lower unit gear oil. Stabilizing the fuel. Flushing the outboard with antifreeze. Fogging the cylinders.
Can you fit a pontoon in a garage?
As a rule of thumb, you should have at least a foot of clearance for safe movement and storage when you back the trailer and boat back in to the garage. In terms of width (here are example pontoon widths), ideally you need a couple of feet clearance on either side of the pontoon and trailer to the door entry.
How do you know if you have water in your pontoons?
If you notice your boat sitting lower in the water, or one pontoon sitting significantly lower than the other, there is a good chance that there is water in one or more pontoon. Please note that you may notice one pontoon sitting slightly lower than the other when your gas tank is filled.
Can I fill my pontoons with foam?
The foam used to repair a pontoon boat leak comes in the form of a liquid. Once released from its canister, the foam expands and can easily fill the pontoon, eliminating any space for water to enter. Foam released into the cavity of the pontoon provides maximum buoyancy.
Should I leave my outboard motor up or down?
You want to leave the engine in the totally trimmed down position. This will allow all of the water to leak out of the engine, midsection, and lower unit. Making sure that there is not any water in the Lower Unit that could rust gears or freeze and destroy the gear case by flushing the engine with fresh water.
Is it hard to winterize a boat?
At its most basic, winterizing means draining any water aboard or replacing it with enough of the right kind of antifreeze to protect against the lowest temperatures your boat might experience. Winterizing most boats takes from an hour to a day.
Can you leave a boat outside in the winter?
So, can boats be stored outside in the winter? You can keep boats outside in the winter if you provide adequate protection against harsh weather. But you can’t simply park the boat on your driveway as most people do during the boating season. Leaving your boat outside during the cold season can damage the boat.
How long can a boat sit without being winterized?
The rule of thumb we use is 2-3 days of consectutive freezing temperatures, day and night, and you are in trouble unless you winterized. For example, the past 2 nights here have hit freezing though the daytime temp is 50+ degrees so no worries. Yes, the boat being in the water does help, a lot.
At what temperature will a boat motor freeze?
Unwinterized boat engines can freeze any time the air temperature is below 28°F (-2°C) – for an extended period. Freshwater cooled engines without proper coolant can freeze below 32°F (0°C). The good news is you can prevent freeze damage fairly easily.
