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How to Winterize Your Outboard

Wednesday, November 04, 2020

Correctly preparing your outboard motor for the off-season will help insure that it’s ready to go next spring. In cold climates, freezing weather can cause costly damage to an engine that isn’t winterized properly. Even in milder climates, the end of the boating season is a great time to take care of annual maintenance that will keep your outboard running reliably. Whether you do the job yourself or take your outboard to an Authorized Mercury Marine dealer for service, spending a little time and money today can save a lot of both come spring.

Should You Do it Yourself or Take it to a Mercury Dealer?

If you have your outboard winterized by an Authorized Mercury dealer, you can count on the professional service and skills of a trained technician and save yourself the trouble of rounding up oil and filters, gear lube, fogging oil and other required supplies. The tech winterizing your outboard may even spot and correct unrelated issues.

“When we are winterizing engines, we might see things that are wrong with them that our customers might not catch,” said Scott Klein, president of Wendt’s Marine, an award-winning marine service shop in Van Dyne, Wisconsin. “It could be something minor, like a throttle or shift cable out of adjustment, but that can affect how the motor performs. We’ll also check for bigger issues, like loose transom bolts or a bent propshaft, which can cause real trouble down the road.”

Many marine service facilities will bundle engine winterization with other off-season storage services at a discounted price. These additional services may include maintenance of the boat’s water and waste systems, shrink wrapping and storage. The off-season is also a great time to have a dealer install new electronics or accessories, to refresh canvas or upholstery, and to send propellers out for repair.

The procedure for off-season storage is outlined in every Mercury owner’s manual, and with a few basic tools and the proper supplies, those inclined to do-it-yourself can usually tackle the task. In fact, many late-model Mercury outboards, including the new 4.6-liter V8 and 3.4-liter V6 models, have a label under the cowl with basic maintenance specifications and a QR code that can be scanned with a mobile device for links to how-to videos produced by Mercury.

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