Matthew S.
Member
Ugh... I have seen this happen way too often. Really grinds my gears when it does. Id rather my car get snacked
Wet Slipped | Motor Tilted Up or Down in Winter?
- Thread starter Matthew S.
- Start date
Rain City
Crew Member
That's the other thing that seems to happen with this conversation (or any debate online for that matter). Everyone gives their own scenario and argument based on that lol. I'm moored in salt water. That's the question. I'm not taking it out. I'm not in fresh water. I'm not worried about growth or electrolysis. I'm talking short term over deep freezes only in Vancouver. I'm not talking about you, because I like you. But my god all of the stupid things people say online is so bloody infuriating.
"Just winterize it and you're fine"
"You should have bought a horse instead"
"What kind of idiot leaves his boat in the water all winter"
FML
Rain City
Crew Member
No no your story was fine. It was relevant.
Skins88
Well-Known Member
I'm planning to leave mine up. Ive always avoided the really cold parts of winter with the boat out for maintenance or something. See how this week goes. I chatted with a guy at the marina that has the same boat and motors. He's always left them up. Says they are self draining when tilted.
ab1752
Crew Member
Brackish.
Rain City
Crew Member
Awesome thanks
On the East Coast of Canada - where it gets very cold in the winter - the options are:
1/ to leave the outboard down so that the thermal mass of the water circulating around the lower end, and the reduction in cold wind on the lower end and the internal cooling tube with water in it - doesn't freeze and block circulating water - or
2/ pull the boat,
On the West Coast - it rarely gets that cold most places, most winters - so those above realities are not really an issue.
The issues on the west coast are more likely:
1/ logs catching your bottom end in the tide, wind and river currents - esp in areas with intensive logging and/or intensive log booming/shipping, and/or
2/ poor mooring skills and bad mooring lines combined with heavy winds & chop leading to your lines chaffing off and your boat floating away in the middle of the night. Then your boat usually finds a beach - most often a rocky one where your bottom end gets knocked off because it was in the down position.
So, the better option is to pull your boat for long-term storage - or put your bottom end up for shorter moorage periods to avoid a couple common tragedies.
Then there is the issue of rain and rain filling your boat up and sinking it at the dock....
1/ to leave the outboard down so that the thermal mass of the water circulating around the lower end, and the reduction in cold wind on the lower end and the internal cooling tube with water in it - doesn't freeze and block circulating water - or
2/ pull the boat,
On the West Coast - it rarely gets that cold most places, most winters - so those above realities are not really an issue.
The issues on the west coast are more likely:
1/ logs catching your bottom end in the tide, wind and river currents - esp in areas with intensive logging and/or intensive log booming/shipping, and/or
2/ poor mooring skills and bad mooring lines combined with heavy winds & chop leading to your lines chaffing off and your boat floating away in the middle of the night. Then your boat usually finds a beach - most often a rocky one where your bottom end gets knocked off because it was in the down position.
So, the better option is to pull your boat for long-term storage - or put your bottom end up for shorter moorage periods to avoid a couple common tragedies.
Then there is the issue of rain and rain filling your boat up and sinking it at the dock....
InterMechanico
Well-Known Member
Totally. Thanks for your input.
SpringFever2359
Well-Known Member
You sir are the kind of guy I look for when buying something used!
and 1 more thing wrt up/down advantages/disadvantages - it's not an either/or - it depends on the season/weather/winds/location.
On freezing: I have found you are good until ~-6C (water temps, not air) before it starts to freeze SW, 0 for FW. If the forecast is for an extended cold snap or outflows on the North Coast, you may wish to change things and pull the boat or drop the leg.
On logs jamming/damaging bottom ends: Typically, more logs get pushed out of logged watersheds during high flood mid to late fall with the rains; and spring/early summer with the snow melt. And the high tides every 2 weeks tend to pull stranded logs off the beach for a few days. That's when you will want to be concerned with that problem - and keep the leg up when not in use.
And lastly: what equipment/process do you use to keep your boat pumped-out?
On freezing: I have found you are good until ~-6C (water temps, not air) before it starts to freeze SW, 0 for FW. If the forecast is for an extended cold snap or outflows on the North Coast, you may wish to change things and pull the boat or drop the leg.
On logs jamming/damaging bottom ends: Typically, more logs get pushed out of logged watersheds during high flood mid to late fall with the rains; and spring/early summer with the snow melt. And the high tides every 2 weeks tend to pull stranded logs off the beach for a few days. That's when you will want to be concerned with that problem - and keep the leg up when not in use.
And lastly: what equipment/process do you use to keep your boat pumped-out?
