TOPIC: Winterising

What everyones thoughts on winterizing your outboard. I am getting ready to pull my motor and put it away for the year and would love to know what everyone does for this.

The short answer for outboards is fog it, drain the fuel out of the carbs, thats it. Do any maintenance items you noticed through the year. Those might include greasing the steering tube, greasing the swivel assy. Change fuel filter if you have one. Empty the fuel tank.
check the prop for dings, if it needs repair send it out so it is ready for spring.

so it auto drains the water? Can I not fog it and just run some heavy oil through the fuel for a min and then unplug the fuel line until it runs dry?

The water drains automatically from the cooling passages. If I go boating and know that the temps will drop below freezing within a few hours, I will use compressed air to assist in the process. I will blow air through the telltale, and various drain/intake holes in the lower unit. I also remove the flush plug.

I also drain and replace the lower unit oil. This step ensures there is no water in the gear case and you are ready to go in the spring.

As for whether or not to fog, I don't. I have never fogged any of my motors (outboard, motorcycle, snowmobile, etc) I add Stabil to the gas and run a slightly richer mix ratio of oil at the end of the season. I let the boat idle a bit longer at the dock and shut it off with the choke. Both my Mercs have run flawlessly and start right up in the spring with no issues. I'm running ethanol free gas, so I just leave the gas tank full with Stabil for the winter.

we wont freeze for a while. I don't evan know if I am gunna pull it out yet. I have a month or so left at the dock. I am going to keep the motor in the garage to tinker with over the winter. it will freeze later in the year but it should be dried out by then. as far as the gas I will run it close to empty on the tanks and fill up the weed wacker can with what ever is left. I am stripping the boat down over the fall and sending it for a transom and floor. I think I could do the work myself but I really don't have the time and I want it done right.

Make damn sure you check the drain holes in the casing of the lower unit. They are easily plugged and if water is trapped in there over the winter you will get a nasty surprise come spring. I always pull the lower unit off, turn it upside down to clear out the sand and muck that gets in the cavities, flush with clean water and open up the drain holes. Service the lube and put a new impeller in there while you are at it.