Winterizing
All boat motors need to be winterized - some MUCH more than others!!
The following steps should be followed for a minimum winterization:
1) Add a fuel conditioner to the fuel system (this keeps the gas from going "stale" while helping to clean the system and remove moisture).
2) Start and run the motor until warmed up (make sure engine has a source of cooling water, NEVER start a marine engine without running water through it. After warming the engine, "FOG" it with a storage-fogging oil (this is a light oil packaged in an aerosol can, when squirted out, "foams up"). The fogging oil is normally injected directly into the carburetor intakes while sitting idle. At Nadeau's, we firmly believe this is the easiest and best way to prolong the life of your motor: It is ESSENTIAL for outboards and saves a lot of expensive problems with I/O's also.
3) Change the Gearlube - NOTE: gearlube should be an "amber - oil" color with no water in it. Milky colored gearlube usually means it is mixed with water. If your gearlube is dark colored (gray to black) it's usually a sign of hard use or a long overdue lube change. A) To draining the lube out, remove both upper and lower "slotted" screws (never remove any "Phillips" screws), drain into an appropriate container and then refill from the bottom until it comes out the top screw (Yes, from the bottom to the top). This allows all air to vent out, assuring the gear case is full of lube. Gear cases are not supposed to have ANY water in them - as little as a tablespoonful can start bearings to corrode and destroy a gear case.
4) Antifreeze - ALL inboard and inboard-outboard motors must be drained, including "closed cooling system" engines that run coolant in them (they will not need the engine block drained, but they will still require the heat exchanger and manifolds to be drained) . (All of you outboard owners can skip this step -- outboards when hung vertical out of the water will self-drain all of the water passages) We drain all engine block and exhaust passage petcocks then refill the entire system with an antifreeze solution. Note: we are now using a biodegradable (in fact it's drinkable!) antifreeze in all of our boat winterizations. This antifreeze is good for everyone - It's economical, easy to handle, and it doesn't harm the rivers and lakes the boats will run through in the spring.
5) Storage - Your boat is always better off in storage for the winter; Snow, ice and wind really take their toll on a boat's appearance. If you cannot store your boat inside, cover it carefully and watch out for "puddling" on the cover over winter. We've seen a number of boat tops collapsed and even a few trailer axles bent from ice and snow accumulating in them over winter.
Nadeau's Marine handles ALL winterizing procedures from start to finish.
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Hull cleaner
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Pontoon Tube Cleaner
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Wax
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Fogging Oil
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Fuel Conditioner
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Gearlube
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Wheel Bearing Grease
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And Much More
Or, we will be glad to do as much or as little of this as you wish. We wash, wax, clean, winterize and store boats. We also offer a complete pickup and delivery service (Including pontoon boats).
All prices and specifications are subject to change without notice.
In addition to Credit Cards, we also offer in-house financing.