Winterizing

mwjustinger

I just purchased a used 2011 Fundeck 216 without any type of manual.  I'm concerned about winterization of my water craft. Since I'm not sure what percautions have been made, I need a list of items to go over to avoid any complications come spring. I'm especially concerned about the water and the battery. I'm not able to transport the vessel to a marina to have it professionally done. I'm on my own on this. What do you do? 

nquirk

@mwjustinger

 

You didn't indicate the engine, etc so here is a thread.  Read through it and if you have further questions, please post them and I'll be glad to help you out if you can't find it here.

http://hurricaneboats.vanillaforums.com/discussion/comment/13/

mwjustinger

Thanks quirk! 

PS: It's tough to get myself comfortably situated in the small area to remove those batteries!

bshippjr

In your battery post you mentioned that you have an OB, so there is little that needs to be done to winterize.  As an alternative to removing the batteries, since you store your boat in a barn, if there is electricity you can periodically hook up a trickle charger.  Also, if you have dual batteries I would turn the switch off.

My boat stays on a lift in a covered slip at the lake.  I had a 1999 GS 248 I/O that would need to be winterized.  Sometimes here it is warm enough during the winter to take the boat out, but it was a pain to re-winterize, so I sold it (also the wife wanted a full windshield) and bought a 2000 SD 217 OB.  I just make sure the motor is trimmed upright to drain all water and 2-3 times during the winter when we are at our place at the lake I will hook up a trickle charger for the weekend.  If you have a fresh water tank you need to drain it, and use a gas stabilizer (I have a Johnson 2 stroke and use Seafoam in the gas year round).

cjjjdeck

With regard to the batteries, you may want to consider AGM (Absorbed Glass Mat) batteries next time they need to be replaced. They are more expensive than standard starting & deep cycle lead-acid batteries, but one benefit they have is that they don't need to be removed for winter storage, they have a very good resistance to cold (I put three of them on my boat; two for my trolling motor).  They do need to be fully charged before storage and you must have a higher technology (microprocessor controlled) battery charger to charge them properly (I had an on-board charger installed on the boat).  There are other benefits to these batteries like 3 to 4 year full replacement warranty, higher resistance to rough service, can be mounted at any angle except upside-down, truly maintenance free, plus others.  This is my first time experiencing these higher tech batteries and I'm going into my third season with the boat, so far I'm liking them alot, especially with the trolling motor.

Just a thought.

mwjustinger

Thanks everyone for your input. 

• I've got two batteries, but I don't see a switch anywhere. The batteries look like they are attached in a series. I purchased a trickle charge and keeping that on for a couple weeks at a time.  Since the batteries are connected, I assume the trickle charger is doing "double duty" (I hope).
• My OB motor was in the "up" position from trailering it from where it was purchased.  I trimmed that down as far as I could,  but it stopped before I was able to get it to a ninety degree angle. Something seems to be prohibiting getting that motor completely in the down position. Any suggestions?
  
• I don't know where to start on my quest to drain the fresh water supply. Where's the tank stored that provides the water to my sink? I'm thinking of attaching my air compressor to the faucet and follow the line that way … unless there's a better way. Suggestions?

So much to learn before I actually get it in the water!