Lower Unit Freezing

[shorthairman]

Those of you guys that get your boat out early in the spring (or late fall for that matter)...what do you do to protect your lower unit from freezing when night time (or day time) temperatures get that low? How long does it take to completely let the engine drain? 200 verado

I have about an hour drive home from where I fish and do not have a heated space for the boat.

Thanks

 

[johnr]

I have just run mine once on the trailer and out of the water for about 5 seconds to pump and spin everything somewhat dry.

 

[NDwalleyes]

Rule # 1 - Keep it in the water while you are fishing.

I try to keep the motor in the water as much as possible when putting it on the trailer (i.e. trim it up as little as possible). When I'm getting pulled out of the water I trim it back down and then hit the key and start it for a few seconds to clear things out. I'll leave it vertical in the parking lot for as long as I can before putting the transom saver on.

Rule # 2 - Make sure they driver comes out of the water SLOWLY and then stops to let the water drain off the trailer and back into the water as much as possible, so you don't drag water up the ramp that will freeze and ice up the ramp.

Rule # 3 - Bring a 5 gallon bucket of sand/salt mix with you in case someone didn't follow rule # 2

 

[701FishSlayer]

Lower your motor again after you get home to drain it again.

 

[Slappy]

Thanks ndwalleyes for including the most important rules for cold weather boating. Failing to let trailer drain deserves a large fine.

Never had an issue with two- or four-stroke outboards simply tilting down to drain at the ramp as usual to comply with ANS rules. Cracked lower units happen from being full and freezing solid, not a few drops of water. Starting a motor out of the water to "really drain the lower unit" is unnecessary and asking for problems. It's hard on the impeller even briefly.

Once an outboard lower unit has been submerged on a below-freezing day I would probably avoid leaving it trimmed up out of the water long enough to freeze solid but running a kicker then making a 30 minute run with the main is not a problem, just think about trimming down the kicker again after the long run.

 

[guywhofishes]

Starting a motor out of the water to "really drain the lower unit" is unnecessary and asking for problems. It's hard on the impeller even briefly.

Help me understood this one. The impeller and housing are quite wet - and are displacing air/water rather than just water.

Low strain, low friction on surfaces.

What's the problem?

 

[Slappy]

Water acts as a lubricant and heat dissipator for the impeller. Spinning at high speed without water can cause wear. The best boat mechanic in Bismarck says to never do it which is good enough reason for me.

 

[RPNLPS]

This happens when the seal cracks or gets fishing line wrapped in behind prop and allows water to then seep in with the oil. Water freezes inside with the lower unit oil and with limited space already in there it expands there for cracking the lower unit housing.

 

[shorthairman]

Thanks guys. Some great advice and I appreciate it. I don't have a kicker, and I rarely raise my engine out of the water while I am fishing. I was unsure if letting the engine down after I trailered out of the water for a couple minutes would get enough water out that I wouldn't have a problem. I would say I would lower it at the fish cleaning station while cleaning my limit...but that would imply I was a good enough fisherman to catch some fish....

 

[ndfinfan]

Lower your motor again after you get home to drain it again.

This...anytime of year actually!

 

[MuskyManiac]

Musky fishing in MN doesn't end until 12/01 every year. Normally busting ice from the edges of the lake to the main lake. Like others have said, drain your boat and trailer as much as you can just barely out of the launch. Get back to the parking lot, if you're super worried unhook your trailer and crank it up as high as possible, put your engine down as low as possible and crank it over for a second or however as fast as you can turn to key. Leave it down as low as possible as you get ready to leave and take a piss beside the truck. After this point you don't have a thing to worry about unless you have a bad seal in your lower unit...but that's your fault. You're good to go!!!

 

[sl1000794]

Your outboard lower unit will drain all the water needed in the cooling system for freezeup every time just by being vertical. At the end of the season you should always pull the upper and lower plug on your lower unit to see if any water comes out. It is heavier than oil and will settle to the bottom of the lower unit. If it has mixed with water it will be white. If you have water in the lower unit you need check and replace leaking seals. Now squeeze 90 wt lubricant into the lower unit from the BOTTOM plug until it comes out clean from the top plug and you should be good to go!

 

[H82bogey]

Rule # 1 - Keep it in the water while you are fishing.

I try to keep the motor in the water as much as possible when putting it on the trailer (i.e. trim it up as little as possible). When I'm getting pulled out of the water I trim it back down and then hit the key and start it for a few seconds to clear things out. I'll leave it vertical in the parking lot for as long as I can before putting the transom saver on.



Rule # 2 - Make sure they driver comes out of the water SLOWLY and then stops to let the water drain off the trailer and back into the water as much as possible, so you don't drag water up the ramp that will freeze and ice up the ramp.

Rule # 3 - Bring a 5 gallon bucket of sand/salt mix with you in case someone didn't follow rule # 2

Serious question about rule #2. I generally don't fish at ice out in the spring or super late fall when this could happen. how long does a guy let it drain? I mean in the summer, I can pull out and park, and the trailer and bunks are still dripping water. I've watched boats at hazleton in the spring try this and it seems like they would need 5 minutes each for this to even be somewhat effective. I'm genuinely curious how long you let it drain and what proper etiquette is when the ramp is busy in the spring when everyone is itching to get out and the line is long.

 

[Slappy]

About 15 seconds is plenty to drain most of the water before proceeding up the ramp. Even if it's 30 seconds nobody will get mad that you took time to let it drain. Watch your mirrors and you'll see when the gushing slows to dripping. Dripping is fine. It's the big washes all the way up the ramp that freeze and become a problem. Note that cold concrete will freeze water quickly even if air temps aren't very cold.

 

[dblkluk]

This happens when the seal cracks or gets fishing line wrapped in behind prop and allows water to then seep in with the oil. Water freezes inside with the lower unit oil and with limited space already in there it expands there for cracking the lower unit housing.

If there's that much water in the lower to freeze and crack the housing, you likely wouldnt have made it back to the ramp.

Don't ever run your motor out of the water unless you really like changing water pumps. It does absolutely nothing to "drain the motor"

Fully lowering the lower unit for a minute or so will drain the water jackets.

 

[NodakBob]

Here I thought this was about that olympic xcountry skier that froze his junk...

 

[Wall-eyes]

Water acts as a lubricant and heat dissipator for the impeller. Spinning at high speed without water can cause wear. The best boat mechanic in Bismarck says to never do it which is good enough reason for me.

10-4 I found out hard way, my two mechanic boat buddies say same thing didn't take long to ruin it

 

[MuskyManiac]

If you pull it out of the water and start it for a split second it's not going to cause any trouble. Doing it totally dry is a different story. They're so easy to replace that you should be changing your water pump (basically just a big rubber star) every few years anyway, way better for your engine to have good water PSI flowing.

 

[tikkalover]

I used to fish the race a lot in late winter early spring (January thru April). Would load the boat and pull off the ramp, drop the motor and start and IDLE it for 5 or 10 seconds. Sometimes it would still freeze up and when I would put it in the water the next time I would set on shore with the motor idling for5 minuets before it finally warmed up and started peeing water again. Never ruined a water impeller.

Very seldom fish the race anymore don't know why, maybe getting older has something to do with it. :;:huh

 

[buckhunter24_7]

What I do after I get the boat out of the water and away from the ramp is lower the motor all the way for a couple of minutes until it is done draining, than I fire the engine and shut it off right away, wait a few more minutes with the motor down. Good afternoon that. I’ve never had a problem in ten years. Also if using any hatches in the boat I put plastic bags under them so they do not freeze down. It sucks not being able to access your bait because the lid is frozen shut.
If wearing a lot of clothes make dang sure you got a life jacket on because good luck swimming with bibs and a winter jacket. Bring a coffee can with also for when your trolling motor freezes into position. Just dip the can into the water and pour it on the frozen part of the motor and it will fix it. Bring a towel with and always wipe your hands before putting them back into your gloves. Hand warmers are dang near a must have because your hands are always wet or damp. I also bring a spray can of de-icer.