So you can hate me now...

[Englewoodcowboy]

Since I am sitting at my desk, contemplating the next few outings and I realized, I am not looking at what I will be doing rather than when I want to put the boat away for the winter... This is never a look forward to moment but with our nights getting cooler, days getting rapidly shorter and that feeling of its getting real close to breaking out the jeans and retiring the shorts for the year... Who else is already planning their last outing? I am looking to go this coming weekend for the holiday and then camping on an island the following weekend and calling it a season. Now we are supposedly due to get a blast of warmer weather so it may extend things by a few weeks but I am not very optimistic of that. I have already been making arrangements with my dealer to address a few warranty items and do my end of season service so she is ready to go next spring. Several months ago I would have kicked my own ass for even thinking about this but now I am starting to look forward to my other upcoming hobbies. Working on my Bronco and some hunting....

 

[GiddYupJoe]

I was just talking to a buddy about this over the weekend. We had our last big outing last weekend and will go out for a fall cruise or two into October. As much as I love boating and everything that comes with it, I really am glad we have 4 seasons. It is nice to be able to put her away and move on to other fun things we enjoy in the winter. Then the anticipation build up coming into spring is great.

Now... if I lived on a lake and had access to the water all the time, these words above may not be valid.

 

[MikeyL]

" .... Now... if I lived on a lake and had access to the water all the time, these words above may not be valid."

Particularly if it is warmer water. Yooooooooo Babeeeeeeeeeeeeeee !

 

[McMark]

We have a two week trip to Daytona/ponce end of September till October 10th. After that it's over for the season. I'll change the oil, clean and wax, then put it away. I'm at 70 hrs this year so far. I'd imagine 100 by the end of the trip. So to answer your question, yes I've thought about the end of season day.

 

[DieselCamel]

Season never ends if it's above 70. I'll make to the lake. NC weather is crazy might snow one weekend and 70's the next

 

[biffdotorg]

As much as I love boating and everything that comes with it, I really am glad we have 4 seasons. It is nice to be able to put her away and move on to other fun things we enjoy in the winter. Then the anticipation build up coming into spring is great. .

Amen, We love that anticipation. As for now, we are already gearing up for Snowmobile season. I have a buyer coming over to pick up a sled tonight. Am I putting that cash towards boating items, HECK NO. We have Haydays in two weeks. For those of you not in the sledding world, this is the largest outdoor snowmobile show and grass drags event in the nation. It is the official kick off of winter.

Even though it may be 85-90 degrees and sunny, we will all have sledding on the brain as we walk through 10 acres of swap meet and another 20 acres or so of all the major manufacturers of snowmobile goods. Not to mention the grass drag racing, ATV racing, SXS racing and Freestyle motocross events. You can tell folks brains in MN have already made the shift with 30+ degree mornings, and the water temps dropping. I was amazed how the surface temps have dropped 10-15 degrees while surfing this weekend!

We appreciate more what we cannot have all the time. What I hate most is Tweener season. Trails don't open till December 1.

 

[Shuck Water]

Season really doesn't end in Dallas. We may have to take a 4-6 week hiatus, but fall and winter boating are some of the best times. Yamaha's don't need to be winterized, so we'll get the lake to ourselves during the cooler months! Also helps to be at a marina.

 

[jarozi]

We plan to boat through October, as long as it stays warm here in SE Texas.

 

[Captain Ron]

Ya we are starting to think about winter up her in northern Alberta. Labor day weekend is usually the official end to summer but a few of us diehards will go a few more weekends. It starts to get pretty chilly on the lake. Hard to believe in 2 months ice will be starting to form on the lake. Like biffdotorg said it is time to start thinking about snowmobile season. Trouble is, I can ride my sled longer than I can boat. Sled season lasts at least 5 months but boating season is only 3 months. Good thing I like snowmobiling too.

 

[dansshin]

@Englewoodcowboy We are back up to 80s but for couple weeks we were in the 60s in Minnesota. I don't think I remember being that cold in August for that extended period in MN ever!

I was wondering if I needed to take my boat to the dealer for the end of boating season maintenance as well but I'm not sure what maintenance that might be. It sounds like it's easy to winterize these jet boats. Sounds like I can just start the engine for few seconds and rev up couple times to spit the water out. I can fill the gas tank and add marine stable for storage. Since my previous owner said he has done 3 oil changes in the first 15 hours and although I've took the boat out at least once a week since I've had it since early July, I'm still only ~50 hours on the engine total. I think I would prefer to do oil changes at the beginning of the season so what else needs to be considered for end of season/winterize maintenance?

 

[Englewoodcowboy]

My buddy here told me to hold off till October but it all depends on what I get going next. As far as winter-izing you have it pretty well nailed. My dealer charges 200 to do oil service and he goes over everything on a checklist for tighten specs etc. My boat will be going to him for some warranty items, mostly production blemishes and will be fixing those so he can do my post season service so she is ready to go next spring

 

[dansshin]

Ok. Is it ok to start the engine for winterization after it's been sitting out of water for a while, like few days? Does the boat have to be sitting on a level ground or is it ok to do that if my boat is facing nose downhill on my driveway?

 

[SCSTWG]

The season in Upstate New York is Memorial Day to Labor Day. Anything beyond that is a bonus. Not to mention, once the kids go back to school everything gets crazy with activities. I usually will spend that last couple of weeks of September meticulously cleaning the boat, changing the fluids, etc. and then put it away around October 1st. While some people are a fan of the four seasons, I invite you to Syracuse, New York for January and February and then you can tell me what you think.

 

[biglar155]

Yeah, with the kids starting school tomorrow, the season here is rapidly drawing to a close. I'm hoping for fair weather this coming weekend and then maybe another outing toward the end of the month.

Come October it will be time to start putting away the summer stuff and start prepping the snow thrower.

I do my own winterization so I just need a relatively decent afternoon to flush and fog. Then I'll tuck her in the back of my storage unit for a long winters nap.

I'm hoping to find the time and place to get back into my long neglected hobby of shooting. I have a Stainless steel Ruger Mark 2 that hasn't been fired since we move to WI 17 years ago. To be honest, I'm TRYING to talk myself out of taking advantage of a great deal on a Kimber Custom 2 at a local shop. I've always wanted a 1911 and a Kimber would take the cake!

Something about the smell of fall leaves and gunpowder......

 

[Glassman]

This is the time of year we start mixing it up....desert for Labor Day, then back to the river the following weekend. With the temperatures as high as they are now we are booked through October for the river. Then the desert takes over full time simply because I feel the need for speed!

 

[njmr2fan]

Oh no..... All this talk about the season ending and putting boats away for a long nap makes me remember shopping for back to school supplies in July when I was a kid!!!!

This is my first year owning a boat. My own boat. I planned on boating straight through thanksgiving, just not wakeboarding, maybe putting on a sweatshirt, maybe just fishing off the boat, but still boating! @MikeyL say something that'll make this bad dream go away!

 

[Englewoodcowboy]

@dansshin it is ok to start and run for a few minutes out of the water but not long enough for the engines to come up to temp. As far as nose down, if you are starting to blow out the exhaust water boxes, it is preferable to be level or nose high, gravity is your friend there.

 

[dansshin]

@Englewoodcowboy Thanks for the confirmation. Someone mentioned "fog". What is that and is that needed?

 

[Englewoodcowboy]

There is a fogging oil you can buy to spray through the intake. If you youtube, will @JetBoatPilot did a youtube video a while back on the procedure for winterizing. You can order the oil through him, it is an aeresol.

 

[Gym]

Hey you guys just south of the Mason-Dixon line shouldn't be cashing it in yet. You have at least another month to go.