FYB Don’t Ruin Your Boat Checklist!

I thought we should get a thread going on this to remind people of some of the things you have to be careful with running your boat in 0deg temps.

Ill start it with the fact that I plan not to run my livewells and freeze my pumps. I will just fill one livewell up using scoops of 5 gal buckets and scoop a few 5 gal buckets in every 30 mins or so.

Also, any good tips on not freezing your water lines in your motor? Run it every 15 mins? Keep it in the water? anything else?

I am no expert on this boat stuff as I have owned a decent boat for only a year. But I am looking to the river experts!

Do you guys still need to bring your fish in live or is frozen ok? This winter Ive just been putting mine in a spare cooler in the back seat of the truck to keep them from freezing solid. Not sure if that would even keep them thawed in the boat tomorrow.

According to Eric that would be a yes.

“Fish should be kept alive and in “Releasable” condition for weigh in. We would like to see fish larger than 20 inches returned to the water. You may keep others for personal use. All fish will be returned to the teams after weigh in.”

Here’s a link to Eric’s post from yesterday.

FYB Tips<

PS The telltail lines freeze all the time. Isn’t it Etec’s that have the horizontal water line that goes around the back side of the motor? What ever model that was, they always freeze up and it seems like forever before they thaw.

Either way, water is still being pumped through the motor.

Water not coming out of the telltail isn’t abnormal.

I would prefer that the fish be kept in water. I do understand the circumstances though. Just a small cooler with some water will work

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small cooler

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Don’t expect big bags egh?

I ran the FYB for a bunch of years. Here are a few problems guys run into.

Eric touched on this one. Boat froze to bunk trailer. Pretty common on sub zero mornings. Back the boat just far enough in where the bunks are completely submerged. Too far in and 2 things may happen. 1. You swamp the rear end of the boat – possibly also sinking motor to the point exhaust ports fill with water. 2. Boat and trailer float off the ramp. When the boat does let loose, you drop the trail kittywhampuss off the ramp. Just put the boat in, sit back and wait. Can take up to 5 minites.

Glass boat on iced up bunk. Opposite problem. Boat slides off like it was on a roller trailer. DO NOT un hook your boat until it is ready to be released from trailer. You do not wat to be the guy with your boat sitting on the ramp.

Not able to deploy trolling motor. Make sure you have a handle on this one before you even put in. If possible, take the motor off, keep warm and dry all night. WD-40 and Silicone spay all of the moving parts. Have a towel handy to dry off shaft each time you pull it up while fishing. Most just leave it down all day.

Dead or weak battery. Bring a spare.

Main motor linkage froze. This is a tuff one. Sometimes only solution is getting the boat into a heated garage. Some guys use a carfully placed propane torce to thaw out. Obvious, many things can go wrong here. Be carefull.

Free fall back slide on iced up ramp. Hit the brakes and you keep on going. Seen jack knifed traiers, busted tail lights dinged bumpers ect. You need to go very slow and take your time. Don’t wash down the ramp after putting in. If the ramp is iced up, ask for help.

-J.

Trailers do float. I have proof.

One thing I haven’t heard mentioned is about trailer brakes. I have disc brakes on my trailer and if it’s cold, the discs can freeze inside the calipers. What I do to avoid this problem is take the trialer for a little drive after pulling out. I drive to the top of the hill or something. I just want to spin the wheels fast to fling off any water.

Good Luck,

Boone

I would assume there will be enough time while waiting to launch to get gear in the boat, and those who are keeping the motor in the truck to throw that on quick too?

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I would assume there will be enough time while waiting to launch to get gear in the boat, and those who are keeping the motor in the truck to throw that on quick too?

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The bottom line is everyone needs to be patient and helpful. Don’ try to do things at Mach one. Wish I could be there to even just help out.

Good luck to everyone.

FDR

RE:
Main motor linkage froze. This is a tuff one. Sometimes only solution is getting the boat into a heated garage. Some guys use a carfully placed propane torce to thaw out. Obvious, many things can go wrong here. Be carefull.

I had an older boat stored outside that was prone to the linkage freezing when the temp was below 28 degrees.

What I did:
night before, spray linkage with WD40 and work the steering back and forth.
Morning of, before leaving home, repeat above.
Morning of, arrive at ramp, repeat above.
Carry the WD40 in the boat, although once launched,
I never had to repeat.
This tact worked on my boat for years.

I think the single most important and easiest tip has been missed here. Leave the boat in the garage! At least until the temps get into the teens