01/23/2026
Dear friends and customers,
With the hard freeze coming next week, I’ve been getting a lot of questions about how to protect your boat and outboard motor. Every boat setup is a little different, but the goal is always the same: get all standing water out of your motor and any onboard systems that can trap water. A little prevention now can save you from very expensive repairs later.
Here are a few simple but important steps:
1️⃣ Drain any lines that can trap water
– If your boat has a water‑pressure gauge, disconnect the feed line at the back of the gauge and let it drain completely. Leave it disconnected until the freeze passes.
– For washdown pumps, run the pump briefly until it’s dry. Many of these pumps have check valves that hold water, so don’t skip this step.
2️⃣ Protect your outboard motor
– Trim the motor all the way down so all the water can drain from the cooling system.
– While not recommended by manufacturers, a very brief dry fire can help clear trapped water. Be careful — running the engine too long without water can damage the water pump.
– You may need to lower the tongue of the trailer to get the motor fully trimmed down for proper drainage.
– Ideally, store the motor in the downward position through the freeze.
– If storing downward will cause the boat to hold water, trim the motor up after fully draining the lower unit and wrap the propeller exhaust area in a plastic bag to keep rainwater out.
3️⃣ Prevent costly lower‑unit damage
Water trapped inside a lower unit can freeze, expand, and crack the case — a very expensive repair. These simple precautions go a long way toward avoiding that headache.
4️⃣ If your boat stays in the water
It’s best to leave the motor down in the water, where temperatures stay above freezing.
5️⃣ For customers up north storing boats all winter
You’ll need to perform a full manufacturer‑recommended winterization procedure found in your owner’s manual. Hard freezes lasting months require additional steps beyond what we do here for short Southern cold snaps.
We appreciate your business and hope these freeze‑protection tips help you avoid unnecessary repair bills. Stay warm, and feel free to reach out if you have any questions!
Heath Hoffpauir (President)
Hanko Boats, LLC.
Send a message to learn more
