Pulling the boat out

s219 · Jan 2, 2014

Not a traditional project, but yesterday I pulled my boat out of the water for the season with my L3200:

I was able to leave the boat in the water up through the end of Striper season here in VA on Dec 31. To avoid freezing issues, I was careful to keep the boat and motor drained after every use, and put RV antifreeze in the bilge a couple times a week when temps dropped below freezing. Worked great. Now that she's out of the water, I need to do a service on the outboard and then perform a proper winterization. The boat will come back out in March or so.

Next season, I hope to have a roof over my pier, and will attempt to operate the boat through the winter.

Beltman60 · Jan 2, 2014

well that looks like the right set-up to me

bigtiller · Jan 2, 2014

I like the floor plan your boat has, we don't see it much around here.

nybirdman · Jan 2, 2014

My boat has the center console also,I prefer that lay out.Mine got laid up Oct.1.A friend kept his going until Dec.1 for fishing muskie and walleye on the St.Lawrence.Not fun fishing but that is when the big ones are caught.There was a 52lb Muskie caught Dec.2 and a 55lb caught Dec.4.

s219 · Jan 2, 2014

bigtiller said:
I like the floor plan your boat has, we don't see it much around here.

I really like the arrangement too, and this boat has an accessory seat cushion and seatback that can go across the stern to create a wide bench seat (otherwise it's a simple stern deck with two storage wells and a livewell). And I can also put a bow cushion on the front deck. So it transforms into a family-friendly boat when needed.

s219 · Jan 2, 2014

nybirdman said:
My boat has the center console also,I prefer that lay out.Mine got laid up Oct.1.A friend kept his going until Dec.1 for fishing muskie and walleye on the St.Lawrence.Not fun fishing but that is when the big ones are caught.There was a 52lb Muskie caught Dec.2 and a 55lb caught Dec.4.

I went out the day after Thanksgiving when it was in the teens in the morning. There was frost and ice on the boat, and my ropes were all frozen stiff. Things thawed out by lunchtime, but it never warmed up past about 35F, so the wind was brutal at speed. Worst news is that I didn't catch a single keeper for all of December -- caught plenty of little guys, but had to throw them back. Word has it that it was colder than normal, and the stripers never really came into the rivers like they normally do.