Dagnabbit I dont want to put it away

Also, put a bunch of cheap lavender deodorizers all over the boat last fall - took the cover off today, and it smelled like a spring breeze lol

Much better than the mothballs that I used in previous years!  

No sign of any mice, thank goodness for that - vile little creatures! 

If you keep the boat dockside as long as there isn't any ice on the lake overnight no problem.. if there is ice it will freeze the water inside the housing and you need to stat the motor and ide it several times for a min or two until the pee tube starts to go.

Tomorrow is the day I winterize the boat. 

Right today I wrapped it up for the season, sad day

Keep the lower unit in the water if you can. Otherwise you can wrap the lower unit with a heavy blanket. I've done both ways without any issues 

Looking for some opinions on late year boat usage. I have a small fishing boat with a 9.9 Mercury that still is in the water in SE WI. I'm probably going to have it in the water another 10 days. With the early cold weather am I better having the motor up in the tilt position or down in the water which was still 52 degrees on Sunday?

 my boat is always in a semi heated garage, so it's ready to go at any time.

Lows in the mid 20’s, with highs only forecasted in mid 30’s next week. 

Was a nice day today, so I decided to take care of the winterization.  Always a sad day...

For putting his boat away?

No, for not wanting to put "it" away.  

Boats in storage under neath the pine trees out back, like said a sad day, as we won't dig it out until mid March. October turned into a rotten month with all the rain, out twice.  Sad to sit and watch boat under snow all winter.  Its double tarped on blocks so no problem. I gave up ice fishing years ago, catch enough fish during summer no need turning myself into a popsickle.

For putting his boat away?  

Darn, they sound pretty strict wherever he lives!! 

I had an uncle that spent several years in prison for this very issue.

My garage is somewhat semi heated, usually never gets below 35 degrees even on the coldest days. The boat is always ready to go if the right weather conditions should arise.

I am taking it in for some motor work right before Christmas this year, hopefully that will only take a week or two.

Usually I have mine out from sometime in late March until late Nov. Due to issues in my personal life I put mine away like 3 weeks ago this year. Usually would only be thinking of doing it now. I dont ice fish anymore so this is gonna be a LONG winter.

Tuffy, 

I typically fish until mid / late November, this year I had to pack it in around two weeks early due to the low temps. 

In Spring, as soon as the lakes open, I’m headed over to storage to grab my boat, or sooner if the Wolf River is open.  

I’m in the Southern part of the State, and the lakes open up way before they do in the Central or Northern part of the State.