Boat Winterization Services

About Our Winterization Services

When boating season comes to a close, your boat will need to be winterized to survive the harsh Minnesota winter. Winterization involves draining any water that your outboard, I/O or PWC may retain from the boating season and flushing it out with special marine grade antifreeze to prevent any damage that may occur from freezing temperatures and is a vital step in maintaining the health of your boat or PWC. At Lighthouse Motorsports we are pleased to offer a variety of winterization services to best cater to your needs with highly experienced technicians at the helm.

About Our Boat Winterization Services

To learn more about the services we provide, see the chart below, or give our helpful staff a call, and they can help you with any questions you may have.

I/O Rates (At this time, we do not offer True Inboard winterization)

I/O winterization is especially important as I/O engines are extremely susceptible to damage from the cold because of how they hold water. If your boat has an I/O engine, our service department recommends bringing it in for winterization earlier in the winterization season to avoid getting caught in the cold, risking damage to your engine.

Basic Winterization: $275

  • Change gear lube
  • Drain the block, manifold, and hoses
  • Treat the engine with antifreeze
  • Fog the engine
  • Add fuel stabilizer to the fuel system
  • Disconnect the batteries (battery removal is additional, please ask our service staff)

“Plus” Winterization: $400

  • Includes all services provided in our “Basic Winterization”
  • Change the engine oil and oil filter (price includes filter and 5 qts of mineral oil, additional or premium oil or filter are additional)
  • Change the water separating fuel filter (price includes spin-on filter, internal element filters or filters with sensors may be additional, please ask service staff)

Outboard Rates

While outboard winterization may not be perceived to be as important compared to I/O engines, winterization is still an extremely important service for outboard engines. Outboard engines can still freeze even when properly drained, and, with the addition of fuel coolers, outboards are nearly as susceptible to the cold as I/Os. Winterization is also a great time to complete oil changes to make sure you are ready to go in the spring.

2-Stroke Outboard Winterization

  • Change gear lube
  • Treat the engine with antifreeze
  • Fog the engine
  • Add stabilizer to any onboard fuel tanks
  • Disconnect the batteries (battery removal is additional, please ask our service staff)

0HP – 24HP – $115

25HP and up – $140

4-Stroke Outboard Winterization

  • Includes all services in our 2-stroke winterization
  • Change engine oil and oil filter (prices include filter and 4 qts of mineral oil, additional or premium oil or filter are additional)

0HP – 8HP – $165

9HP – 20HP – $185

21HP – 60HP – $210

61HP – 115HP – $240

116HP and up – $270

PWC Rates

Personal watercraft, while different from a standard boat engine, are also highly susceptible to the cold. Personal watercraft should be treated similarly to I/O engines, and our techs recommend winterizing your PWCs sooner rather than later.

Basic (2-stroke) Winterization – $175

  • Drain water from the engine
  • Treat the engine with antifreeze
  • Add stabilizer to the fuel
  • Fog the engine if it has a fog port
  • Disconnect the battery (battery removal is additional, please ask our service staff)

4-Stroke Winterization – $275

  • All services included in the Basic (2-Stroke) Winterization
  • Change the engine oil and oil filter (price includes filter and 4 qts of mineral oil, additional or premium oil or filter are additional)

Shrinkwrap and Storage

In addition to winterization, we also offer shrinkwrap and storage services. For additional pricing and details please visit our Storage page.

Shrinkwrap Only – $15 per foot (an additional $50 fee will be charged on all boats over 18’ for additional needed supports and material; minimum charge of 12’)

One of the main reasons why outboard winterization is so important is because water can freeze inside the engine and cause damage to the internal components. When water freezes, it expands and can crack engine blocks, manifolds, and other critical components. By properly winterizing your outboard motor, you can prevent this from happening and ensure that your motor is ready to go when you are ready to hit the water again in the spring! Our team at Lighthouse Motorsports & Marine can assist you with your outboard winterization needs.

Jet Ski Winterization

Your personal watercraft needs to be winterized, too – and the end of boating season is a good opportunity to change the oil. Our mechanics can get your PWC prepared for winter storage, so it will be ready for next season.

  • Basic Jet Ski Winterization: $175
  • Jet Ski Winterization with Oil Change: $275 – includes filter and 4 quarts of mineral oil.

Additional fees for synthetic oil and/or additional quarts needed.

Dewinterization

After the cold recedes, we strive to help get you back on the water as soon as possible to enjoy the summer weather. Our service department can perform a “spring run up” which allows us to check over the primary components of your boat, engine, and trailer to ensure you are water ready. It is also vital for us to check to guarantee the warranty on your winterization.

  • Spring Run Up – $149

Additional Charges and Winterization Schedule

We strive to provide accurate pricing for winterization services, but with the volatility of marine supply pricing and unexpected circumstances, additional parts or services may be necessary and prices are subject to change. Minnesota is also subject to unpredictable weather; because of this, we do charge an additional fee if the unit is brought in after the first instance of freezing.

Winterization is also one of our most in-demand services. We continue to operate on a first come, first serve basis, but, due to space constraints, we may resort to waitlisting additional boats and PWCs later in the season. In this scenario, we will take your information and let you know as soon as we have available capacity to accept your unit for winterization and get it back to you as soon as possible to prevent freezing.

We begin winterization in September and recommend you bring in your unit as soon as you are finished using it for the season. Please anticipate additional wait times in the month of October.

If you have any additional questions about any of our winterization services, please stop in to our dealership or give us a call, and we will be happy to help you.