Since this is my first winter in NC with my Ranger, I'm troubled on wether I should winterize or not? The winters can be mild and/or freezing. I don't mind fishing in the cold , but what dangers could happen to the boat if I use it one week with say 40 degree days and freezing nights and want to use it the next week? Should I just suck it and winterize and wait the few months? Any thoughts and advice would be helpfull. Thanks! Confused on what to do.

if the lakes dont freeze over  and its safe to trailer a boat to the lake  go fishin     the only thing i could think of besides keeping yourself warm   is let the motor warm up for at least 5 minutes   and when done let the motor  down and let all the water drain out  so theres nothing hanging around to freeze  goodluck

I not sure what part of NC you live in, but here in Wilmington the weather is wacky, it can be 60-70 one day and freezing the next. I try to use my boat all winter because I mainly bass fish on a lake that is cooling pond for a power plant and the water stays fairly warm later. I will say this however, a couple of years ago I did not winterize my boat and only used it a couple of times, it ruined my carb., as matter fact it never ran right again. I not sure if it was from that or the fact that is was a Nissan. I will not make that mistake again this year with my new Yamaha 4 stroke, come the end of December when the saltwater action comes to a close and it get intolerable at Sutton Lake my boat will get winterized. ;

Ive been visiting family in G-boro for about 20 something years and have never seen a lake froze over. Maybe MAYBE a 1/4-1/2 acre pond, but never anything bigger than that.

This will be my third winter here in NC, the 2nd with my boats.

According to my boat mechanic as long as you put fuel stabilizer in a full tank of gas, drain the water from the engine and bilge, shut your batteries off and keep your boat covered you should be alright. I do store my boat in a covered storage area.

I have a Regal deck boat and I did as my mechanic, who works for Regal, told me and I had no problem. As a matter of fact, I managed to take my boat out on a couple of nice days in mid-winter without having to do a whole lot to the boat to go out and enjoy it.

It does freeze here at night and there is an occasional ice storm but  overall the winters are not that bad.

I hope this helps. I would recommend calling a couple of local boat dealers and getting theuir advice.

Tom