How To Winterize Boats

Winterizing a boat is important as when the freezing temperatures arrive it will need extra protection.

It’s essential to follow the proper procedures before putting your boat away for the winter to ensure that it’s in the best condition for when the warm weather returns again.

There are certain parts of your boat that need special attention when winterizing, such as the engine, that will also need special attention.

Here are a few tips on how to winterize a boat.

How To Winterize a Boat

We assembled a list of questions that will help guide your decision. If you aren’t certain about the answer to all these questions right off the bat, that’s ok!

We will explore and unpack these questions further in depth later on in the article. These are merely the guiding factors to helping you choose the best boat for you.

Step-By-Step Winterization for the Engine

It’s vital to learn how to winterize a boat motor as this can prevent any damage during disuse and helps to ensure it will start in the spring. You need to avoid any corrosion, buildup of debris, old fuel, or rust. Start by warming up the engine while the boat’s in water to allow dirty oil to drain out. Add corrosion protection after drainage. You may also need to change the oil and filters. It’s a good idea to check the user manual for any specific instructions on this.

Prevent fuel deterioration by adding a fuel stabilizer to your fuel tank. You can then fill the tank with new fuel and run the engine for a few minutes. This will allow treated gas to circulate throughout the entire system and help prevent the buildup of gum or varnish in your engine. Without adding fuel stabilizer, simply draining the old fuel may not be sufficient to stop this.

Step-By-Step Drain Plumbing and All Water Systems

An important part of boat winterization is effective draining of all other water systems as well as the engine. Drain all your boats plumbing systems including sinks, tanks, and heads. You can help the process along by flushing them with fresh water.

Ensure you remove all water from any additional systems such as the bilge pump, livewells, and raw water washdowns. You will also need to remove the drain plugs which you can usually find in the engine block or manifold, and water pump hose. Add antifreeze to your plumbing systems, as freeze and water damage are the main things to avoid in winter.

Step-By-Step to Store and Cover Your Boat

Finally, you need to ensure you cover your boat and store it safely. Give it a thorough clean and wax and don’t forget to remove any valuables first.

Before winterizing a boat, you may want to look into some suitable storage options. Dry storage is your best bet, but it can be a little pricey. If you’d rather achieve boat winterization on a budget, you could use a durable cover instead. You could even shrink wrap your boat.

Take care when winterizing your boat and this will pay off in the long run. It’s especially important to learn how to winterize a boat motor in order to ensure there’s no water damage or buildup inside. As long as you take the proper precautions, your boat should survive the winter and be ready to take out again in spring.

Check Out This Tutorial To Winterize A Boat

Conclusion

The main take away is to give yourself time to plan accordingly. Make sure to have a method to get the boat out of the water and transported to your long term storage facility. Empty the boat completely of gear, and valuables. Drain all water from plumbing and all other water systems. Drain your motor of oil, and add fuel stabilizer to your motor.