As October draws to a close, preparations for winter begin. You can’t just put your boat in storage for the season and think nothing of its condition. Preparing your boat for winter storage involves a level of care and precision. You’ll need boat detailing services, a full diagnostic, and other means of boat winter prep to ensure yours survives the tough season. We’ve created a boat winter prep checklist so you can be sure that your boat is safely taken care of for the winter.
1) Change Your Oil
Before you put your boat away for the winter, you need to take care of your oil and oil filter. If water or acids get into oil, they can corrode your engine. Make sure you both change your filter and flush it out to ensure no water remains, then add in your new oil. This will ensure your boat is in tip-top shape to stick it out for the long, hard winter.
2) Use Fogging Oil
Without starting your engine, spray fogging oil as you turn the engine over either in the carburetor or through the spark plug holes, depending on what your manual says. Doing this will ensure the moving parts of your engine are protected for the whole winter season.
3) Refresh Your Coolant System
First, dilute your antifreeze as specified on the packaging. Then, drain out the coolant that’s currently in your vehicle and flush it with water. Refill with properly-diluted antifreeze to help protect your engine from freezing and corroding.
4) Loosen or Remove Drive Belts
Before putting your boat in storage, be sure to at least loosen your drive belts, if you don’t remove them entirely. This will help prevent them from cracking under the stress of keeping them tense for long periods of time.
5) Grease Your Steering Mechanism
Greasing your steering mechanism is important to ensure both that and the control mechanism are moving smoothly and functioning properly when you take your boat out again next spring.
6) Disconnect Your Battery
Disconnect the battery and top it off with distilled water. Make sure to charge it occasionally to make sure it’s ready when you’re ready to bring your boat back out. This will keep your battery from draining and dying while in storage for the winter.
7) Fill Your Tank with Fuel and Fuel Stabilizer
When you leave your tank empty or close to empty, you run the risk of condensation forming in the tank which can cause the tank to corrode or, worse, cause severe damages is said condensation freezes.
8) Have Your Boat Professionally Detailed
You want your boat to be spick and span, in like-new condition before you store it away for the winter. You can detail it on your own, but it’s quite the task to undertake; you want to be sure you do all your research before diving in, lest you want to risk harm to your boat. You can save yourself the trouble of all that by leaving it to the professionals. Mobile Detailing Pros offers reliable, affordable, and convenient vehicle detailing services; they’ll come out to the docks and detail your boat for you, hassle-free!
If you follow these eight easy steps, you can feel secure that your boat is in good condition to withstand the harsh temperatures and weather of the winter months. Have any questions or concerns? Leave us a comment below and our expert detailers will get back to you as soon as possible!
