Winterizing Your Boat
My boat ( 2308 Trophy Walk Around powered by a Mercury 200 EFI outboard ) is fairly easy to winterize. The steps below are in the order that I do them. If you keep you boat on a slip you will want to make sure you powerwash the bottom right when it comes out of the water, literally while it is still wet. While it is wet it will spray right off. If you let the growth dry on the bottom paint or worse on the fiberglass gel coat you will be faced with a mess that is incredibly difficult to clean. You have been warned.
Winterizing my vessel includes the following steps:
• Pump out septic system
• Power wash anti foul bottom paint
• Completely drain water storage tanks
• Add Boat-RV anti-freeze to water storage and septic system
• Flush pumps and lines with anti-freeze (bilge, live well, bait well)
• Flush Outboard water intake with Salt-a-way
• Siphon remaining fuel and add fuel stabilizer
• Top off two stroke oil reservoir
• Remove spark plugs and spray engine store into each cylinder head
• Re-install spark plugs and cycle the cylinders
• Power wash anti foul bottom paint
• Clean and wax hull and all exterior metal surfaces
• Clean and grease all lubrication points (including trailer)
• Clean and lubricate all hinges and snaps
• Remove everything from the cabin (cushions, life jackets..ect)
• Remove all electronics (Radio, GPS, CD/MP3 Radio, TV)
• Build and secure a frame to support heat shrink wrap cover
• Wrap and tape the shrink wrap, heat and tape as needed
• Secure shrink wrap with rope and wait for warm weather.
Consider having a zipper door cut into your shrinkwrap cover. This will give you access to the interior without disturbing the tie downs. A lose shrink wrap cover will come off the first time the wind kicks up and it is no fun to have to go though the process twice. It is also especially useful if you have minor repairs or upgrades you want to tackle before the boat goes back to her slip.
If could have been using my boat all this time but like everyone else around here I winterized my boat in late October. For New England this would normally be just before the cold weather arrives but this year has been different. The weather here in Green Harbor MA has been unseasonable warm. We have not had a stretch of weather below freezing yet and today is January 4th 2007. The temperature today was bordering on 60 degrees and the forecast for the next week doesn’t include a single day of winter weather.