How To Winterize Your Own Boat

Winterizing is quite possibly the most crucial step in not only keeping your boat's value, but in saving your boat's components from severe damage from prolonged exposure to below-freezing temperatures during the off-season.

If you are a boat owner who must endure the dreaded 'off season' you fall into one of three camps:

1) You pay the marina or other mechanical service to look after all these details and simply pay the bill once it arrives

2) You dabble in minor winterizing and leave the engines to the mechanics (thinking it is like having insurance... they bust it, they pay for it)

3) You like to put that hard-earned money to better uses and want to learn how easy it is to winterize your boat yourself and keep the mechanics for things like rocks, shoals, tune-ups and the like.

Assuming you are not in camp number one and that you have gasoline engines (diesel engines are another story), you have come to the right place. I won't pretend that this article will replace years of mechanical experience training and experience, nor should expect to hang a shingle out as a marine mechanic when you are done.

I simply want to show you how to save some big money on what truly amounts to an afternoon's work with some parts and fluids you can buy off the shelf almost anywhere.

Once you are done, you will simply choose which sections of this article sound like something you can take on and which, if any, you are willing to pay marina service rates for.

I am not going to address oil changes or other fluids since these are out of scope. You can leave the old oil in your boat until spring if you want. It is not going to kill your engine. You can leave your gas tank near empty or full with additives and stabilizers. Either way, you will get it going in a few months.

What I am about to share with you is not specific to any make or model, nor is it exclusive to large yachts or small runabouts. No matter what the boat's shape, size or configuration, if it has a motor and any system with water flowing through it, you will benefit from what I am about to share with you.

So, lets get right to it...

There is really one major concern when it comes to winterizing your boat. Freezing water. Water expands as it freezes and water does not compress. If you have a chamber with water in it, and it freezes, the potential for severe damage from that expansion is beyond escape.

You need to do one of two things:

1) Change the temperature (that the water freezes at or of the atmosphere around the water)

2) Remove all water (and any risk of freezing and expansion)

I know this seams simple enough, but there is often water in places you would not think of looking and all it takes is one small oversight and you have a costly repair in the spring, usually only noticed once you have the boat back in the water...

[ read more ] ... still to come, the complete article continues with step-by-step 'how to' for engines (IO and inboards), exhaust, freshwater systems, water heaters, reverse heat / air conditioners, head systems, ice makers, sumps, drains, taps, bilge pumps as well as tricks to make winterizing fast and easy year after year as well as other valuable content and links to the items that you need to buy from your local hardware store.

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