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The How and Why of Winterizing Your Boat

Boats are great fun in the summer, but must be carefully tended to in the winter. Flushes, antifreeze, fuel and engine treatments, wraps, covers, and stands will start you in the right direction for your winterization process.
The How and Why of Winterizing Your Boat

Pleasure boating is hands-down one of the best ways to enjoy the warm weather. If you're lucky enough to live in a part of the world where you can enjoy waterway cruising year-round, then you are the envy of those of us who live with the changing seasons.

Boat owners who must put away their toys once the temperature drops understand the importance of proper storage methods. There's no point in neglecting your boat if you intend to make full use of it again once the weather changes in your favor. At BoatID.com, our online Maintenance & Winterization Department can supply you with the tools, equipment, and chemicals necessary to complete the winterization tasks you have at hand.

Antifreeze protection is often thought of as a first step for winterization. But before we get to that, let's talk about motor flushing. Whether you're running an inboard or outboard motor, it's important to flush the cooling system of any salt water residue as a first step toward winterization.

For outboards, the so-called "ear muffs" are something with which you might be familiar. One product that we like of the many we offer is the Moeller Marine dual flow flusher. Inboard motors can be flushed with a device like the Panther brand Flush Buddy adjustable motor flusher. Each is incredibly reasonably priced, and will serve you well season after season.

Moeller Marine Dual Flow Motor Flusher with Rectangular Cup

Antifreezes

Like a car, a boat has various systems which must be protected from freezing. Anything water-based is subject to turning to ice once the temps drop below 32 F, and since water expands when it freezes, that expansion is strong enough to wreak havoc. On your road-going vehicle, the anti-freeze treatment resides in the cooling system year-round, so while there certainly is some upkeep involved in checking freeze-protection levels and the like, modern motor vehicles have spoiled us; a cursory glance at the coolant level is all that most new cars need these days.

With a boat, depending on engine location and design, there typically is no permanent antifreeze. Therefore, part of the winterization process is to add it to your engine's cooling system to avoid winter storage damage. We have several quality choices on our site, including the Camco engine antifreeze, as well as the Star Brite synthetic engine coolant, both available in convenient one gallon jugs.

Camco Ban Frost 2000 1 gal. Red Engine Antifreeze

It's not just the engine that needs protection from freezing temperatures. Any sea-faring vessel with personal plumbing also needs antifreeze treatment, with the important caveat that potable water sources must use non-toxic products. If you're looking for a solution (pun intended!) at BoatID, then you've come to the right place!

An important and quite useful feature of our website is its Refine Search menu. For example, while you're at the Antifreeze page, if you want to narrow your search to JUST plumbing antifreezes, ignoring for now any engine-related coolants, look under APPLICATION on the left side of the screen and select "Plumbing". The resulting products will be those for your boat's plumbing systems.

Antifreeze Page Refine Search Menu

The plumbing antifreezes are rated based on their level of temperature protection. For example, if you need protection down to -50 degrees F, this Camco Winter Ban Plumbing Antifreeze is a good choice. If local conditions require consideration of protection all the way down to -100 degrees F (and we're glad that's not us), then this Star Brite Winter Safe plumbing antifreeze will get the job done.

Star Brite Winter Safe -100° 1 gal. Blue Plumbing Antifreeze

Besides protecting the engine coolant and plumbing systems, fuel systems also need winterization. Gasoline, especially modern blends containing ethanol, have a limited shelf life. It's been said that fuel will go bad in as little as 90 days. It will turn foul-smelling, may become gummy, and will certainly create hard starting and rough running problems if allowed to fester in your fuel system.

The Sta-Bil brand of fuel additives may be a product familiar to you if you've used it in your collector car or lawn and garden equipment. Sta-Bil manufactures a special marine-blend fuel treatment that's perfect for use while your boat is in storage. It's available in sizes ranging from 8 ounces to one gallon, so get as much or as little as you need.

Sta-Bil Special Marine-Blend Fuel Treatment

Since your engine won't be run during that time, the cylinder walls will lack the coating of oil they get every time a piston moves up and down. Don't forget to provide cylinder wall protection, and the way to do that is with a fogging agent. The "fogging" agent is an oil which can be misted into the cylinders through the spark plug holes. Simply remove the plugs, spray the fogging oil, and reinstall the plugs. The Star Brite fogging oil is available in either 12 oz. or 1 gal. sizes.

Star Brite Fogging Oil

Boat exteriors need to be protected from the winter elements. Unlike an automobile with its steel roof and all-enclosing glass, a boat is designed to be open to the elements; all the better to enjoy the sun and spray when the weather is inviting. But the other side of that coin is we need to keep the cold rain, snow, and sleet away during periods of storage. If there's no garage space available, you can still protect your boat, either by shrink-wrapping it or by installing a dedicated boat cover.

In our "Boat Shrink Wrap" category, it's not just the shrink wrap itself that we feature, but dispenser racks, strapping, access doors, and installation tools.

For out-of-water off-season storage, nothing beats the protection provided by a complete shrink-wrap. Although time-consuming, the job isn't difficult, and BoatID provides you with access to everything you'll need. Shrink wrap from Poly-America is available in different lengths, widths, thicknesses, and colors, so you can customize your material needs. Large rolls of shrink-wrap material can't be handheld, so racks like this one from Dr. Shrink are indispensable.

Strapping and padding are necessary support items whenever a boat shrink wrap job is undertaken, so be sure to check out woven strapping choices from Dr. Shrink, Shrink Film Strapping, and Sea Dog. None of the strapping and wrapping is going to get done without the correct tools, and who doesn't like an excuse to buy some new tools? We have everything from film cutting knives to buckles, heat guns, and propane tanks. Just like with cars, the right tool for the right job can mean the difference between a short time spent getting it right the first time versus a long wasted weekend of second and third attempts.

Film Cutting Knive / Buckles / Heat Gun

Depending on the size of your craft, the severity of your winter and/or the length of time the vessel needs to stay out of (and away from) water, a boat cover might serve you as a more practical choice compared to a complete shrink wrap. Two of our featured brands are Carver and Eevelle. Carver's covers run the gamut from small to large, featuring premium materials, and are "styled to fit". Eevelle offers full coves, pontoon covers, console covers, and everything in between. Their Trident full covers are trailerable, meaning you can pull your boat while it's covered (a great convenience). Some of their smaller boat covers can be bought in colors including blue, red, grey, and even camouflage.

Eevelle Trident T-Top Boat with Bow Rails Cover

You certainly know that, if you have the room to do so, it's best to pull the boat from the water for its hibernation. You may have a dedicated trailer for it which can double as its storage support. But if the boat needs to be higher for maintenance reasons, or if you need the trailer for other uses, then purpose-built boat stands are your on-ground storage solution.

Boat stands include pontoon blocks from Attwood; powerboat stands from Camco; and boat racks from Brownell Boat Stands. As we do with other product categories, we have these stands and more all gathered together in the Boat Stands section of our website, so check it out!

Boat Stands

Antifreeze, flushes, fuel treatments, wraps, covers, and boat stands are just the start of the winterization process. Peruse the pages of BoatID.com to find cleaners, paints, varnishes, adhesives, and more. Many of these products have year-round uses and are not strictly for wintertime only. You're sure to find all your winterization and maintenance needs on our digital pages. Should you have any questions, feel free to call us; we're here for you seven days a week!

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