We’ve noticed many misconceptions over the years about what “Winterizing” a boat is. It is NOT a “full service” on a boat. The two main purposes of Winterizing are:
- Freeze Protection
- Corrosion Prevention
Here’s what our Winterizing involves and why each step is important:
- Stabilize the fuel: this helps to prevent gasoline from going stale over the winter
- Change the Engine Oil & Filter: By-products of combustion in the oil are acidic; you want the acids removed and fresh oil in your engine for winter storage
- Change the Gear Lube: We check for water in the gear lube, which can happen when seals fail; this prevents corrosion damage that will happen if water is left to sit all winter in the gearcase
- Pickle the Cooling System with Antifreeze: provides both corrosion and freeze protection
- Fog the Motor: this coats internal engine parts with a light oil film & prevents corrosion while the motor is stored over winter
Those are the basics. Each boat and all its systems are assessed individually, so boats with more systems can require further work to fully winterize.
