Ah, autumn! A time of harvest, falling leaves and shortening days. For boaters, it only means one thing: storing their beloved boat and being in a grumpy mood till spring. But putting a boat up for storage is a lot more than dragging the trailer around to the back of the garage and propping the tongue up on cinder blocks. During my years in the service department, I heard it all. There are two basic ways to get the job done without losing your mind:.
If you opt for the first strategy, more power to you. Please consider adopting me. If you go for the second, perhaps the following tips and guidelines can help. They are broken down into subsystems and, I hope, are presented in an easy-to-follow fashion. Keep in mind one of the most important things about doing your own winterization: Freeze damage is not covered by you warranties.
If you are going to do it yourself, make sure that you completely read and understand all instructions for winterizing every component and system on your boat. The most expensive piece or pieces of equipment on your boat other than the fiberglass hull and deck would probably be the engine or engines. It is therefore necessary that you do all you can to prepare them to survive the harsh winter months.
The first thing you should do is to purchase a maintenance manual from your engine dealer for explicit details concerning winterization. Then, you can refer to the following for a general idea of-what lies before you:. Drain each engine block, exhaust manifold and heat exchanger if applicable of water. It is absolutely imperative that you get the water out of all constrained spaces and cavities in the engine before the onset of freezing weather.
Remember, water has a peculiar habit of actually expanding-as it freezes. It will expand until it literally cracks your engine block, your manifolds or whatever else happens to have too much H2O left in it. For winter storage, I would suggest first flushing the engine with fresh water, then draining the block, manifold, heat exchanger, etc.
Once you see the pink fluid coming out of the exhaust, you should be covered. Your raw water pump. If the rubber blades, or legs, are becoming stiff or cracked, or if any are missing, replace the impeller immediately.
Lower unit attention. Tranny trouble? Is your closed water cool? Otherwise, top off. Safe for the winter, ready for summer. Inspect your spark plugs for fouling. If they pass muster, OK. If not, you may have to replace them and have your mechanic look for the root of the problem. Breathe easy. Soak the arrestor in kerosene or spray with a carburetor cleaner, then blow it out with compressed air.
This will include such things as checking engine alignment, lubricating outdrive U-joints, regreasing any zerk fittings and inspecting belts, hoses and clamps for proper tightness and wear. Inboard exhaust ports. This will not only keep airborne garbage and moisture out, but it will also discourage any neighborhood critters from attempting to set up housekeeping in Build Your Own Formula Boat Only your boat. Clean and rust-proof! When your boat sits idle for extended periods, the oil coating the engine cylinders and other engine components can drip off and expose the unprotected metal to moisture in the air, allowing corrosion to settle in.
To prevent this from ruining your spring, get quality engine cleaner and shoot it down the carb or throttle-body throat while the engine still running and fuel flow shut down, fog it using a quality fogging oil. Fogging coats the internal parts of the engine with a very viscous, sticky oil that will not easily run off and thus presents a barrier to corrosive moisture.
Prevent this by adding fuel stabilizer to your fuel tank and running the engine long enough to run the stabilized gas through before fogging, of course. Fresh water systems. Most Formulas have a pretty extensive fresh water system, and not winterizing it could wreak havoc from stem to stern. Include showers and wet bars while running enough antifreeze down each drain to ensure that it fill each trap. Be sure enough antifreeze runs through the shower sump pump so it will kick on.
This will winterize it also. Flush the head until you see the antifreeze in the bowl, then pump out the holding tank. Once the tank is empty, flush a few more times to get some antifreeze into the holding tank. If you have a macerator, open up the discharge seacock, turn on the macerator and run until antifreeze comes out of the thru-hull.
If you have a portapottie, make sure it is empty of all liquid, or add antifreeze to its internal holding and freshwater tanks. Electrical fun. Remove your batteries from the bilge. Check the water level on non-maintenance-free batteries and add distilled water as necessary.
Ensure that all batteries are fully charged, clean and grease the terminals and store above freezing in a dry environment. Check the water level and charge every month or two and maintain as necessary.
Lube as needed. Open up the reservoirs on the trim tab and drive trim pumps. Use only recommended fluids. The air down there. You must also get the water out of the air conditioning system. Either purge the water lines with compressed air or turn on the unit and pour antifreeze into the intake strainer as the pump runs until you see antifreeze running out of the proper thru hull. Be sure that the seacock ball valve does not have water in it, and make certain that the condensation drain pan is empty and the drain line is not trapping water.
Pretty simple stuff here. Dry up any moisture and leave the door cracked open for ventilation. As for the ice maker, you will need to first shut off its water supply. Defrost, dry and leave the door propped open. Keep it pretty. Wash all canvas Bimini top, cockpit and storage covers surfaces with soap and warm water, then thoroughly dry.
I do not recommend using canvas for winter storage unless the boat kept indoors, and then only using a full storage cover. Shrinkwrapping your boat is an investment! Winters are hard on canvas and a new Sunbrella cover every few years will cost more than shrinkwrapping.
Inspect and clean Bimini frames as necessary before storage. Go aft, young man! Walk back to transom and take a good look around. How to sacrificial zincs look? If they are more than a third gone, you should change them now and be ready for the first of the season next year. If they look to be in good shape, make sure that they are free of any paint or growth that might cover them and prevent them from doing their job. Look at the props. If there are any nicks, dings or marine growth on them, you might as well remove them and get them worked on over the winter.
Finally, make sure that the transom drain plug is removed and the boat is stored in a bow-up attitude to facilitate drainage of any remaining water or moisture that might accumulate over the winter. Well, it takes a bit of time and attention, but this is an investment in your enjoyment of boating seasons to come. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website.
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By Formula Boats on Oct. There Build Your Own Boat App Versions are two basic ways to get the job done without losing your mind: Drop your boat off at the marina, tell the service manager to send you a bill, grab your clubs and play a round of golf before the leaves cover the course, or � Decide what needs to be done to your boat, system by system, make a checklist and go for it! Then, you can refer to the following for a general idea of-what lies before you: Drain each engine block, exhaust manifold and heat exchanger if applicable of water.
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