Prepping your Boat for Storage during winter

Boats are a big responsibility as unlike cars, these vehicles are not “daily drives”. Sometimes after buying new boats for sale, for some months of the year, you do not get to use it at all. People have the option to store it themselves in one fashion or another or have them stored at a facility. While there are numerous vehicle and boat storage services, whether you decide to do it yourself or acquire their services, below are great tips to consider when you need to store your boat for months of non-usage.

Not All boats are made equal

Be sure to check your vehicle owner’s manual for safety rules, tips, and complete instructions. This will help make sure you’re selecting the appropriate boating stands or equipment. And the appropriate storage do’s and don’ts for that particular model that you own.

Check electrical/Fluids before storage

Your boat’s engine is perhaps one of the most vulnerable components that can be affected during winter and during storage. For shorter periods of time, such as a couple of months, it is advisable to add a fuel stabilizer and remove the spark plugs. This will prepare your motor from being frozen and having rust and corrosion. One should also refill the gear case lube before storing – ensuring that all residual water is removed this will also minimize corrosion and freezing.  If you are going to store it for more than that, better drain the fuel altogether the reason being is that fuel has a shelf life and will form gum after a period of stagnation – possibly blocking and clogging your lines, causing major problems when you retrieve the vehicle from storage.

DO NOT Neglect your batteries

The Battery is one of the most neglected parts of a vehicle when being put in storage. for most modern engines there are settings that may reset when a battery is disconnected altogether you can opt to use a “trickle charger”. For more conventional engines It is an option to disconnect the battery altogether or disconnect the negatives to prevent the parasitic drain from passive systems like clocks, sensors etc. on your vehicle.

DRY out your boat

Inspect your boat inside and out and look at water spots and completely dry them out as these can cause corrosion. This at the same time can also be a good time for you to check where water spots are not supposed to be, giving you an idea about leakages and where they are happening.

After going through the above list, decide if you will rent out a storage space or use your own. In order to do this, lay down the costs and the pros and cons. If you are looking to save money in the long run and have peace of mind, leave it to the professionals. There are reputable vehicle and boat storage service Australia that has been in this business for a number of years and have experience in storage solutions for vehicles such as these.