If you own a boat and don't live somewhere that is warm all year round, you likely need to store it over the winter. This can be difficult because you have to find a way to transport it to a storage facility and get it ready to be stored. Here are some tips to make sure that, when you retrieve your boat, that it is in as good of condition as possible.
1. Go On One Last Trip
If you have time, be sure to take your boat on one last trip. While you are on this trip, go over your boat to see if there is anything that needs to be fixed, such as a slow leak or chipped paint. Just before winter hits is the perfect time to do this and, if you figure out what's wrong now, you can be enjoying your boat as soon as the weather turns nice, rather than trying to fix everything last minute.
2. Clean and Sanitize Your Boat
Once you get your boat out of the water and jacked up, start cleaning the outside of it with something that will kill any barnacles or other creatures that might have latched on. Once the outside has been cleaned, take time to clean and air out the inside. Make sure that you spray everything down with a bleach solution so that you kill any mildew that might already exist before you put your boat into storage.
Open all of the lockers and cabinets before storing your boat to improve overall circulation; this will reduce the chances that you will suffer from mildew over the winter. Finally, be sure that you place bags and other materials throughout your boat to soak up any additional moisture that could cause mildew to form before you store your boat for the winter.
3. Fill Your Gas Tank
In order to avoid the chances that your gas tank will suffer condensation, fill up your gas tank entirely so that there is no room for condensation. If you are especially worried about condensation, you can always buy a gas additive that will reduce the chances that this will occur. If you do decide to use the gas additive, be sure that you run your engine after you've added it in order to make sure that it mixes entirely with the rest of the gas in the tank.
For more information, talk to a company that specializes in boat hauling in your area.
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