3 Things To Do Before You Store Your Boat

Posted on: 14 June 2018

If you have a boat, you need to have someplace to store it. You may consider storing it in a self-storage facility. If that's what you are going to do, then there are some things that you should do before you take it to the storage unit in order to be stored over the winter. 

1. Drain the Fuel

One thing you need to do is to make sure that you have drained the fuel out of the engine. There are a lot of reasons for this. One is that the fuel can degrade over the winter, which can cause engine damage when you are ready to start it up in the spring. It may also mean that you have to do a lot of work to take the whole motor apart before you can run it so that whatever debris fell into the fuel over the winter doesn't destroy your engine. Another reason to remove the fuel is that fuel is flammable. Many storage units won't allow you to store anything in your unit that could cause a fire, such as fuel. 

2. Change the Oil

You will want to make sure that you have clean oil and a clean oil filter when you put your boat in storage. Without the oil, your engine won't have the lubrication necessary in order to run smoothly. Dirty oil can cause problems, including breaking down the filter. If you change the oil and the filter right before you store it, then you are going to make sure that none of the moving parts are going to be dry, which could cause them to rust or to seize up. 

3. Clean the Boat

Right before you move your boat into the storage facility is a great time to do routine maintenance. Scrape off the outside, paint anything that needs to be painted, give it a thorough wash, and other similar tasks. That way, when the time comes to pull your boat out of its winter storage, you are going to be ready to put your boat into the water without a whole lot of work, and you can be sure that your boat is going to look pretty good. 

If you have a boat, you are going to need to have somewhere to store it over the winter. A boat storage facility can be a great place to do that. There are things that you should do before you store your boat so that it will be ready for the next year. 

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