Winterize Your Boat

It's not too late to winterize your boat. In fact, if you thought about skipping this important aspect of boat maintenance, you may want to reconsider. Winterizing your boat each year will prolong the life of the vessel and protect your investment. Most boaters estimate it takes about a day to complete the process - much less than it might cost you in time and frustration if you neglect to do it.

So how do you winterize a boat? First, realize that winterizing a boat means more than changing the oil and adding coolant. For a complete boat winterization plan, you must focus on the exterior, interior and the drive system. To prepare the exterior, follow a gelcoat maintenance plan before storing the boat for the winter. A checklist is handy to gather the materials and to complete all of the steps of winterizing the drive system.

Here are a few articles to help you with the boat winterization process:

• How to Winterize a Boat

• Boat Winterizing Checklist

• Gelcoat Maintenance Plan