Boat storage options include dry docking and winterizing in a slip. The best choice for Best Marina Boat Storage Florida depends on your living and financial situation. Make your strategy well before winter, no matter how you winterize your boat.
Here are some general suggestions regarding boat storage. Consult your boat and motor instructions before starting because inboard and outboard motors have slightly different requirements. Next spring, if you do it correctly, you’ll be out on the water in no time.
- Select a Storage Method
Large sailboats must have the mast taken apart to be stowed indoors. Heavy snow melt will turn your deck into a swimming pool if pontoon boat covers are not anchored in the center to allow water to roll down. Winterizing your boat motor is essential, even if you store your Boat indoors. Ask your storage facility whether they offer a bundle; many marinas do.
- Purify Your Boat
When you’re getting ready to go in the spring, you never want to clean your Boat. The debris left over from the boating season might grow mildew or draw bugs over the winter.
Clean the decks, seats, and wood trim to minimize moisture ingress before storing your Boat for the winter. Take out the towels, life vests, and other porous items from underneath the seats and storage hulls.
- Fill the Tank Up
During the winter, the air in the fuel tank expands and shrinks, and vents attract moisture. Just enough room should be left to allow for this expansion and contraction, but not so much that water builds up and condenses inside the tank.
- Integrate a Fuel Stabilizer.
Fuel stabilizers stop gasoline that has been sitting around for a while from oxidizing. Because gasoline is a volatile mixture of many compounds, it degrades when exposed to air and moisture. Modern fuels made of ethanol are more susceptible.
- Replace the Oil
Motor oil gathers combustion byproducts and lubricates engine components and the crankcase. Change the oil and filter before storing your Boat for the winter to stave off rust and corrosion.
- Keep the Engine Block Safe.
Like vehicle engines, boat motors have an interior “block,” a metal housing. The block needs to be emptied of water before winter (boat motors are water-cooled). If not, freezing and expansion might cause the block to shatter and the engine to fail.
- Remove the Battery and Charging
A dead battery at the start of boating season is a significant inconvenience. You are pulling the battery out and charging it instead of being on the water. Or even worse, you may go to the marina and get another one.
Summing up
Wherever you store your Boat, you need to cover it to keep out rodents and the weather. Sprinkler systems and dust are features of indoor storage facilities.
Source – https://dailybusinesspost.com/marina-boat-storage-florida-how-to-prepare-before-storing-your-boat/
