Four Tips To Properly Prepare Your Boat For Storage During The Cold Winter Months
Posted on: 28 September 2017
During the cold winter months, it is important to store your boat in a place where it will not get damaged by the elements. If you live in an area that does not have a boat storage facility readily available to you, you may want to consider storing your boat in a traditional storage facility. The following guide walks you through a few tips to use to ensure that your boat can be stored properly when you put it in storage for the winter.
Clean Out the Live Wells Thoroughly
If you are storing a fishing boat that has live wells in it, you need to be sure to clean them out thoroughly before putting them in storage. The live wells can start to stink when they are placed in storage for a long period of time. Leaving water in the wells is not a good idea because it can become stagnant and serve as a breeding ground for mosquitoes. The smell from the wells could also attract rodents and insects if they are not cleaned properly.
Remove All Food from the Boat
It is important to thoroughly vacuum the boat before you put it in storage. You need to be sure to remove all crumbs and food particles from the carpeting and seats in the boat so that they do not attract rodents or bugs. Rodents can chew the wiring on the boat, ruin the carpeting, and even make nests in the seats which can destroy them. Eliminating all food sources betters your chances of having the boat stay rodent free while it is being stored.
Empty Gas from the Engine Before Storing the Boat
Gas can go bad over time and you do not want to leave gas in the gas tank of your boat and have it go bad. Be sure to siphon all of the gas out of the boat that you can so that it does not sit stagnant in the gas tank for an extended period of time.
Place Mothballs Around the Perimeter of the Boat
The smell of mothballs can deter rodents from coming into the unit at all. Place mothballs on the ground around the trailer that the boat is sitting on. You do not want to place moth balls directly on the boat because the smell can penetrate the carpeting and create a pungent odor that can be hard to smell for extended periods of time. Placing them on the ground keeps rodents away without causing the boat to stink at the same time.
Be sure to check on your boat everyone once in awhile to make sure that it is okay. When you take it out to use it after it has been in storage it may need a slight tune up to get it into perfect working condition. For more information, contact a business such as Gorst Self Storage.
Share