Here are the first steps BoatUS recommends when getting ready to winterize your boat:
Top off the fuel tanks
If the tanks are full (but provide room for the gas to expand), water can't appear and corrode the tank's interior. Add stabilizer to keep the gasoline from loosing its kick. A full tank will also keep fumes minimal.
Goodbye Bimini/Dodger
For whatever reason, some recreational boaters believe because the canvas that is spread over aluminum frames can keep the sun off them on an August day, the same material is going to keep three feet of snow off the boat in December. Snow weighs more than the sun. BoatUS Insurance files are filled with reports of bent aluminum frames because owners mistakenly figured their biminis could support a week's worth of snow. While we're on the subject, the canvas that is stretched across your boat can be torn by strong winter winds. Remove the equipment that is designed to protect you from the sun.
The Plug
As is probably all too obvious, every where a boat ramp exists, there is a story about someone forgetting to put the drain plug back in after launching their boat. And these stories occur most often early in the season when boaters appear at the ramp for the first trip. Having the drain plug in the boat is not something you want done when your boat is outside on a trailer. Rainwater and melted snow will collect on the floor and the bilge and a deep freeze can result in some cracks in places you don't want cracks. Take the plug out, tie it around the steering wheel so you'll remember to put it back in at the ramp and let the rain water flow out as the boat sits on the trailer.
Live wells?
Drain them. The stories are endless when the topic turns to a live well full of water during a deep freeze.
Pick a Parking Place
If your boat is going to sit outside, point the trailer tongue away from the street. This may mean some extra time when taking the boat to the ramp next season but not doing so makes it easier for someone looking for a boat on a trailer to back up and take it away within 30 seconds time. BoatUS insurance records show a trailer with personal watercraft is five times more likely to disappear from a driveway than any other kind boat on a trailer. A number of BoatUS Trailering Club Members lock their trailer at the hitch to ensure any potential getaway takes longer than originally thought.
