What does “winterize” mean?
“Winterize” means taking care of your boat in the winter months when you aren’t taking her out on a regular basis. It involves creating a check list of tasks that will protect your boat when you can’t be there. Your owner’s manual will have some recommendations on the best way to proceed for your vessel.
Why do it?
“Summerize” is easy – we get some beers, we are joined by our boat-loving friends, and we show off our boat to the world. But winterizing is not quite as easy, and those friends seem to have disappeared. And to make things worse, if you don’t take some really important steps to protect your boat, there may not be beer on the lake next year!
What are the basic steps every boat owner should take?
- Wash and clean the boat
- Run and drain the bilge pump
- Drain and flush toilets
- Leave all storage areas open
- Make repairs as necessary
- Partially fill the boat engine’s fuel tank with fuel stabilizer and top up with marine fuel. Run the motor enough to allow treatment to run through the system.
- Flush out the cooling system
- Spray the engine with oil recommended for boat engines
- Cover your boat
How does the Xtreme Heater help?
The Xtreme Heater operates in your bilge or engine compartment and is programmed to automatically turn on when temperatures reaches around 40 F and prevent freezing from occurring to critical marine components.
