Preparing Your Boat for Winter Storage

An excellent time for Spanish Springs boat owners to consider their winter storage choices is when the boating season is coming to a close. Whether you're a first-time boat owner preparing for your first winter or a seasoned boating vet with a plan in place, we've got some pointers that could be useful.

Depending on where and how you store your boat, you may need to prepare it differently. The following are the most prevalent methods of boat storage:

•    At home, on a trailer outside
•    Within the garage
•    In a special storage facility

We're not going to consider keeping your boat in the water as a storage strategy for the purposes of this article. If you keep your boat in the water, you'll need to maintain it similarly to the rest of the year.
We have a few ideas for each of the storage solutions we've outlined that will help you prepare your boat for the chilly months ahead.

Keeping Your Boat at Home on a Trailer

For many boat owners, this is the easiest and most typical winter boat storage arrangement. The primary advantages of this approach are its low cost and ease of use. You can simply keep an eye on your boat by parking it on a trailer at home, and there are no storage costs.

Pro Hints

•    Shrink-wrapping your boat is essential for keeping moisture and mildew at bay.
•    Fill your trailer tires to avoid flats this winter.
•    To avoid ice damage, make sure your boat is totally dry.
•    Fill the gas tank with fuel stabilizer and run antifreeze through the water systems.
•    Remove the battery and replace it with a trickle charger.

Keep in mind that this type of storage provides only minimal protection from the environment. Your yacht will be more vulnerable to damage from vermin, vandals, and thieves. Finally, certain homeowner organizations may prohibit you from parking your boat in your driveway.

Keeping Your Boat in Your Garage

This is a wonderful alternative if you have room in your garage and your boat is small enough to fit. Attached garages will absorb heat from your home (separate garages would not, unless heated separately), keeping them from freezing overnight.

This approach provides the same fundamental benefits as the previous alternative, but with the additional bonus of far greater (in principle) protection against pests and vandalism.

Pro Hints

•    Fill and flush your boat's systems with antifreeze to prepare it for winter.
•    Repair any gaps in the garage foundation to protect your boat from rats.
•    Charge and test your battery using a trickle charger once a month.
•    Tarping your boat for winter storage is critical to protecting it from dust and bugs, even if you store it in a garage.

The major disadvantage of this strategy is the amount of room your boat will take up in your garage. Boat owners are sometimes forced to choose between storing their boat and parking their automobile in the garage. Finally, unless you have a really big garage, this strategy is only appropriate for smaller boats.

Boat Storage Dedicated (Dry Stacked Storage)

A specialized indoor boat storage facility, also known as dry stacked storage, is often the most secure option to store and safeguard your boat over the winter. Your boat is assured to be protected from the elements 24 hours a day, seven days a week in a specialized boat storage facility. There is usually 24-hour security surveillance as well.

Boat storage in Spanish Springs additionally provides our customers with a variety of extra choices to supplement our normal storage service. This covers services such as having your boat winterized for you, physical examination and maintenance of your boat and trailer, and transportation if you want your boat transported to Lake Tahoe or Folsom Lake.

Pro Hints

•    A waterproof cover will keep your boat safe.
•    Make certain that any valuables and other goods have been removed from your yacht.
•    Consider removing batteries and storing them on trickle chargers for prolonged storage.
•    Check with the facility to see if there are any fuel tank regulations for fire protection.

Keep in mind that, depending on the facility and quality of service you choose, the number of times you may take your boat out each month may be limited. While this option offers the greatest security for your boat, it is not accessible in all places and is likely to be the costliest.