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Before putting your expensive investment into boat storage for the season, you should always start with a good checklist of things to do prior to putting the boat "down for the winter", so to speak. Such boat storage checklists exist all over the internet so a quick search should turn up loads of them. Although most of them are very complete, you should always modify the boat storage checklist that you choose with some of your own custom steps or information that is specific to your particular make and model of boat. Be sure to also take into consideration the weather where you live whenever you are planning to put your craft into boat storage for the season.
For example, your boat's gas tank should always be topped of and oil should always be changed prior to putting it into storage for the year. Electronic devices and batteries should be removed to safe storage and not left out in the elements if you are opting for the "driveway" method of boat storage, meaning you simply plan on covering your boat and leaving it on the trailer in your driveway for the winter. Although this type of outdoor boat storage works for many boat owners, I prefer indoor boat storage or stacked storage myself. Indoor boat storage simply provides much more protection from the elements of nature than does outdoor trailer storage. However, this is a personal decision so feel free to use whatever type of boat storage that you prefer.
Be sure that you correct and repair any dings, cracks, etc on your boat before putting it into boat storage for the season. It just makes so much more sense to repair these types of issues prior to letting the boat sit in storage for months on end because small problems like this can become larger ones with time. Because of this fact, it is important that you perform repairs of such problems before storing the boat for the season.
Before putting your boat into boat storage for the season, you should always give it a good and thorough cleaning. Failure to give it a good wash before storing it away for several months is like to result in a few foul smelling surprises when it comes time to put it back out on the water a few months later. Going through your boat with a fine tooth comb and cleaning it up prior to putting it into storage is the best way to avoid such a mess when you get it out at the beginning of the following season.
How and where you will store your boat is an important decision. My personal preference is store my boat indoors in a climate controlled storage environment even though it is more expensive. I prefer this method of boat storage to the others because it affords the boat much more protection that simply covering it and leaving it outside in the elements. By keeping the boat indoors, it is totally protected from anything that nature can throw at it. Just be sure to properly support the hull whenever you decide to dry-store your boat. Failure to properly support he boat's hull will certainly result in cracked bulkheads, engine misalignment, and other serious distortions that can very easily render your boat useless. This, of course, is never a good thing!
There you have it. This article, I hope, has given you a few very good tips for ensuring a safe and sound boat storage season. If you can combine the boat storage tips in this article with just a bit of good old fashioned common sense, you can have your boat out of storage and in the water in no time come next boating season. Just remember to always refer to the user guide that came with your boat and motor to fill in the details and to ensure they do not require anything special prior to putting them into boat storage for the season.
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