Winter boat storage tips from Fishbrain

One morning you wake up and the first frost of fall covers the grass and leaves. You can hear geese honking in the sky as they fly south for another season and you feel it in the air. Another summer of wind whipping past your face as you motor across the lake has come to an end. It’s time to button up the boat for winter.

Storing your boat properly will ensure its longevity down the road. Proper storage will also lessen your workload next spring when it's time to get your engine firing again.

Below are some Fishbrain tips for storing your boat over winter, with some products on the Fishbrain Shop to help your engine fire up in the spring.

Service Your Engine

Replacing filters, and removing any standing water from inside your engine and adding antifreeze where applicable will prevent corrosion and burst hoses that happens when water freezes and expands. Winter cold will also affect your engine's lubrication, making lubrication an important step before storage.

This is a perfect opportunity to check for any loose or cracked belts and replace them before winter weather can damage them further. If your prop, this can also be a good time to grease the threads and shaft, also preventing any cold weather damage.

You can also take your engine to professionals for servicing before winter settles in. Be warned, however, these professionals can get backed up so make plans before the deep freeze sets in.

You should also drain your engine of all fuel and fill it with new fuel, adding a fuel stabilizer as well. The stabilizer will prevent ethanol in fuels from bonding with water after long periods of inactivity.

Clean Drain Dry

Make sure to clean the water out of your boat, any bilge pumps you may have and live wells. When excess water freezes, it will expand and can cause severe damage, creating cracks in your hull, or other areas. Also make sure to pull your plug and dry off the hull after your last outing. 

Air dryers are a great accessory that can help you dry out the inside of your boat in minutes.

Another issue that can arise from is carrying aquatic hitchhikers on your hull. Areas infected by zebra, or quagga, mussels can leave these invasive bivalves attached to a boat, or alive in a live well even after winter if you do not completely drain and dry off your boat. When spring comes, it’s possible for these hitchhikers to ride on your boat still alive and infect new water.

Unplug

Electronics are important tools on a lot of angler’s boats, but just like other tools, they can be heavily damaged by the elements. Circuits can be damaged, especially if there is any residual moisture on, or in them from your fishing season. Make sure and unplug your battery and bring it indoors as the cold of winter is also capable of draining your batteries. 

If you’re not storing your boat batteries in a climate controlled environment, it can help to charge your battery a few times during the winter, to help them keep a charge.

Cover, or Keep Indoors

If you don’t have the capability to keep your boat inside some sort of shelter all winter (and many of us don’t) Look into tarps and manufactured boat covers. It should go without saying that these covers will keep the inside of your boat safe from the harsh elements of winter wherever you are. Boat covers cost far less than a monthly storage fee and will have your craft ready for that perfect day in spring.

Whether your boat is stored indoors, or outside with a cover, you should also loosen any straps on your trailer as well. The straps will retain their tensile strength and the mechanical cams will be under less stress all winter.

Spring thaw will come before you realize and fishing will follow it closely. Don't spend the first warm days of spring conducting maintenance on your boat that could have been avoided. Follow these tips and check for boat maintenance supplies on the Fishbrain Store to keep your boat safe from the elements.