How to winterise a boat
With the arrival of the colder winter months and moving out of the summer season, it’s essential to consider preparing your boat for the upcoming spring. This is particularly important if you intend to keep your boat out on the hard this coming winter.
Keeping the vessel dry and warm is essential to maintaining the longevity of the boat’s life, helping prevent mould from damaging the interior and condensation causing havoc.
Regular maintenance for both the interior and exterior of your boat will preserve its aesthetic appeal and contribute to the longevity of the engine and other vital parts – a top tip of ours if you’re looking to eventually sell it on! Winterising a boat can be overwhelming for first-timers, which is why we’ve created this beginner’s guide to winterising a boat so that you have a complete checklist.
Professional Winterisation Service
Contents:
- Winterising the interior of a boat
- Winterising the exterior of the boat
- Winterising the engine and other parts
Winterising the interior of a boat
Preparing the interior of your boat for winter is a crucial task to ensure its longevity and functionality. As the cold season approaches, protecting the inside of your vessel from the harsh elements is paramount.
Remove items
Before storing your boat, it’s essential to thoroughly clear out the interior. Items such as cushions and soft furnishings are prone to dampness, so it’s advisable to store them off the boat.
If you prefer to keep items on your boat, make sure they are properly ventilated as mould can grow quicker within the colder months. Valuables and paperwork should be stored in a safe place away from the boat to ensure they don’t get damaged in the harsh winter months.
Ventilating and dehumidifying
Ensuring your boat is kept dry is essential to maintaining her during the winter months. We strongly recommend installing a dehumidifier along with a bar heater (although it is important to ensure that this cannot cause any damage to the boat if left running for long periods of time). This will help to keep the moisture levels within the boat down and help prevent mould and mildew from building up.
This shows the importance of having shore power to the boat during the winter months especially, this can also help with the lifespan of batteries by ensuring that the boat is plugged into shore power and on charge.
Canvas and upholstery cleaning
Skipping interior canvas and upholstery cleaning during winterisation can lead to unpleasant surprises in the Spring. Neglected, stained, or deteriorated upholstery can significantly reduce the resale value of your vessel. Proper cleaning and protection during winterisation help preserve the interior’s quality and appeal, ensuring that come spring, she will be ship shape and ready to be used again.
Repairs and replacements
Most boats are stored on the hard during the winter months, this can be a fantastic time to invest in any significant upgrades, retrofits or renovations for your vessel such as fitting heating, bow thruster or stern thrusters and more. At Clipper Marine we have a fantastic service team ready to help you upgrade your boat.
Moreover, taking the time to ensure that everything onboard is operational during the winter will mean that come the spring you will be ready to take the boat out and enjoy the best of the season.
Imagine discovering a cracked or corroded fuel line as you come out of the colder months, posing a significant risk when you take to the water. Identifying and addressing such issues during the off-season is vital for ensuring a secure and hazard-free boat.
Cold weather and frost protection
Protecting your boat’s exterior from cold weather and frost is essential for preventing moisture-related issues come springtime.
Water trapped in cracks and crevices, pipes and more can cause costly repairs should they freeze and expand, so taking the time to ensure proper wintersation of all pipes and engines is paramount.
Sail removal and cleaning
Take the opportunity to launder your sails in the winter, with sail removal and cleaning during winterisation, you minimise the risk of deteriorating the fabric and compromising the sail’s performance. Dirt, salt, and moisture can lead to stains, weakened seams, and reduced aerodynamic efficiency.
Proper cleaning and storage ensures that your sails are ready when you hit the water again in the spring.
Polishing
The significance of polishing becomes evident when you consider the impact of UV rays on your boat’s exterior – the sun still shines even in the UK’s winter!
Over time, sun exposure can cause gel coats to fade and lose their shine. Regular polishing helps maintain the gel coat’s integrity, preventing costly repairs and ensuring your boat looks its best all year-round!
This is especially important should you be considering selling your boat as it will make her more appealing to prospective buyers as they can see that the boat has been well maintained and looked after.
For a free estimate on polishing your boat, contact the Clipper Marine team on 01489 550 583
Antifouling
Without proper antifouling, marine organisms such as barnacles can attach themselves to underwater components, such as the hull, propellers and shafts – this can lead to reduced efficiency and damage to these critical parts.
Boats need to be antifouled at least once a year to help prolong their lifespan. Taking the time to do so during the winter when the boat is out on the hard will ensure that you are taking care of your boat whilst allowing for you to be ready to launch as soon as the sun comes out.
Storage
When considering storage options for your boat during the winter there are two main things to bear in mind, the first is that as the boat will not be used as much as she would be in the summer months it can be a good idea to store her on the hard (with proper winterisation) as this allows for antifouling, upgrades and retrofits that need to be done out of the water.
However it is important to note that lower temperatures affect boats on dry land sooner than those in the water, as water retains heat for a more extended period than air. So proper winterisation of the engines and systems is a necessity.
Keeping your boat in the water relieves some of the pressure of ensuring all systems are drained properly, however this is still advisable as cold snaps can affect engines, drives and systems even whilst in the water.
Winterising the engine and other parts
Preparing your boat for winter involves more than just storing her properly. One of the most critical aspects of winterisation is taking care of your boat’s engine and other mechanical systems.
The cold weather can be harsh on these components, potentially leading to damage and costly repairs if not properly protected.
Draining water from systems
When getting your boat ready for winter, one key step is the removal of water from its various cooling systems – ensure that bilge pumps are dry and water tanks are empty.
Luckily, our engineers are on hand to help with this, providing a full winterisation service including draining the engines, water systems and more.
Engine and drive winterising
Engine and drive winterising is a crucial aspect of preparing your boat for the cold months ahead. As temperatures drop, the risk of water freezing in your engine and drive components massively increases, causing the potential for expensive damage.
Frozen water can lead to cracked engine blocks, damaged manifolds, and costly repairs. Winterising your boat’s engine and drive systems helps safeguard against such damage, ensuring the longevity of the systems onboard and a hassle free return to boating in the warmer months.
Winch servicing
The importance of winch servicing becomes evident when you consider the consequences of neglecting this system – not maintaining your winch can lead to increased friction and excessive wear, all of which when raising sails, adjusting lines or anchoring can cause a safety risk.
Take the time during the winter to ensure that everything onboard is ship shape and running as smoothly as possible.
The team at Clipper Marine can help with this by servicing the winches onboard for you, taking away the stress of doing it yourself and giving you the peace of mind that your boat is being professionally maintained. This also helps with the resale value of your boat by being able to provide prospective buyers with a full, complete, professional service history.
Generator servicing
Generator servicing is not just about preventing issues but also about optimising performance. A well-maintained generator operates more efficiently, providing consistent power for all your onboard systems.
Routine servicing includes checking fuel lines, changing filters, and inspecting electrical connections to ensure reliable operation.
Air conditioning maintenance
While you may not be using your air conditioning system in winter, neglecting its upkeep can lead to costly repairs and discomfort when the weather warms up. Proper maintenance includes cleaning coils, changing filters, and inspecting electrical connections, ensuring that your air conditioning system remains in top condition – it’s a good idea!
Winterisation service with Clipper Marine
Whilst this guide will help guide those who are starting their boating journey as to what is needed for a full winterisation, doing it alone can be stressful and can actually damage the re-sale value of the boat. Having a professional take on the work not only ensures that the work is done to the highest standard but also gives potential buyers peace of mind that your boat has been professionally maintained.
Clipper Marine offer a comprehensive range of winterising services for both power and sailing vessels including cold weather/frost protection, sail removing and cleaning, engine and drive winterising and servicing, polishing, antifouling, winch servicing, canvas and upholstery cleaning, repairs and replacement, generator servicing, air conditioning maintenance and more.
Whatever your boat needs in the winter, we can help with. Call us on 01489 550 583 to discuss your boat’s needs with our team and receive your no obligation estimates for the work.
Some of what we include in our winterisation servicing capabilities
- Ventilating and dehumidifying
- Canvas and upholstery cleaning
- Repairs and replacements
- Cold weather and frost protection
- Sail removal and cleaning
- Polishing
- Antifouling
- Draining water from systems
- Engine and drive winterising
- Winch servicing
- Generator servicing
- Air conditioning maintenance
- Storage solutions
- Upgrades and retrofits
Call the team today to discuss the ins and outs of ensuring your boat is properly protected this winter. Or email us at sales@clippermarine.co.uk
