Issue date
Proper maintenance is part of boat ownership and helps stop things from breaking or failing, which is why winterising your boat is important.
Our friends at GOfuel, who provide discounted fuelcards on petrol and diesel to members of Yachting New Zealand clubs for use at Mobil, BP and Z service stations throughout New Zealand all on one account, have come up with these handy recommendations.
See here to find out more about how to apply for a GOfuel card and all the other great discounts available to holders of the Yachting New Zealand member card and app.
Winterising your engine
You should run fresh water through your engine, ideally with a neutralising product recommended for your motor. You want to get rid of the saltwater and buildup prior to wintering your boat. Flushing properly will help minimise internal corrosion.
Fog the engine
Fogging is the process of creating a protective barrier inside an engine’s internal components by applying an oily layer. This layer acts as a barrier against moisture. This is an important step for boats kept in an open area with lots of salt in the air. Please talk with your marine dealer for further information.
Spray with corrosion protection
Once the engine has been run and warm, turn off and allow cooling, then coat externally (with the cover off) with a marine corrosive protection spray. This creates a barrier that protects against rust.
With an outboard, remove the cowl and spray the components with a protectant, like a water dispersant.
The process is similar on inboard or sterndrive. Remember to coat the transmission and the sterndrive components. (Check with your manufacturer’s instructions first).
Grease cables and moving parts
Apply grease to the cables and other moving parts. This keeps everything lubricated if your boat is parked up for a while. Lubricate the steering and give it a final check. Again, spray external parts like cables and exposed steel with a protective corrosive film.
Isolate boat batteries
Dead batteries and contaminated fuel are the two most common reasons for boats to get into trouble immediately after winter.
Batteries are vital to keeping your engine working, so look after them when they are not in use. Isolate your battery switches. Turn them off or, if your boat does not have a battery switch, consider disconnecting your batteries. Make sure you trickle charge your batteries every couple of months to keep them healthy. It is most important to keep your batteries fully charged.
Fuel management
There are stabilisers and additives on the market which can help preserve fuel quality over winter.
There is still debate about whether to fill the fuel tank to near-full capacity or drain it completely.
One school of thought is to keep your tanks full to avoid condensation. Others say to keep it low. We would recommend treating the fuel that is in there then that fuel will be good for the next use (depending on the interval of non-use - fuel over three months old will become stale and could cause issues and should be additive-treated and filters changed after running before heading out on the water). We also advise putting some fresh fuel in the next time you use the boat to revive the existing fuel.
Inspect and drain any water-separating filter if you have one.
Oil change
Oil tends to deteriorate only with use, so it is good practice to perform an oil change after a lay-up period. This way you will know you have fresh oil in the engine. Noting the condition of engine oil regularly is also good practice.
GOfuel have various products at gofuel.co.nz to help winterise your boat including:
