The time has come for winterizing your boat and putting it away for the season. Learn the best way to do so in this post by Mooresville Synthetic Oil in Mooresville and keep your boat in the best shape possible.

Drain and Replace Your Engine’s Oil

When planning to winterize your boat, it’s important to pay special attention to your gear and engine oil. After a while inside your engine, it’s possible that acids and moisture from the oil can cause damage to its components. Drain the oil before you put your boat in storage to avoid this. To make it easier to drain the oil, it’s best to warm up the engine while in the water. While you drain the oil, keeping an eye on the old oil is essential to ensure it’s not lumpy or milky. If it is, it’s possible moisture has infiltrated your engine, which means you’ll need new seals before the next time you take the boat on the water. Once you drain it, change your oil filter and replace your old oil with a quality product like AMSOIL’s 10W-40 Synthetic Marine Engine Oil.

A consistent maintenance routine is an excellent way to help your boat’s performance. For advice on the best products for your boat, call Mooresville Synthetic Oil at (336) 247-0212 or visit AMSOIL’s website to place an order today.

Fogging ad Greasing Your Engine

Lubrication is vital to your engine and to keep it from rusting. Other than your boat’s engine oil, there are two ways to ensure your boat is lubricated enough to fend off corrosion on your engine’s metal components. Let’s take a look at each of them:

• Fogging oil: This heavy lubricant comes in a spray that is very effective at keeping your boat lubricated through winter.
• Marine lubricant: Using a marine lubricant on your grease fittings is another way to prevent oxidation, corrosion, or rust from forming on your engine.

Save Your Fuel System with a Fuel Stabilizer

A fuel stabilizer is an additive designed to prevent fuel from retaining moisture and deteriorating inside your engine. Draining your engine’s oil when winterizing your boat for the season isn’t enough, as the remaining fuel could still cause varnish and gum inside your engine. A high-quality fuel stabilizer is key to a functioning engine once boating starts up again. Once you’ve added the fuel stabilizer to your engine, run it a few times to get the fuel with the stabilizer through your entire engine.

Winterize your boat for a better year-long performance. Call Mooresville Synthetic Oil at (336) 247-0212 for advice on the best products to keep your boat in good condition. Once you’re ready to place your order, visit AMSOIL's online store 24/7.

Flush the Engine and Cooling System

Another vital step to take when winterizing your boat is to flush the engine and cooling system thoroughly. This is important because freezing temperatures cause water to expand, and this could damage your engine. To flush your engine, it’s important to refer to your boat owner’s manual, but the basics are to connect your cooling system to a garden hose using water muffs and flush it with clean water. Then remove the water pump hose and the drain plugs in your manifold and engine and finish draining them.

Wash and Wax

Washing and waxing your boat before storing it for the season is also essential. Here are six steps to take to ensure your boat is as clean and protected as possible:

1. Start from the inside out and clean out the cabin, saloon, and heads.
2. Scrub through its crevices and topsides, ensuring you get all the dirt out.
3. Clean and polish any glass or plastic elements on the deck.
4. Clean any canvas parts and apply a waterproofer.
5. Use a hull cleaner to remove animal or plant buildup on the sides of your boat.
6. Wash and wax the sides.

Remember that washing and waxing your boat isn’t only good for preserving the paint job, boat components, and functionality for the next boating season.

Good Storage

The last step when winterizing your boat is finding a good place to store it during winter or to cover it up nicely. Dry storage can help keep your boat in excellent condition throughout the season, but it can be expensive. Another option is to use a durable and sturdy boat cover to protect it from the elements and ensure it will be in good condition for next season. Make sure to choose the option that best fits your boat’s needs.

This winter, protect your boat’s engine with only top-shelf products. Call Mooresville Synthetic Oil at (336) 247-0212 today and have an oil pro help you choose the best ones for your boat’s engine, or visit AMSOIL’s website to see their full range of products.