The warm weather has passed and now you have to decide what the next move is with your boat… Do you take it south and follow the sun, or do you haul it out of the water and store it on land? Sales and Administrative Liaison, Owen McIntyre interviewed our Portland Service Manager, John diPretoro, to get some great insight on what to do with your boat if you are planning to winterize it!
Q: When is the best time to winterize a boat?
A: The best time to haul and winterize a boat is any time before it freezes! Most folks tend to prepare their boat for winter any time between September and November, depending on the weather conditions. Temperature is critical; If the weather of the air and salt water is below freezing, there is the risk of freshwater systems onboard freezing up.
Q: What does the winterization process look like at DiMillo’s?
A: Before the boat gets hauled, the winterization process begins on the DiMillo’s service dock where the boat is decommissioned and the freshwater systems get drained to be filled with an antifreeze liquid. Following that, oil filters are changed and the boat is then taken to the fuel dock where its tank is filled to prevent condensation. Once the vessel is hauled out of the water, it receives a full power wash to ensure that it is clean of any growth or algae. That’s the short answer!
Q: Shrink-wrap or indoor storage?
A: Many times it comes down to price. While the indoor heated storage is more expensive, its benefit is the DiMillo’s team can work on the boats throughout the winter and keep up on all off-season service. These services include jobs like painting the hull, the underwater metals, the prop, replacing zincs, applying varnish, cleaning and waxing the deck, and more.
Winterizing a boat is a big job. It takes up a large portion of DiMillo’s technician’s fall and winter hours, but the service team in Portland, or any of our locations, is more than happy to tackle the job. To learn more about DiMillo’s service team in Portland, Maine, click here.