Winterization and winter boat storage are of utmost importance if you wish to keep your boat in prime condition for years to come. Boats are an expensive investment and become even more so when not properly cared for over the winter. Winter storage covers protect your expensive upholstery, carpeting, and interior from the harshest of winter conditions. This decreases your cost in the long run as you are not faced with the prospect of replacing expensive upholstery, carpeting, or other interior work. In this article I am going to briefly outline several different winter storage options. The following articles will delve deeper into the pros and cons of each option.

The most common method nowadays is to have your pontoon or other boat shrink wrapped. Oftentimes your marina will offer a package deal on winterization, shrink wrapping, and storage. Otherwise you can shrink wrap your boat at your home and store it outside throughout the winter. Shrink wrap is a durable plastic covering designed to keep the elements out of the interior of your boat.

Another common method is to buy tarps from your local hardware or big box store and use those to cover your boat for the winter. You fit the tarps over the boat and tie them down using ropes or bungee cords. Generally this option is used when you are storing your boat at home or perhaps up at the cabin for the winter.

One method that is less commonly used is to store the boat inside for the winter, either in a garage, storage shed, or renting space in a warehouse type building. This can be handy if you don’t have storage space on your own property.

A method that we used to see used regularly, but is no longer very common is winter storage covers that are built specifically to withstand the rigors of winter weather. Ours are built out of heavy duty material and designed to allow the snow to slide off, while still allowing ventilation to decrease the risk of winter mold growth.

That covers the four options for winter boat storage. Each has it’s advantages and disadvantages and we will explore those in the coming articles. No matter which method you choose, properly protecting your boat in the winter months is extremely important to avoid costly repairs and interior replacements.

Thanks for reading and enjoy the beautiful weather this week!

Jennifer