Winter blues

CASEY RESSLER

Frontiersman Valley Life editor

All that's left of the king salmon season is the pile of photographs and a full freezer full of fish. The silver season is all but done, too. But now is perhaps one of the most important times in the fishing season - when you should winterize your boat, to make sure you can get after those kings again next spring.

Winterizing an outboard or inboard motor is of utmost importance, and for about $100, you can make sure your boat is ready to roar across the water next year. If you don't winterize your boat, however, you can expect to be replacing lots of parts in your motor - and watching your buddies catch fish while you spend some time in the garage.

"Draining the water out of the lower units of outboards and out of the inboard engines is really important," said Frankie Harris of Big Lake Power Sports and Marine. "If you even let a little bit of water in there, it's going to freeze and you're in the trouble."

If you accidentally let some water stay in your motor, you can look forward to replacing cracked heads, or maybe even a cracked heat exchanger, sometime next spring.

"It doesn't cost a lot to winterize, but it's worth it," said Dan Berg of Wasilla Arctic Cat and Marine, whose routine winterizing package costs about $90. "We pull the batteries, check the antifreeze levels, put in some fuel stabilizer - basically do everything it takes to make it ready for the spring."

Stabilizing fuel is another important thing to remember when preparing your boat for the harsh winter months.

"Fuel has a relatively short shelf life and it breaks down in a couple months and can cause some serious problems in your engine," Harris said. "By putting fuel stabilizer in and running it through your fuel system, it takes fuel a lot longer to break down."

You can have your boat professionally winterized at a number of marine stores, but you can also save a few bucks by doing everything yourself. Make sure you have a checklist prepared before you start the work, so you don't forget anything important before it's too late.

When preparing your boat for the winter, it's also a good idea to check out the structure, to notice any pinpoint holes or dents that may need repaired before you pull the boat out next spring.

Another thing to think about when putting your boat away for the winter is covering it.

Covering the boat is one way to make sure snow and ice don't ruin the boat. You can do it one of two ways - you can go the tarp-and-bungee route, or you can have it professionally shrink-wrapped.

Prices vary from company to company, but in some cases, the money is well spent to shrink wrap.

"It doesn't sag when snow and ice build up, and it's got a venting system that allow moisture to dry up," Harris said. "But a lot of people just go with tarps, and they work, but they do sag when you've got a lot of snow on them."