Winterizing your boat

Marina De Drait

Winterizing your boat

In autumn, many boat owners ensure their boat is ready for the coming winter period. This process is also called ‘winterizing’; where you protect your boat against possible damage caused by winter weather, such as frost. Our engineers are happy to do this for you. This way, you and your boat are more than ready to get back on the water in het following spring period.

Winterizing includes the following steps:

  • First, we preserve the ship’s engine: we fill it with antifreeze, so that the engine doesn’t freeze. We then check the frost protection in the engine’s cooling system. 
  • If you have pumped out the water tank yourself, our engineers can blow through the drinking water pipes and disconnect the connections. With some boats, this is not possible. In that case we flush the pipes with special non-toxic antifreeze to prevent frost-damage to the tank. We will also disconnect the taps, because they are susceptible to freezing. Then, we fill the pump with antifreeze (mixed with water) and preserve the toilets. 
  • If the boat stays in the water during the winter period, we ensure that the outside circuit is also protected by antifreeze. We close the valve and fill it with antifreeze. A broken valve can cause leakage  – and therefore wet feet. When your boat will be stored on shore, we open the valve so that the water can drain. 
  • The marine battery is filled with distilled water or stored in our battery storage. 

Protection of marine engines during the winter period

We recommend that you always remove outboard motors from the water during the winter period. If your boat stays in the water, you can store the outboard motor indoor at our marina. Special rates apply for combined boat and motor storage. For more information, please contact us

 

It is important that motors with a heck drive are well protected during the winter period. We therefore recommend that these boats are always stored indoor. 

Motors with a propellor shaft line arrangement can be winterized on- and offshore. 

Prices for winterizing services up to 10.00 meters

Preparing the engine for winter: €100

Preparing the generator for winter: €100

Preparing the drinking water system for winter: €100

Preparing the shower for winter: €50

Preparing the toilet for winter: €50

Preparing the wastewater tank for winter: €80

Charging batteries per piece (excluding labor for removal and installation): €30

Feel free to ask us about the possibilities and we will send a suitable quote.

Winterizing combined with maintenance

Optionally, you can choose have your boat maintained while also winterizing it. Maintenance by our engineers consists of changing the engine oil and checking the fuel system, the cooling water pump and the battery.