Summerization
SUMMERIZATION: Boat owners follow the seasons like clockwork. The boat comes out in the spring, has play time in the summer, and inevitably goes into hibernation during the cold winter months. Maintaining your boat is a constant process, but it’s that last section of the cycle that needs the most attention. It takes a lot of work to winterize and then summerize your boat. It’s tedious, but it’s essential to your machine’s longevity.
It’s worth mentioning that every boat—every make and model—has different procedures for testing its equipment, which is why it is good to have a qualified mechanic check your boat to prepare for spring and summer boating fun.
The summerization process includes checking the battery, fluids, belts, hoses, etc. The technician also makes sure the engine starts easily, runs smoothly and shifts properly. If you didn’t have your oil changed during the winterization process, now is the time to get it done.
WINTERIZATION: When summer comes to an end boaters start to think about the cold winter ahead. As the seasons change, it is important to protect you boating investment with our winterization packages for both sterndrives and outboard engines. As we all know, winterizing your boat is crucial to prevent the water retained in your engine from freezing and causing catastrophic damage to your engine and water systems. Not everyone knows but winterizing should include more than just draining the water or adding anti-freeze to the water system. At Smith Mountain Marine, we not only offer different levels of protection for your year-end maintenance, but we can also winterize your generator, fresh water systems, and your AC unit.
In addition to a basic winterization, we can also change the engine oil and filter, pull and/or service your drive, change the water separating fuel filter (if applicable) and even place Damp-Rid products inside your boat. We use quality Mercury products whenever possible. Be sure to give Kim and Debbie a call in our service department 540.297.7692 (service) for more information on our winterization packages.
Maintaining your boat is a full-time gig. Putting it away for the winter, getting it back on the water, and keeping it in good shape throughout the summer takes a lot of work. If you don’t follow through with each step, you could miss something that costs a lot of money to repair in the future.
