Your boat is like a cranky toddler that doesn鈥檛 want to go to bed.
Yet for most boaters, it鈥檚 time to winterize and say good night for the season. How easy this process is, depends on the size and type of boat. And while Google and YouTube will offer endless hours of scrolling 鈥渉ow-to鈥� articles and videos, if you need in-person help, there are new and established local Comox Valley marine businesses that offer winterization services at any level of need 鈥� so you can coax that baby to bed.
I recently spoke with Erika Hansen at Oceanside Marine Care, a startup business that offers fully mobile boat detailing packages. Hansen explained their services are specific to interior cabin and exterior marine detailing, from a light clean-up to deep and intensive restoration. Boat canvas and other fabric protection are labour-intensive chores necessary to preserve expensive dodger and bimini tops from mold and rot. Oceanside Marine Care offers three package levels of boat detailing: the 鈥淲ake-Up鈥� package could just as easily be called a winterizing 鈥淕o to Sleep."
CV Marine in Courtenay offers complete 鈥淏oat Valet Services.鈥� The service manager, Curtis, explained how CV Marine鈥檚 triple axel trailer easily handles large power vessels (in fact, larger easier than smaller). They can pick up from the marina and winterize and store the vessel. CV Marine can also shrink wrap your boat with a protective all-weather polyethylene. Depending on the boat, Curtis ballparked the cost at $500 鈥� an expense to weigh against the value of the boat.
When I spoke with Tessa, service manager at Parker Marine, she said most customers either bring the boat/engine to them or purchase the products needed to do winterization work themselves. For example, a boat can be brought in for an annual servicing and then add on winterizing 鈥� the overall cost varies to the labour time. Water systems, kickers, carburetors, and fuel lines: all need flushing, stabilizing, sheltering.
A full line of products and winterizing expertise is also available at Desolation Sound Yacht and Marine Supply Store in Comox, the chandlery now on winter hours.
Well-known and respected by local boaters, Simon Deller of Salty Dog Marine is a diesel mechanic by trade. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 work on gas,鈥� he said, referring to smaller runabouts, but will winterize engines, service and flush systems. During our phone conversation, I remarked that it sounded like he was working. 鈥淚鈥檓 in the bilge,鈥� he said. "Soothing the belly of somebody鈥檚 baby."
