While we here in the warm southeast normally do not concern ourselves with winterization, folks in Virginia and North Carolina had harsh icing and freezing last winter and some are forecasting another cold winter this year. BoatUS remains the premiere advocate for boater safety on any waterway and we are proud to have them as SPONSORS!

NEWS From BoatUS
Boat Owners Association of The United States
880 S. Pickett St., Alexandria, VA 22304

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press Contact: D. Scott Croft, 703-461-2864, SCroft@BoatUS.com

Unlike this vessel, boats that are properly winterized are most likely to enter next year’s boating season without damage and ready to hit water (credit: Jack Hornor).

No-Cost `Boater’s Guide To Winterizing’ Offered by BoatUS

ALEXANDRIA, Va., September 16, 2015 — Water expands in volume by about nine percent when it freezes, creating a staggering force that can crack a boat engine block, damage fiberglass, split hoses, or destroy a boat’s refrigeration system overnight. As cold weather approaches, Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS) dug into its claims data and found that more than three-quarters of winter-related claims involved cracks in the engine block or the exhaust manifolds. Now, the national boating services, safety and advocacy group has available at no-cost a 15-page `Boater’s Guide to Winterizing‘ that can ensure boaters don’t miss a step for any type of boat.

`Boaters up North know they need to winterize, so their freeze claims almost always involve poor winterizing,’ said BoatUS Director of Technical Services Beth Leonard. `In the temperate South, the issue can be a case of no winterizing, or relying on a heater when the electricity goes off, usually when you need it most.’

The downloadable brochure addresses the reasons for more than 95 percent of the freeze claims handled by the BoatUS Marine Insurance Program in the past decade. Included are chapters on: Storing your boat – The options and the tradeoffs; a Winterizing Checklist to use as the starting point for creating your own boat’s winterizing list; Engines and Drives – The dos and don’ts; and Plumbing – Getting the water out, which is great for larger boats.

Additional information includes tips on choosing antifreeze, lessons learned from BoatUS Consumer Affairs about protecting yourself with a winterization contract, and green winterizing information.

The checklist is available at www.BoatUS.com/winterizingguide.

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About Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS):

BoatUS is the nation’s largest organization of recreational boaters with over a half million members. We are the boat owners’ voice on Capitol Hill and fight for their rights. We help ensure a roadside breakdown doesn’t end a boating or fishing trip before it begins, and on the water, we bring boaters safely back to the launch ramp or dock when their boat won’t, day or night. The BoatUS Insurance Program gives boat owners the specialized coverage and superior service they need, and we help keep boaters safe and our waters clean with assistance from the non-profit BoatUS Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water. Visit BoatUS.com.