5 Tips to ensure your boat goes from storage to lake in great condition this Spring 2021
Spring is here, kicking off, what is for boat owners, the most wonderful time of the year: boating season. Nothing beats the rising excitement owners feel as they make plans to bring their boats out of storage and lavish them with TLC to get them ready to hit the water.
There will be more boaters on Lake Mead in 2021
This season, at Luxelocker storage facility in Henderson, NV, we’re expecting to see more boaters than ever. In 2020, over 8 million people visited Lake Mead National Recreation Area, half a million more than in 2019. On top of that, 2020 US powerboat sales skyrocketed by 12% and are expected to keep growing in 2021. People simply cannot get enough of the outdoors, and it’s no surprise that more are wanting to experience the exhilaration and sheer beauty of being on the water.
5 Tips for getting your boat from storage to water in great condition
How well you have winterized your boat and stored it during the off-season will be factors in how much work you have ahead of you. Here are our five tips for getting your boat ready and raring to launch:
- Have a checklist Ask yourself how well you winterized your boat. Were you thorough or were there some things that you put off doing until the start of the season? Keeping a documented checklist of everything that you did and didn’t do can stop you from overlooking important jobs, like replacing plugs or changing the oil, and creates a winterize and dewinterize ritual that you can follow each year.
- Carry out a thorough visual inspection of the inside and outside of the boat
Refamiliarize yourself with your boat by taking your time in giving it a thorough visual check both inside and outside. Check the outside for any damage that you may have missed last year, and then move to the inside to check that your furnishings have not become moldy or that any critters have moved in over winter. If your boat has wintered in an insulated, individual storage facility, you don’t have to worry about any nasty surprises, although, of course, little critters like spiders can still creep in. - Make sure services are up-to-date
Chances are you arranged for all services to be carried out before storing your boat for winter, however double check and arrange for any outstanding services to be completed. When it comes to getting the boat run ready, make sure that all your plugs and hoses are in place. Then make sure the battery is fully charged. A great option for keeping your battery in good shape over winter is to keep it plugged into a trickle charger. Storing your boat in a facility with access to electricity makes this a lot simpler as you can use an extension cord to plug it in, rather than having to remove the battery to keep it charged at home or elsewhere. - Check safety requirements
Each state has its own safety regulations that boaters must comply with so be sure to check them out. For those boating in Nevada on Lake Mead, Lake Tahoe, Pyramid Lake, or any other location in the state, the Nevada Department of Wildlife is responsible for all boating regulations. In general, the safety basics always include:
a. life jackets,
b. throwable flotation devices,
c. fire extinguishers,
d. and visual and sound signaling devices.
These should be checked for their condition, and in the case of life jackets, that they still fit your crew!
5. Make sure your paperwork is up to date
Finally, check that your registration and any other licenses or permits have been renewed.
Of course, every boat has different needs so be sure to thoroughly research how to best dewinterize your specific boat. Furthermore, every boat has different storage needs. To check out the features that make Luxelocker a premier choice for storage, visit our website.
Now that you’re ready to go, we’d like to wish everyone a safe and fun boating season 2021, and for boat storage needs