Fishing, Hunting and Camping
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Should I Winterize My New Boat? Yes, and This is Why
Well, it’s that time of year again in most parts of the country. Time to winterize your boats, so they are ready to go next spring when you go to fire her up. Today, we are going to cover some of the important reasons why you should not let your baby sit through the winter the way you last parked it, and why you should winterize your boat.
Photo Credit: boatus.com
Reasons to Winterize Your Boat
There are many reasons you should winterize your boat, below you will find what we think are the most important reasons.
Keeping it running well
I’m sure you know what happens when you let gas sit in anything with a motor for a long period of time. You think your weed-eater is hard to start? You don’t want the investment you put into your boat to be just as hard to start.
- Gas will turn sour and lose it’s “punch”. Old gas does not burn as good as fresh gas. In fact, the longer gas sits, the worse it is for your vehicle. You want to get your gas tank emptied and all your hoses drained. Not doing so, can lead to many issues including lowering the life of your motor. On top of that, gas can freeze which can expand and crack your hoses.
- Your carb! Gas sitting in your carburetor can run havoc on how your boat runs. Making sure it is clean when you put her down for the year will insure a quick start in the spring.
- There is no better time to replace old oil with new. It is important to drain your lower unit oil in the winter and replace with fresh in the spring. Didn’t use your boat much this year? It doesn’t matter, it is worth the small investment to just do it.
- By greasing all your electric connections and movable parts, it will protect them from the harshness of winter. You can find this grease at any Marine Supplies Store. You don’t want flaky connections while out on the water!
Keeping it looking good
It would be nice to have indoor winter storage for your boat, but most people do not have the space for this. This means that most boats are kept outdoors. And just like the summer sun, winter can prematurely age your boat in many ways.
- Between the sun, snow, rain and cold, your seats and carpet will pay a heavy price if not covered correctly. Keep your boat looking good and invest in a boat cover. Do not use a tarp, they are not made to breathe and will hold in wetness. Boat covers are made to let moisture out and allow everything to breathe. This will protect you against mold and sitting water.
- Besides covering your boat, using tire covers will allow you to get many more years out of your tires. You will notice many trailers have dry-rotted tires (cracks in them). This is caused from sitting more then being drove, by the sun and water. Making sure to use some tire shine, then covering them will make them last much longer.
- While speaking about your tires, another thing you may want to do is to have them either parked on a hard surface that drains, or jack them up off the ground. Parking in grass or soft gravel will degrade your tires way faster than if you have them parked in a way that doesn’t allow standing water.
- Cleaning your boat now while winterizing will make sure everything looks good come spring.
The best time to fix and replace parts
Depending on how your store your boat, depends on how much you can do while it is down for the winter. If parked inside, you have all winter to tinker with it. But if you have it outside and covered, this would be a good time to do any maintenance that you have been putting off. Want to add some pole holders? This is the perfect time!
My go-to place is Marinewaze. Much cheaper than local and I save on taxes. You can check them out or give them a call at 1-800-201-1221 if you like.
The Bottom Line
No matter what your telling yourself, know that it is important to winterize your boat. Don’t be lazy and let it pass by, you will be kicking yourself in the butt next year when you’re broke down in the middle of the lake. If you have never had to ask another boater for a tow back to dock, consider yourself lucky. It is not only a buzz kill, but embarrassing!
Take care of your equipment now so you are the one being asked for help later.
How long should a Kayak Paddle be?
Kayak, the name of the most exciting and thrilling experience on the water. You must be thinking; a kayak must be comfortable. But hold on a second, it’s fun, but it’s not an easy one. You need to select first the perfect boat for you. And an ideal ship gives you the comfortable feel of the water. After that, the measurement of a paddle comes under the light. The boat must be adjustable, but a paddle needs to be of a perfect size because this will give your hand and shoulder an ideal balance for kayaking. And your kids must not lay back from enjoying the kayaking. So whenever you choose a boat, you must keep your eyes on the measurement of the paddle.
Now you must be thinking about the perfect measurement of a paddle. And for this, you need first to take the diameter of your kayak boat.
A kayak boat comes in four different types. They are
• Recreational kayak
• Performance kayak
• Touring kayak
• Whitewater kayak
Now let us give you a short description of those kayak boats. The first one is –
Recreational kayak boat
This type of boats is usually coming in a short size but wide so that you can feel relaxed and comfortable there. It is often 26 inches to 30 inches usually.
Touring kayak boat
Such boat comes with the more compatibility. It gives you capacity. But the size is narrower. But typically it is longer in size. Usually, it comes in 22 to 26 inches long.
Performance kayak boat
These boats are usually 19 to 24 inches long. They are long in size and durable also. They come with a narrow hull.
Whitewater kayak boat
Such boat comes with a little space inside. The width won’t be as long as the height of the paddler. So it needs to be more congested.
Kayak Paddle
For paddle section, the width of the boat must be an essential factor. And if you are a part-time paddler, then it is the most crucial part. And as a tourist, your body weight and height will widely play a role in selecting a paddle.
Keep an idea in your mind that wider boats need longer paddles. But not all the time.
Paddle Length – Depending on Kayak Length
Now let us go through a measurement table that will indicate us how to select a paddle. According to the body size of the kayak and the fitness of a kayak are –
If the body of the kayak is 22 inches, then you need to choose the paddle of 180-190 cm approximately. Then if it’s 24 inches, then you need to go through 190-200 cm. If it is 26 inches, then you need to choose 200-210 cm.
If your torso size is 28 inches, then you can have a paddle of 200-220 cm long. You can choose the up to 38 inches torso, and the paddle must be 250 cm approximately. So there are the minimum and primary measurements of a paddle for a kayak.
You can quickly figure out whether the kayak paddle is right for you or not by bending your elbow up to a 90-degree angle. And you can easily do this by holding the paddle in your hand directly. If the paddle rests to the two-thirds of the meeting of shaft and blade, then your paddle is perfect. But your body fitness depends more on the paddle.
Paddle Length – Depending on Paddlers Type
Like there are different types of kayak boats, there comes a variety of paddlers also. They come in various taste and view. Some are described below-
Athletic paddler
They want the paddle to be short, and the blade must be wide. This type of paddle gives you the extra horsepower for kayaking.
Taller paddler
As they are tall, they want their paddle to be long also. And the blade must be wide so that they could easily move the paddle.
Smaller paddler
They probably prefer a paddle whose blade’s surface area is small. But if you want to paddle more in water then you can go with the larger one.
Small glove needs small shaft paddle. It’s a universal truth because it will give you a better swift in kayaking.
So I think you have got some basic techniques for choosing your paddle for a kayak. Now it’s also vital that your water body depends on your paddle also. Lakes and rivers need some type of paddle, where sea needs a different kind of paddle. So it’s a thing of research which water body you are kayaking, and the paddle choosing must be according to that.
Paddle Length – Depending on Water Types
The water in lakes and rivers are very calm and relaxed. Here you can spend a lot of time and some quality time with your dear one. So here you can choose touring paddle. These sorts of paddle come with small swift but lightweight. It gives you the feel of camping, touring as well as river riding also. So it would be a good choice for choosing a touring paddle.
A paddle with oval-shaped shaft gives you the comfort of paddling. Because you need not look at the water and easily could move the paddle. It gives you more satisfaction than a round shaped shaft in water.
Water is another important fact for a paddle. If your water is a swallow one, then you can choose a plastic paddle. It will overcome the sand, rocks and many more things of water. You can take recreational paddle also if you don’t want to spend much time in the water. This paddle is ideal for trips, fighting, and children too, though they don’t want to remain in water for much time.
For moving water, you can have performance paddle. They come with high durability and capacity so that you can handle the kayaking in your own way. The weight of those paddles is light. Fiber composite paddles are best for long trips as well as for the one who has a shoulder problem. They will provide you a lightweight feeling in the paddling section.
Whitewater paddles are much more different than other paddles. Because those paddles are created for the one, who loves adventure. And they come in a size of a shorter shaft with durable nature. Those paddles give the adventurous feeling to the paddlers.
So I think you can now easily choose the paddle. Happy kayaking!