Wellcraft Boat Owners Forum

Hi - I'm looking for some guidance. I have a Wellcraft 270 Coastal 2003. The boat was purchased form FL, shipped to TN, and sat for about 4 years. I have put over $20k in rebuilding the engine, new canvas and cushions. Unfortunately, I do not have the time to use the boat as I had hoped. I'm planning to take the boat out of the water, winterize it and store it. My question is, what risk or potential issues might I face not using the boat and storing it for a long period of time - I'm sill in he breaking in period with the motors. I plan to both winterize and use a bilge heater this winter, but I'm worried about non-use. I'm a complete novice - the boat was bad debt I took on as a parting gift in a lousy divorce. The alternative would be to cut my losses and sell the boat. It's a great boat - my goal is to master it and have a life that includes the lake - it's just bad timing. I would like to hold onto it - any suggestions? Thank you in advance!

Some issues of concern, fuel will not store well at the very least it should have a treatment added prior to storage (hopefully it is not ethanol added fuel) and tanks nearly full, or fuel system drained completely, next fresh water system should be drained completely if possible or RV type antifreeze added to system, be sure to keep some dehumidifiers in the boat like the large bucket sized Damp-rid you can get at Home Depot, and change them periodically to help avoid moisture build up and mold, engines should have fresh oil change and be fogged with fogging oil before putting up, may also consider a little oil in the cylinders too, remove plugs put an ounce or so of oil in cylinder and replace plug (after fogging), I would cover air intakes (flame arrestors) too, motors don't take well to long periods of non use, but gas engines tolerate this better than diesels, cover as much of boat and hull as possible with cover that provides water and UV protection to keep gel-coat from oxidizing too rapidly, good coat of wax before storage would help too. Be sure, as you mention, to winterize and use bilge heater, I would not rely on heater alone incase of power outages (guess how I know), Check on boat regularly to monitor any issues that arise.

I recently bought a boat that was in storage for 6 years, owner spent several thousand dollars to fix up items neglected at storage time, and that was indoor storage in very moderate climate contitions.