by Joyce Deaton

That unmistakable nip in the air means it won’t be long before boaters on the Cape Fear waters face the annual dilemma: to winterize or not to winterize.

Winter boating in the windy Atlantic or along a chilly waterway is not everyone’s idea of a great time. Most boaters choose to winterize their boats, tuck them in for the winter and hunker down inside until the first warm day of spring. But with warmer temperatures in recent years, more boaters are choosing to keep their boats out all winter and enjoy an occasional clear, glorious winter day on the water.

Pilot talked with Bill Pearce, marine service manager with Cape Fear Boat Works in Leland, to find out how you can get your boat safely through the winter, whichever approach you take. Pearce says about 40 percent of his customers keep their boats out all year.

If you’re going to use your boat through the winter, simply drain the waste system and fresh water system and flush them with a special pink solution, available from boat stores, that’s like antifreeze for potable water. Be sure your coolant level has enough antifreeze to prevent freezing down to about 25 degrees. “If you keep your boat in the water, it will actually be a little warmer than on land, but the 25-degree mark should be sufficient either way,” he says. “Just like with your car, winter is also a good time to make sure everything is in good working order so it will run safely.” Check your battery, hoses, clamps and lines to be sure everything is shipshape before you take to the chilly water.

If you know you won’t be using your boat until spring, drain the waste and fresh water systems and flush with the pink solution. Top off the coolant in your engines, add antifreeze to protect down to 25 degrees and add fuel stabilizer to your fuel tanks. Winterizing is an excellent time to have your boat’s annual maintenance carried out. “You should do this every 12 months or 200 hours, and most of our customers do this in the winter,” says Pearce. “Then in the spring, just check for leaks. The cold weather can cause a clamp to loosen or something like that.”

A lot of boaters are do-it-yourselfers, says Pearce, and anyone who’s fairly handy can handle the winterizing chores. But be thorough. “Use a checklist to be sure you don’t forget something. That’s a common mistake,” he says. If you don’t have time to do it yourself, a shop like Pearce’s will winterize your boat for about $140 if you bring it in or $170 if they come to you.

Not sure whether you’ll hear the siren song of the sea as you sit by a cozy fire during the winter? “We recommend winterizing,” says Pearce. “Otherwise, in the spring you might find something you don’t want to find.”