How To Store Your Boat For A Wyoming Winter (2025)

Here is everything you need to know to take care of your boat in winter – from protecting the engine to keeping the fuel system safe, this guide will help you with all the necessary information.

Wyoming is home to several rivers, including the popular Snake River, where people explore with their boats. There’s a lot to enjoy in this area, like scenic floats and whitewater rafting.

However, after the warm season, most boats go into storage till next year. And that is such a long time to store any vehicle without proper care. Winter months in Wyoming come with a lot of wind, heavy snow, and even blizzards.

This extreme cold with fluctuating temperatures increases the risk of boat damage. With boats coming with different parts, including mechanical and electrical sections that can be affected by the harsh conditions of the winter period, extra care needs to be taken.

The Wyoming winter is unforgiving, and if you want to keep your boat in good condition for the next season, you have to follow some best practices while storing the boat. Here is a guide to storing your boat for a Wyoming winter season:

How To Store Your Boat For A Wyoming Winter

Thoroughly Clean The Boat

Before storing your boats for the winter in Wyoming, the first thing you should do is thoroughly clean it up. The usage through the summer months typically leaves a lot of dirt on the boat’s body, seats and interior.

Storing without cleaning these off will give the dirt time to damage your boat. Whether it is rust, fungi, or even smell, that wine spill on the leather seat or meal crumbs in the corner will definitely become even more unconducive after months of storage.

So get those cleaning gear ready and scrub dirt off the boat’s body, seats, tires, everywhere so you can get set for storage during the long winter period in Wyoming.

Don’t forget to add wax to all exterior parts of the boat to protect it from corrosion or fading caused by intense UV rays or harsh weather conditions during the winter.

Winterise The Engine

The term winterising the engine is just a stylish way of saying preparing the boat for the winter and typically involves steps that protect the engine, plumbing and generally places that extreme cold and freezing water can corrode.

Winterising your engine is especially vital in Wyoming due to the extreme winter temperatures, winds, and snowstorms that are common in the area. Here is a detailed step-by-step guide to wintering your boat in Wyoming:

• Flush The Engine: This process involves removing all remaining water from the engine and drying it out. And this is because water in any engine component can freeze during the winter and cause damage.
• Add Antifreeze: The engine’s cooling system is also at risk during Wyoming’s winter which is why you need to add marine-grade antifreeze to prevent the coolant from freezing at any point.
• Change The Oil: Old oil and filters may already have contaminants that can cause contamination. So change both oil and filter before storage.
• Fog The Engine: Rust can also happen inside the engine cylinders during the winter period. But by fogging the cylinders in the engine, you prevent any rust.

Protect The Fuel System

The fuel system also needs some form of protection when storing your boat in the winter in Wyoming. While fuel is harder to freeze, stale fuel can gum up the system in the winter. Here is how to protect the fuel system for storage during winter:

• Fill The Tank: As counterproductive as it may seem, adding more fuel, not less, is best when storing for a long time. You want to get your tank to about 95% full to prevent condensation.
• Add a Fuel Stabiliser: Damages like corrosion, oxidation, gum, and varnish are common during the winter in Wyoming. However, adding a fuel stabiliser and running it so it can circulate will prevent all that.
• Replace Fuel Filters: Don’t wait for the spring before you replace fuel filters. Do that before storage in the winter.

Remove Electronics And All Valuables

It goes without saying, but you shouldn’t be leaving any valuables in your boat before storing it for the winter. Not only is it liable to get stolen, but it can also get damaged.

The same goes for electronics, as they do not do well when exposed to extreme cold weather. Electronics like radios, fish finders, and GPS should be taken off and stored properly.

Cover And Store The Boat Properly

Ready to store that water vehicle? It is time to cover it up with a boat cover. Covering your boat is important, whether you’re storing your boat outdoors or indoors, due to the intense wind and heavy snowfall common in Wyoming.

There is also the issue of general wear and tear on the body and interior, like seats, that a fitted boat cover can slow down.

Storing your boat throughout the winter requires it to be in the best place. Places like your garage, driveway, may do the job, but so does a storage facility that lets you utilise the space in your home for other activities.

Thankfully, there are secure boat storage facilities you can use during the winter in Wyoming. The Westbank Storage facility is at the top of the list due to the safety measures like 24/7 video surveillance and clean units.

If storing outdoors, endeavour to keep the boat elevated off the ground and angled so water and snow can run off easily.

Maintain The Battery

The boat’s battery is another component you must remove from the boat, as it can easily get damaged and run down if left inside during the harsh winter conditions in Wyoming.

However, simply removing and storing in a cool and dry place is not enough; you also need to maintain the charge. Thankfully, a simple trickle charger is enough for this. Ensure to use it periodically.

Check The Boat Periodically

The winter and cold period in Wyoming typically stretches for 6 to 8 months, which means you may need to store your boats for a long time. Leaving the boat without checking it for over 6 months is a recipe for disaster.

You need to periodically check the boat, including the covers. Check for snow buildup and water collection on it. Also, make sure there are no tears on the cover.

Rodents and insects are also common problems you may face, so you want to check for signs like their waste. If indoors, proper ventilation is needed to ensure your boat is in good condition.

Wyoming sees harsh winters when boat owners are no longer able to explore the many rivers in the area and will need to park their boats. However, the different components of a boat mean simply parking it for over 6 months is not feasible, as it will lead to damage.

To safely store this boat and ensure it works fine after the Wyoming winter, you have to take care of the boat before and during the storage period.

Things like winterising the engine, cleaning the boat, removing valuables and electronics, and safely storing the boat become important. When storing you can use your garage if you have the space, otherwise, top boat storage facilities in Wyoming like Westbank Storage can help you.

Westbank Storage near Wilson just has a lot going for it, from its easily accessible location to its additional features like different container sizes, barns, and open parking available for boat storage.

If you want to secure your boat against the harsh Wyoming winter, using the secure Westbank Storage facility seems like a no-brainer for boat owners in the area.