Just add water: Boats come out of hibernation

As the weather warms and lake temperatures rise, marinas and handy boat owners have been busy putting docks in and readying crafts to launch for more summer fun in 2021. 

At dealers like Irwin Marine, with locations in Laconia, Alton Bay and Hudson, a staff of 90 has been readying hundreds of new boats for pick-up — as well as roughly 25 boats for renters. And on Lake Winnisquam, Opechee and Winnipesaukee, thousands of boat owners are either having their boats serviced, or they’re doing it themselves.

One key tip from Bruce Wright, general manager at Irwin Marine, is, “Plan ahead. If you needed a new propeller when you put the boat away, you better get on trying to locate one now. A lot of items are still in short supply.”

Here’s a look at the work happening at Irwin’s and in backyards and driveways throughout the Lakes Region. 

John Intorcio, Opechee Lake 

John Intorcio has owned a house on Lake Opechee with his wife, Shawn, since August 2015, when he bought his first boat, a 19-foot, 2015 Stingray bowrider with a 115-horsepower Mercury outboard engine on the back.

“I took the boater’s course, and dove into it. We brought it home and said, ‘Let’s go figure it out,’ then we drove into a sandbar,” said Intorcio, who also owns a home in North Reading, Massachusetts. 

A handy man accustomed to maintaining motorcycles and lawnmowers and other small machines, Intorcio likewise dove into the work of taking care of his boat. “I read the manual. An oil change on an engine — boat or lawnmower — is similar in principle,” he said.

For the first few years, Intorcio winterized his own boat, work that is much more involved than readying a boat in spring. Now, he pays a marina to do the fall jobs. 

Stored in a barn on his property, the Stingray came out about three weeks early this year, in mid-April. “It was time for a big clean-up,” Intorcio said, noting it took him and Shawn about two hours to ready it for launching. 

Shawn vacuumed, cleaned the upholstery and the dash and used Windex on the windshield. Meanwhile, John reconnected the battery, which he’d left on a charger the night before. 

The couple also restocked the boat with all the equipment they pulled out of it in the fall — an anchor, life preservers, fire extinguisher, and other safety equipment. “It’s a good opportunity to sort through the stuff and see what’s necessary and make sure all the life preservers are still in good condition,” Intorcio said. “It also makes cleaning the boat a lot easier. You don’t have to clean around all that stuff.”

Lastly, and most importantly, Intorcio put the boat’s bail plug in, making it watertight. He towed his boat over to the launch on Opechee, firing the engine up while it was in the water on the trailer, and then off he and Shawn went for the first ride of 2021, on April 11.

When a boat is winterized, the engine is intentionally fogged with a chemical to prevent corrosion. “When you start it, you run at full throttle so the engine warms up and burns up that oil so it doesn’t foul up the plugs,” Intorcio said. “I give it a moment or two to warm up a bit, but then I go full throttle and do a loop around the lake and let it burn off all that. It burns and sputters because it has that stuff in there. When it gets to full temp, it burns it all out.”

During an interview last month, John and Shawn said they had used their Stingray about three times since launching it. “I can’t wait for some more warm weather,” John said. And, of course, he got his wish.

Scott Davis

Scott Davis also lives on Lake Opechee and cares for his 2008 Correct Craft Ski Nautique with a 330-horsepower inboard engine. 

Davis has been a boat owner since 1976. He learned much of what he knows about maintaining watercraft while working at a marina on Lake Champlain in Burlington, Vermont, when he was studying for his master’s degree at the University of Vermont. “I learned a lot about engines that way,” he said. “I’m self-taught … what I learn, I’ve read about, and I ask a lot of questions of people who are in the know.” 

As he does every year, Davis winterized his boat in the fall, a dirty, time-consuming job that involves draining the oil and draining all the water from the engine block and hoses, so nothing freezes. 

“In the fall, I also really clean it thoroughly — the hull and inside,” Davis said, noting he uses an acid-based powder on the hull to remove scum and slime, and he waxes the boat as well. 

On the vinyl upholstery, Davis uses Armor All, and he vacuums. At one time, Davis covered his boats and stored them in his backyard in Laconia, but after a pine bough fell and damaged one, he began storing them in an indoor garage at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon. 

That’s where the Ski Nautique spent the winter.

This year, he got the craft out at the end of March. He towed it home, and because he’d already done the hard work, there wasn’t much to do. “It’s already clean. The oil’s changed. There is no maintenance in spring,” he said. 

To test the engine, Davis hooks it up to a hose with an adapter that allows water to flow into the engine, and starts it up while still on the trailer. “You don’t want to run it when it’s dry,” he explains, as the water is necessary to cool the engine and lubricate the water pump. “It fired right up, and I hadn’t even charged the battery.”

As of early May, the Ski Nautique was in Davis’ driveway, waiting for a nice day to launch and tie it up to his dock.

Irwin Marine

Bruce Wright, general manager at Irwin Marine, said a few things worked in the marina’s favor this year. “We got an earlier start than usual with the early April weather, and that helped spread out the load,” he said.

As many businesses are experiencing, Irwin found it somewhat difficult to hire staff, so cleaners and detailers were tough to find, but as of May 6, Irwin had a team of 90, and Wright said there were plans to hire about 10 college students when classes end. 

The work of readying new boats that were ordered last fall and this spring is the bulk of what keep Irwin’s team busy now. “On new boats, we have to do a full check, and perhaps there are accessories to add,” Wright said. “They’ve got to be spotless clean. There’s a lot of work with all the boats that got sold since last September or October. Several hundred are being readied this spring at our three locations.”

He added: “We’re selling like crazy now as well.”

The work of readying the rental fleet of about 25 boats is much less demanding and time consuming, Wright said, noting that task typically happens after the new boats are ready to go. 

The rental season doesn’t start much before the middle of June, after a few rentals on Memorial Day weekend. Sometimes there is some assembly required on the rental crafts, because each year about half the fleet is new. Older rentals are cleaned before they are stored, so they are pretty much ready to go. “We hose them down and make them look pretty,” Wright said.