Sailors for the Sea provides a detailed listing of how cruisers can haul and prep their boats for winter (or anytime for that matter) while causing the least amount of impact on the surrounding eco-system. The instructions include choosing bottom paints and shrink wrap, bottom cleaning and proper fuel disposal, and more. Some of the recommendations include:
- Avoid introducing invasive and alien species into new boating areas
- Use non-toxic antifreeze
- Dispose of oil correctly
- Recycle used and fragmented shrink-wrap
- Support the Clean Marinas initiative by switching to a marina that follows these standards, or changing your marina to follow these standards..
- Use non-toxic and homemade all natural clean products.
- Use Ecological marine products: for example Trac Boat soap does not contain any petroleum products, phosphates, chlorinated solvents, dyes, fragrances or toxic butyl cello solve.
- Select an eco-friendly bottom paint without copper
For their complete list of recommendations, go to www.sailorsforthesea.org.
