WINTER LAY-UP

• Storing my 52-foot Viking Sport Yacht for the long winter here in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, is my least-favorite part of the season, and it feels as if it comes sooner and sooner every year. Paying close attention to certain items can mean the difference between having an easy back-in-the-water launch on the first warm day of boating season and having to go through the rigors of doing what you should have done on the last day before winterization, which only eats into the precious days ahead.

Before making the last trip of the season, I always do a full engine,