Winter in Kuwait does not mean hauling the boat out and forgetting it until April. It means rain, hard north winds, and a sea that turns in an hour, while you still want to fish. A few hours of work before the first real blow saves you a season of small failures.
Three things hit you at once. Rain carries dust into every opening and pools in the bilge. The shamal pins a moored boat against the dock for days at a time. And the swing between warm days and cool nights pulls moisture into fuel tanks and electrical connections.
Start with the battery. Clean the terminals, check that the cables are tight, and load-test it before the season. A battery that cranks fine in August can fail on the first cool morning.
Then the fuel system: change the filter and drain any water from the tank. Check the lower unit oil and make sure no water has got in. Look at the prop for old fishing line wrapped behind it, and check the anodes for pitting. These are small jobs, but they are the ones that get you home.
Do not forget plugs and the air filter. Old plugs make the engine hard to start and thirsty, and a dust-clogged filter chokes it. Replace both before the season and check the belts for cracks.
The cover has to breathe. A sealed plastic tarp traps humidity and lets mould work quietly for weeks. Use a proper breathable boat cover with a small vent. If the boat sits on land, pull the drain plug and raise the bow slightly so rain runs off by itself.
At the mooring, add a second line and leave some slack for stretch. The shamal pushes the boat onto the dock, and a line pulled drum-tight snaps sooner than one with a little give. Check the lines after every blow, not just before it.
After a hard blow, spend five minutes on the boat: look at the lines, pump the bilge, and see whether the cover has opened at one corner. Water left standing for two weeks does more damage than the rain.
On a trailer, check tyres, lights, and bearings, and tie down with two straps. The road south toward Zour is slippery after rain.
Keep these fixed for every trip from November through March:
This is where the Bahr app earns its place: tide tables for Shuwaikh and Shuaiba, sea state and marine weather, navigation tools, and an SOS button, free on Google Play. Check it before you launch, whether you head into Kuwait Bay or out to Failaka.
Do not wait for the first heavy rain to start. Pick one day before the season, walk the list, and note what is done and what is still open.
Prep the boat once and the winter looks after itself. Download Bahr on Google Play and keep the tide, the sea state, and your position in one place.