Scheduled Maintenance
No boat owner wants their prized possession to stop working. Keep your boat in top condition by handling any maintenance so that the high season is filled with boating … and more boating. Neglecting your boat maintenance will often result in poor performance at the time you need it most. Let’s look at a few easy maintenance tasks that you can undertake during the off-season.
REGULAR BOAT MAINTENANCE
• Lubricate all hinges, clips and moving fittings on your boat.
• Check your marine batteries and top up where necessary. Don’t forget to clean the battery terminals and check the connections.
• Inspect the hull for cracks and chips and repair where necessary.
• Replace sacrificial anodes that have deteriorated or that are corroded.
• Test the bilge pump floats and clean out any debris that may be blocking their movement.
• Make sure your supply of spare fuses is well stocked and check all fuses and breakers.
• Test all the electronic components on the boat to ensure they are working correctly and update any that need software updates.
• Check all the safety equipment such as expiry of fl ares and life jackets to ensure they are in good working order.
• Check the first aid kit and restock it if any of the items have been used.
• Check your onboard tool kit to ensure that you have all the required tools for repairs.
OUTBOARD MAINTENANCE
• Inspect and clean the onboard fuel/ water separator.
• Replace the lower unit gear case oil and replace the gaskets.
• Inspect the fuel lines for cracking and wear and replace where at all necessary.
• Test the primer bulb and check for cracking.
• Grease steering cable and tilt tube on rotary steerig systems.
• Bleed the hydraulic steering system if necessary.
• Check the power trim fluid levels and top up where required.
• Inspect the propeller for damage and alignment. If there is damage showing, no matter how small, send it to the boat shop for repair and realignment.
• Grease the prop shaft spline and remove any fishing line that may have got caught behind the prop. Check the prop shaft seal for any resulting damage.
TRAILER CARE
• Check the trailer lights. Replace cracked lenses and faulty bulbs.
• Replace corroded connections and brittle, damaged wiring.
• Inspect the trailer brakes, wheel hubs and axle. Add grease where necessary or overhaul the hub if there is wear or corrosion.
• Inspect and replace the wheel bearings if they are noisy. Check the tyre pressures and check for uneven tyre wear.
• Tighten any loose bolts holding the trailer bunks.
• Inspect the winch and straps and replace any straps that are worn.
