Boat Maintenance Tips

Nothing ruins a day on the water faster than a boat that stops working. While you can’t prevent your boat from ever breaking, proper boat maintenance can limit the number of days you spend off the water having your boat fixed.

Owning a boat is a lot like owning a car. Taking care of the little things like oil changes and caring for the fiberglass hull frequently can prevent much bigger headaches down the road.

Boats require some simple maintenance every time you take them out and some more consequential maintenance every year or six months. With the proper care, your boat will last for years to come.

Frequent Maintenance

While some maintenance tasks like checking the anodes and the fuel and electrical systems are typically done once or twice a year, protecting your boat’s interior and exterior finishes need to be done more frequently.

Keeping your boat clean not only makes a great impression on your friends, it keeps the boat from deteriorating. Without proper cleaning, mold and mildew can build up on seats and interior surfaces while the fiberglass gel coat can oxidize, turning a chalky white color. In addition, keeping your boat clean can improve its performance in the water, leading to lower fuel costs for you.

At Hula Boat, we’re experts on keeping your boat clean, so here are a few tips to help you keep your boat in ship shape.

• Choose an eco-friendly product to avoid putting chemicals that are harmful to marine wildlife in the water.
• When cleaning the interior of your boat, use products that both clean and condition the vinyl to help your seats last longer.
• Look for UV-resistant products to help protect your boat from the sun’s rays.
• Protect your gel coat with a polymer sealant that repels water and offers protection from the sun. Polymer sealants should be applied with a soft cloth or applicator pad and need to cure for several minutes before being buffed off. Polymer sealants can last longer than traditional wax but should be applied as frequently as the manufacturer recommends for the best protection. Another option is utilizing Silica Spray Sealant as a ceramic spray-on wipe-off option that provides 12 months of protection
  

In addition to cleaning your boat regularly, give your engine a once over on a regular basis. Check for cracked hoses and any signs of corrosion. Both can be easily fixed before they cause problems. If you have an outboard motor, do a regular check to make sure it is still securely connected to the transom.

After every trip, you should flush your motor. The process differs for inboard and outboard motors, so check the recommendations for your particular motor. 

If you have an outboard motor, you should always check the propeller before taking your boat out on the water. Inspect it for dents or anything wrapped around it.

Seasonal Maintenance

Before putting your boat in the water for the first time each year, it’s important to work through a seasonal maintenance checklist to make sure your boat is in the best shape possible for the boating season.

• Check your engine. A good rule of thumb is to change the oil for every 100 hours of engine use but follow the engine manufacturer’s recommendation. In addition, check over the fuel lines and hoses, use an anti-corrosive to lubricate the parts that move, and check for loose belts.

• Inspect the propeller: Check for dents and make sure the propeller is firmly attached to the shaft if you have an outboard motor. A few times during the boating season, remove the propeller and grease the shaft for optimal performance. This also offers a great opportunity to make sure nothing is caught in the propeller shaft.

• Give the fuel and electrical systems a once over: Fuel lines can become brittle over time, so check each line carefully. A broken fuel line can put a quick end to a day on the water. Check the electrical system’s connections to ensure they are tight and not a fire risk.

• Test your bilge pump: Before taking your boat anywhere, make sure the bilge pump is in working order by pouring some water in the bilge and watching to make sure the pump gets rid of the water.

• Check the battery: Use a multi-meter to determine if your battery needs to be replaced. Definitely do this at the beginning of the season, but it’s also a good idea to repeat the process a couple of times during the boating season.

• Replace worn anodes: Anodes protect parts of the boat that are underwater from corrosion. Check to see that none have deteriorated past halfway. If they have, replace them.

• Make sure your safety gear is in working order: Check over your life jackets, replacing any that have worn straps or that have lost their buoyancy. Replace any flares or fire extinguishers that are past their expiration dates. If you have smoke alarms or carbon monoxide detectors, make sure they still work.

• Check cable jackets: Look for cracks or swelling in your cable jackets. Both are signs of corrosion and indicate the need for a new one.

Many boaters have trained boat mechanics take a look at their boat at the beginning of the season to prevent any unexpected issues from popping up on the first trip of the year. While not required, a lot of boaters find it offers peace of mind after the boat has been stored during the off-season.

Saltwater Maintenance

Saltwater is corrosive in a way that freshwater is not, which means boats that spend time in saltwater require a different type of maintenance than those used in fresh water.

Because salt is so corrosive, wash your boat with freshwater after every trip in saltwater. If salt sits for too long on metal parts of your boat, it will start to eat away at the metal. In addition, salt is not good for seats, so make cleaning your seats and other vinyl surfaces a regular part of your post-trip maintenance.

When it comes to your engine, it’s best to flush it with freshwater after a saltwater voyage to keep the metal parts of the engine from corroding.

Barnacles are a maintenance issue if you store your boat in saltwater. Have a regular plan for removing barnacles and algae from the hull of the boat to keep your boat cutting efficiently through the water.

Don’t forget your trailer. It can also suffer corrosion from contact with saltwater, so give it a good rinse after using it to launch your boat.

A boat is a mechanical object, so breakdowns are inevitable, but you can minimize the time your boat spends being worked on by doing regular maintenance on your own. A few minutes spent cleaning or identifying an issue before it becomes a big problem will mean less time spent in the dock and more time on the water.