Boat Maintenance Tips

• Familiarize yourself with the correct operation and maintenance of all your boat’s systems – engine, jet unit, electrical, accessories (graphs, auto pilots, etc). The more you know about the systems the better your can maintain them properly.
  
• Perform regular maintenance in accordance with the manufacturer’s suggestion. This will help with any warranty issues that might come up. Proper maintenance is the easiest (also cheapest) way to insure the least amount of boating hassles or expensive repairs.
  
• Trailers are the most neglected part of a boat. All safety items such as winch straps and safety chains need to be in good condition at all times. The wheel bearings should be greased and hub areas kept clean. Trailer brakes should be serviced the same as you would on your truck. Proper tie downs and boat placement on the trailer will greatly reduce excessive bounce (stress) while traveling.
  
• Purchase a transom saver for your kicker motor. It will save on transom brackets and motor lift problems further down the road.
  
• Periodically check all power and ground connections on your batteries and for boats equipped with kicker motors that have detachable connections. Find out what size fuses your boat needs to operate its electrical systems and carry spares – it is an inexpensive fix and often the source of electrical malfunction.
  
• Check your jet unit shaft for fishing line that gets wrapped around the shaft. It can get caught in the rotor seal spring and will tend to pull the seal out of engagement. Look up through the intake grate with a flashlight. Also inspect the condition of your intake grate itself. Check for cracked or broken bars – if they do break off they can cause extensive damage.
  
• Consider installing a sand trap. It is a good investment that helps save on clogged heat exchangers and engine overheating problems. Replacing burnt or damaged exhaust hose is expensive, not to mention the internal damage to your engine when overheating occurs.
  
• Make sure you have a fire extinguisher (fully charged), a small tool kit, and possibly jumper cables. You may not ever use them but you might be able to help a fellow boater who is not so prepared and is having a bad day!

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