Get Ready for Your First Trip of the Season!

Stern drives
Stern drives are mechanical parts and they wear out. It's a fact of life. They often fail catastrophically, and when they do it feels like the boat hit something.

Annual maintenance and changing the gear oil and water pump impeller go a long way to extend the life of the drive.

However, drives over 10 years old are on borrowed time and will fail eventually just like the transmission in your car.

Spring commissioning
Regardless of what type of boat you own, there are several routine items that should be part of your spring commissioning. Always check:

• safety equipment
  
• rigging on sailboats
  
• steering controls
  
• electrical circuits
  
• electronic navigation devices
  
• loose deck fittings

Your safety equipment is there to protect your life and your boat. Spring is a good time to make sure your equipment meets the needs of your cruising area. Each piece should be thoroughly inspected. USCG visual distress signals and flares expire every 3 years.

SOLAS
If you cruise offshore, consider Safety of Life at Sea Convention (SOLAS) grade signals. If you race under the Offshore Racing Council, SOLAS flares are required.
Fire extinguishers sit on the bulkhead until one day you really need them. This is a good time to inspect them.

Gauges and extinguishers
Check the gauge for good pressure. Dry chemical extinguishers should be taken down and shaken to loosen the powder. CO2 extinguishers should be weighed.

Lifejackets and throwable devices
Lifejackets and throwable devices must be checked for fabric deterioration. If you have an inflatable lifejacket, manually inflate it to check for leaks. Be sure your lifejackets are the right type for your cruising area.

Rigging
Rigging isn't only for sailboats. Many vessels use cables for steering, engine controls, and lifelines. Inspect the ends carefully with a magnifying glass and look for tiny flaws. With a thin paper cloth, run your hand along all wire rope looking for broken strands. When wire strands break they form "meat hooks" that can tear flesh.

If you find them, they warn of impending failure. The wire should be replaced. In fact, if you suspect any rigging, it should be replaced now instead of after the rigging ends up on deck.

Rudder linkages
Rudder linkages are frequently neglected because they work out of sight. While the vessel is hauled, have someone hold the wheel or engage the brake, then grab the rudder and give it a shake. If there is any play, it means problems are developing. Check all linkages and bearings. They may need replacement.

Electrical
Check the electrical circuits and wiring, looking for chafing and areas of wear that could lead to a short circuit. Spray the wiring terminals and strips with anticorrosion protectant. Test the batteries with a hydrometer to see that all cells are equal. Charge the batteries as needed.

Electronics, the toys and tools of boating, are generally very reliable. Check any underwater sensors. Call another boat with each radio. Inspect your antennas. If they have suffered UV degradation, replacement may be in order.

Stop leakage in its tracks
Now is the time to find leaks and rebed the loose fittings. If ignored, leakage will gradually cause decks and bulkheads to deteriorate. Finding leaks is often difficult, and you may need the boatyard's help.

The weather's getting warm and you are feeling pressured to get on the water. Take a few hours now, and you can save days or even weeks of downtime during the season.

Your boat has been covered, out of sight and out of mind for several months.

The weather is getting warm. You're itching for the wind in your face again.

But what has happened to your boat over the winter?

Start the season right
There are several types of start-of-the-season problems that can be avoided with a little attention. Sinkings and engine and drive failures are the most common. To be safe, here are some things you should check.

Sinkings at the dock
Sinkings at the dock commonly result from failures in two areas: shaft seals and through-hulls. A bilge pump cannot be relied upon, nor was it designed to keep your boat from sinking. Float switch failure, power outages and dead batteries can all shut down a bilge pump and allow a boat to sink.

Shaft seals
Leaking shaft seals are probably the most common reason for sinkings at the dock. Packing wears out, sometimes quickly, and must be checked regularly, preferably after every use.

Packing glands
Check the packing gland on your propeller and rudder shafts. A couple of drops of water leakage is allowable, but any more and you should tighten the packing gland or renew the packing material.

Nothing is worse than getting a call from your marina that your boat is swimming with the fishes. Repacking depends on your use. Every year or at least every two years is the recommended frequency.

If the packing gland is difficult to access, consider having it repacked each year or replacing it with one of the dripless models on the market.

Through-hulls
Any place there is a hole in a boat is called a through-hull. When it's near or below the waterline, it can cause a sinking.

Sometimes the cause is UV deterioration of plastic through-hull fittings. This can cause the fittings to crack just inside the outer ring, visible from the outside. The bilge pump fitting can break off and the bilge water is then recycled until the boat settles low enough for the water to enter through the broken fitting.

The manufacturers of the plastic fittings don't say how long they should last, but if yours are more than 10 years old, consider having them replaced.

On the inside of your boat, the sea cocks attached to the through-hulls also need attention. Sea cocks are the valves that require only a quarter turn between fully open and fully closed. Make sure they are greased and work easily.

Gate valves are sometimes found on through-hulls. They are not generally suited for marine use because the various metals used in their construction can result in galvanic corrosion. They require complete disassembly and lubrication annually to keep corrosion in check.

Hoses and clamps
Hoses and clamps also need to be checked. If hoses are soft, cracked, or brittle, they need to be changed.

All hoses to through-hulls should be double clamped. Stainless steel hose clamps are thin and susceptible to corrosion. A second clamp is a cheap way to ensure against a hose coming off the connection.

Engine and drive failures
Sometimes engines overheat on the first trip of the season. Unfortunately the cause is often a cracked block from poor winterization, and spring is too late to fix that problem.

Overheating can also be from a water pump impeller failure. Over the winter, the vanes on the neoprene impellers may mold into a bent shape and then break when the engine is run. Replacing the impeller each year will avoid a costly engine repair. Always have spare impellers aboard.