Barry Greer, Saturday, 13 October 2012
Power-boating and fishing column
Thinking of heading out for a spot of fishing as soon as the weather gets just that little bit warmer?
Using your boat for the first time, after a winter lay-up, is statistically the most likely time when you’ll break down. That’s if you’re lucky enough to get the thing started, in the first place. First use breakdowns happen if you haven’t done three things:
- 1. carried out routine maintenance whilst the boat was being used last season,
- 2. ‘winterised’ the boat, trailer and motor to cope with sitting idle for a couple of months or more and
- 3. prepared it to hit the water, first time after winter.
Routine maintenance is the first thing to be forgotten towards the end of the previous season. We might think that we’re only going to use the boat once or twice again this season and forego changing the crankcase or leg oil, leaving it till next summer, when we expect to use the boat again. Next season comes and we’ve forgotten that it was already overdue.
Stale oil is corrosive and continues to both lose viscosity and deposit sludge on internal parts. The best time to drop your oil is as soon after a good run on the water as practicable – not after it’s been sitting cold and motionless for months. Fresh lubricant is the best way to protect the innards of any machine that is in between uses.
If, after a winter lay-up, you are going to change any oil in your outboard, put the muffs on or get the leg in a tank and run it till the tell-tale water is warm – then do it.
Don’t forget your grease points and use marine grade grease. It is not unknown to have outboards seize at the king-pin in the steering mechanism, making the boat travel in one direction only (ie. round in circles) and never coincidentally straight ahead.
For winter, petrol tanks should be completely drained and well ventilated. This is easy with portable tanks, but impossible with the built-in variety. These should be filled to capacity with fresh fuel with preserver added at the manufacturer’s recommended rate.
If you suspect the fuel is stale because it has changed colour slightly, drain the lot and start again. Similarly, a full bowl of water in the separator indicates water contamination and the whole tank should be changed, after draining the bowl and fitting a new filter. A service station may take stale fuel off your hands – for a fee.
Fitting a new fuel filter may introduce a large volume of air into the fuel lines and it may be necessary to prime the line at least up to the connection to the motor and ensure there is firm resistance on the priming bulb when hooked up. Check that the filter system is full of fuel, at the bowl.
Clean and check your battery terminals and make sure your battery is (or better, they are) fully charged.
Check wind-on hatches for cracks or failure to seal.
Make sure bungs seat and seal properly.
Get your bilge pump to run briefly, on the manual override switch. Operate it through the float switch, on auto.
Check all ropes, especially anchor warp and its attachments at both ends.
Check your trailer hitch, tyre pressures and general condition.
Get a jack, lift your trailer, spin the wheels and check for any noise or excess movement on the bearings. If unsure get a mechanic to check them. A quick trip down the road to the club usually won’t show up any problems. Bearings usually seize when hot, after a pretty long journey, usually on a Sunday afternoon miles from the nearest town.
Trailer lights and wiring are often neglected; so make sure you inspect these.
Check over your canopies, clears and covers. Ensure your zips slide freely and haven’t corroded over winter.
Check that all the required your safety equipment is on board, ready to work in an emergency and in date.
Open up you tackle box and get out your rods and reels. Give the reels a good clean. If there is any doubt about the condition of the line, respool it, at least up to the backing. Especially look for braid that is getting strandy and silky. Change worn swivels. Check the condition of your rod guides. Empty out the tackle box, clean everything, put usable stuff back in and top up on anything you might need. Rusty hooks are blunt and don’t catch fish.
Before venturing out on the water, if you are not confident to check any aspect of your boat’s reliability and safety or are concerned that you may have a problem, get expert advice, especially if the boat hasn’t been used for a while.
Barry Greer
WYC Powerboat Captain
28 September 2012
Last Modified on 13/10/2012 20:26