Like anything else, a boat has to be taken care of in order to operate properly and retain her in a good shape. The saltwater marine environment is tough on everything, and what the saltwater doesn’t attack, the sun does. Before you set off on your boat, very important thing to do is spring service. Spring service is not only one service, it is set of all services you need to do to make your boat run smoothly. Our technicians have listed below some important checkpoints to help you get an idea of what your yearly boat maintenance would be.

1. Ventilating your boat – First of all, opening all of the hatches and bringing some fresh air inside the boat is always a good start and that should be done whenever weather conditions allow you to do that. Check all the rubber bearings on hatches and spray them with silicone spray.

2. Service of deck winches – disassemble all the winches, wash all of its parts with some degreaser, check if all the parts are in good condition, then grease them with winch grease (don’t put too much grease) and assemble it again. It will be nice to hear that winch clicking again.

3. Anchor winch service – disassemble the winch, check transmission, sprocket, and the engine of the winch, then put it back together and test it. Do not forget to check your anchor chain. It’s not only that rusty chain is not nice to see, it’s not that strong anymore, and it will leave rusty marks on your anchor winch, anchor storage place, and also on your hull, and that is not what you want to happen on your boat.

4. Rope check – visually check all of your ropes, and if some of them are damaged, or worn out, change them. Do not forget to check the parts of the rope which are inside of mast because very often there can be hidden damage which can be very dangerous on your sailing.

5. Engine service – oil change, oil filter change and fuel filters change. If you want to save your engine, this is the first and the most important thing to do on your engine. Inspect the fuel system for leaks or damage and be sure to pay special attention to fuel hoses, connections and tank surfaces. Wipe everything down and spray with an anti-corrosive like WD 40. Be sure to lubricate all the moving parts, such as the shift, throttle cables, carburettor valves, etc.

6. Engine water pump service –take off the water pump, check the impeller. If the impeller is in one piece, just little hardened, also replace it with a new one, and if some parts of the impeller are missing, you must find them because they can be blocking circulation of water through the cooling system and your engine will be overheated.

7. Testing the batteries – with special instruments check your batteries and after you see the results decide if you need to replace them (every result under 60% is a bad result and our suggestion is to replace them). If your boat was in the water this winter, it’s not a bad plan to take out your batteries from the boat and give them a proper charge. Batteries don’t like the cold, and a partially discharged one will suffer more than one that’s been given regular charges with a proper battery charger. 

8. Engine starter and alternator service – disassemble them, check all the parts which can be worn out, clean them, assemble them, test them and put them back on the engine. This is very important because you must be able to start your engine at all the time.

9. Electronic check – It is very important to check all the electronic on the boat. Sometimes all the instruments will work, but due to corroded cables, or bad cable connections there can be a short connection and some instruments can burnout.

10. Steering wheel mechanism check –also very important thing because if some parts are worn out or damaged (depends on the type of mechanism if it will be cable or chain) they must be changed before sailing out.

11. Refrigerator check – do not even think about skipping this service, or you will regret during the hot summer days when you want to reach for a cold beverage, and your refrigerator stops. Check all the connections, clean the dust from all parts, and check the rubber bearing on refrigerator doors.

12. Toilet service – this service is not the most favoured, but it must be done. Take your toilets out of your boat, disassemble them, clean them from lime scale, check all the rubber parts, assemble it, and no, don’t put them on the boat yet. First, check toilet hoses on the boat, then if there is no need to change them, put everything together and test it J.

13. Sails - Aside from storing your sails when they are clean and dry, the single best thing you can do to extend their life is to have them serviced on an annual basis. Our service technicians know how to notice small problems early on, thus preventing costly future repairs.

    
     

    Final touch

1. Teak cleaning – With Teak 1 scrub your teak from all the dirt (it is not an easy job) then use teak 2 to brighten the teak. After that is all up to you. You can leave it all natural like that, or you can use teak oil or some impregnation on it.

2.  Deck polishing – before putting on wax, polish your deck with some abrasive polishing compound, then put some wax which will protect your deck from sun trough all summer.

3. Stainless steel polishing – To get your final touch in your final touch, polish stainless steel on your boat. After that, lift your flag and you can sail away.

    

The specified are general guidelines. We suggest you check your owner’s manual for manufacturer’s recommendations or procedures specific to your boat. If you need some assistance we can help. Or if this sounds too much for you allow our skilled staff to take some of a headache (and backache) out of your spring duty.

Get the new sailing year off to a great start. Ensure you’ll enjoy another season of carefree sailing and make your annual boat preparation more manageable.