Many of us don’t use our boats as much in the cooler winter months as we do in the warmer summer months. Some of us take it a step further and do not use our boat at all over winter!
This is the time of the year to have a quick check around your boat and make sure all is running well in anticipation of the busy summer months. (Think warm winds, sunny skies, weekends on the water, the boat running smoothly and not a worry in the world.)
So here are the top tips from our experts at Seatech Marine.
- Test your battery and engine – Batteries suffer from cold and the winter months can have an effect on them. Do a simple test, turn the key and test your battery and engine.
- Check all fluids.
- Check the water pump and toilet.
- Fuel conditioning – If your boat has been stored for the winter months, you need to check your fuel before taking out again. The reason is that unleaded fuel goes off in 7 weeks and diesel attracts moisture. “Fuel doctor” preventative will work on both unleaded fuel and diesel. You can add it every third fill up as a preventative measure or use it as a one-off to recondition your unleaded fuel or to break down moisture in your diesel. If you have a diesel engine, the fungi that can grow in diesel fuel is another reason for treatment. This is an issue that can cause you a lot of grief if left untreated as the fungi grow rapidly. With treatment, you kill the fungi after you run fuel filtration until the dead fungi are not present in the fuel anymore.
- Marine growth on the bottom of the boat is something all boaties are familiar with. Take your boat to clear waters, hop in and have a look. Marine growth slows your boat, increases fuel consumption and affects your boats performance. If you find marine growth at the bottom of your boat, bring your boat to us and we will take care of the problem for you.
- Safety on the water – the busy summer season is also the storm season. Now is a good time to check that everything is ready and in working. Do your float switches work? Does your bilge pump work? Are your batteries charged?
- Chains and ropes –Do a quick manual check that your anchor chain and ropes on board are in good order.
- Trailer – Check that your trailer is in good working order; wheel bearings, brakes, lights.
And if you don’t have the time to do all this, give us a call. We will get your boat summer ready for you!
