As April comes into view, boat owners are turning their attention to pulling off shrink wrap, scraping, sanding and painting. Another critical offseason task is inspecting and maintaining systems that will spend the season underwater or will be much more difficult to access once your boat is launched. Here’s a quick checklist provided by our friends at Kingman Yacht Center in Pocasset, MA on what components should be focused on each season.
- Clean all contact surfaces, inspect for pitting or color change in metal, then replace zincs on shafts, struts, trim tabs, rudders and hull.
- Strip stainless steel trim tabs to bare metal and prime for antifouling paint.
- Protect bare aluminum outdrives and sail drives with epoxy primer and then coat with non-copper antifouling paint.
- Service all bonding and cathode protection systems, clean and seal all terminal fittings, replace any broken terminals with new ones.
- Inspect cutlass bearings for wear and check strut and engine alignments
- Disassemble, Clean and inspect all seacocks for electrolysis and corrosion.
- Grease and reassemble, check hoses and clamping. Ball valves will need to be inspected and lubricated as well.
- Remove your external strainers and clean out any growth or old paint from thru-hull fittings and strainer slots. Antifoul inside and out.
- Service rudder ports and stuffing boxes. Repack rudder ports and stuffing boxes, inspect and replace hoses and clamps as needed. Inspect for leakage, alignment, and cooling then service.
- Propellers should be cleaned and polished. Make sure you check for cracks, electrolysis, and shape. Adjustable pitch and folding props need to be greased and checked for smooth operation. Slow Speed props can be antifouled and high-speed props should be left polished or coated with Prop Speed.