Welcome aboard to ClassicParker !
Congrats on the new boat
! PM is always a good thing! I think if you spent a few hours perusing the 'Projects' forum you might get some ideas of what to look into or keep an eye on. There are only 2 tools you need on a boat anyway – duct tape and WD40. If it moves, but it is not supposed to – apply duct tape. If it doesn’t move, but it is supposed to – apply WD40. Hehe!
But to be serious, here's my list ... alphabetically, with when they are done if critical, otherwise I just keep a watchful eye on the condition.
Aluminum:
Keep it clean and coated with Woody Wax (expen$ive but good) or Rupp Aluma-Guard or other gunk goes a long way to keeping it bright and unpitted.
Anchor and Anchor Rode:
Check condition, soak in fabric softener to soften if needed, keep clean, and make sure all anchor connections have SS wire or 2 zip-ties to secure them. I also have a SS thimble in each end of the rode and reverse my anchor lines every season. One end has one stripe, the other 2 stripes. Yes, I have a log for my girl to enter stuff like this into. Can you tell I love working on boats??
Batteries:
If wet cell, keep topped off with distilled water and charge as soon as done for the season. Check the electrolyte at least once every month or so and DO NOT forget to do this during hot weather. Once the fluid level drops below a plate it will sulfate and that portion of the plate will be dead and NEVER recover.
Battery Connections:
Take off any ‘wing nuts’ if used on the battery and do us all a favor … THROW them overboard! They can loosen up and by doing so can cause starting problems and even blow out OB electrical components like the voltage rectifier or the stator. Keep terminals clean, tight, and well greased with dielectric grease – keep a tube aboard!
Bilge Pumps:
Make sure you have MORE than the boat came with, so consider adding a 2000+ ‘storm’ pump in the stern, which will have it’s own outlet on the ‘other’ side of the boat. In this way your boat can still exit water regardless of whichever way she heels. I like the Johnson 2400gph pump from
www.surplusunlimited.com , they sound like a jet engine when they start up and
Powerboat Reports rated it a Best Buy in large bilge pumps and THE only pump to meets it rated pumping capacity.
Strongly consider adding a high water bilge alarm, see
here, as it may save your life someday.
Bilge Pump Hoses:
If anything in there is ‘corrugated’ hose on the ID … throw it away with your wing nuts! Use only smooth-bore tubing, as corrugated tubing (like the stores sell as ‘bilge’ hose) cuts the pump efficiency 15-20% right off the bat, due to internal turbulence.
Cleaning and Waxing:
Just put “clean” or ‘wax’ into the search fields, looking for the poster name of Megabyte … and take a few hours to see why his bilge is cleaner than my freakin’ cockpit deck!
Deck Hardware:
To me, and as marine surveyors recommend - keep an eye on your cleats and other critical deck hardware. When/if in doubt as to water integrity or the condition of the bolts - remove, clean, and replace. Use NEW bolts - throw the old ones away. Stainless steel subject to stress and strain can corrode due to imparted stress, due to crevice and/or (oddly enough) stress corrosion. That is why you see 'rusted' hose clamps in the bilge that were allegedly made from SS!
Deck Hatches & Plates:
If the boat is more than 2 years old, I’d pull them up, clean the mating surfaces, then apply new goop of choice. Set in place and let cure 4-8 hours before snugging up the screws, then check for screw tightness once goop is cured. IMHO too many people create a ‘dry joint’ by squeezing the sh$t out of a bedded piece of hardware by applying too much torque too darn soon.
On older boats (like mine) I even replaced the hatch gaskets, as new ones were only $2 or $3 from Tempress Marine.
Door Latch:
No one makes a SS replacement that I know of. Best thing I did was to find one in better condition at a flea market and replaced it. What you can do is to polish it and keep a good marine polish on it. I also keep the moving parts and any interface parts well greased, to isolate them. It is cast Zamack (cheap pot metal of zinc and brass) and the zinc is dissolving in the saltwater environment, plus that of dissimilar metals [galvanic corrosion].
Drilling Holes in F'glass:
Start the drill BACKWARDS lightly to wear a countersink in the gelcoat with small bit. Then use a countersink. Or start all bits by rotating backwards. If you go forward too fast and aggressively, the drill bit can catch the gelcoat and rip out a HUGE chip. When cutting holes in f'glass, I mask area with 3M blue tape and use laminate blades in a jigsaw that cut on the down-stroke ... prevents any shippingon the surface.
Electrical Connections:
(1) Make sure they have heatshrink or even liquid electrical tape on any termination end so that no wire is exposed and there’s no way for moisture to ‘creep’ up into the wire. It will wick in over time anyway, but a properly sealed connection can last for the life of the boat.
(2) Make sure they are tight and also properly supported for the length of their entire run. Connections pull apart when the wires ‘bounce’ as you hit the waves. Soldered connections alone violate USCG, BIA, and ABYC standards. I personally prefer properly crimped terminations, covered by adhesive-lined heatshrink. A poor man’s adhesive-lined heatshrink is to terminate the connection, say like a butt connector and then smear 3M 5200 fast cure into the ends and form a seal on each end - then seal with liquid e-tape once the 5200 dries. This will never pull apart.
(3) If an electrical item is suspect, besides the fuse/breaker, I’d first use a voltmeter to read the resistance in the wire. Corrosion or using too-small wiring causes increased resistance and this creates heat and this causes more corrosion … ‘til the circuit fails. And always use the proper rated fuse or breaker, as they are not there so much as to protect your equipment, they are there to prevent your BOAT from burning to the waterline.
(4) Keep terminals clean and well greased with dielectric grease – keep a tube aboard!
Fuel Cap and Vent:
Make sure the O-Ring is in there and is in good condition. Keep the vent screen clear. In some locals, water dobbers (sp?) like to make nests in there and in OB piss tube exits.
Fuel/Water Separator:
Keep a spare cartridge on hand and it won’t be any good if you don’t have the tools to replace it. I use 2 cheap rubber-aramid strap wrenches I bought at a discount store for $4 each. Lube the O-Rings and gaskets with the grease below. Replace in Spring a week or two ‘after’ recommissioned.
Grease:
Buy either the tub or grease gun tube of OMC/Bombardier “Triple Guard” grease. You can buy the Yummie brand but it costs twice as much for the same thing. It is a premium blend waterproof synthetic grease.
Hull Hardware:
As I bought an ‘older’ used Parker, I removed all deck and below waterline hardware that I could and re-bedded everything. Now I now it is water tight, or as integral as I could possibly make it. Plus it was done right
!
Hydraulic Steering:
Keep it full, see
this post here
Light Sockets:
Those that weren’t replaced with LEDs were cleaned and had dielectric grease applied into the bulb socket.
New Holes into Cored Materials:
When putting on any new hardware, if you hit wood, I seal that wood first with thinned epoxy first, then add the hardware later. I take steps to protect the integrity of the hull/deck core at all times. Never use a screw when you can through-bolt the hardware on.
OB Bracket Inspection Port:
Check it routinely. Some let in water, so I replaced mine with the waterproof Armstrong cover. Also, the brackets do weep and collect moisture due to condensation.
Power:
Just me, but I find having the OEM or factory service manual for the engine to be essential. DO NOT waste your hard earned money on a Clymer or Seloc ‘1-manual-fits-all’ book, IMHO. We @ CP could most probably answer most engine question you could field, or at least point you in the right direction.
Factor in on a full waterpump service with thermostats at least every 2 seasons, some times I go 3, but I still remove/clean/lube the lower unit bolts.
Propeller:
Many keep a spare one on board. I do, a cheaper aluminum version of the same size I run in SS. But no spare prop is worth a darn if you don’t have an extra thrust washer and proper nuts and bolts to secure it. Tip – if you ever need to change a prop on board or in the water, throw a fishing net with towel or trash bag in it under the LU so if you drop something … Davy Jones doesn’t get it. This works … don’t ask me how I know
.
Scuppers:
Keep them clean and check to make sure they appear waterproof. If in doubt, I weep thin epoxy around the mating surface area.
Trailer:
Boy, you had better ask someone else! My boat is lucky to go 100’ in and 100’ out each season, or at least … that’s the way I try to keep her
.
Ventilation:
I open my deck inspection ports (twist out ones) every chance I get on a hot or dry day so that the bilge airs out. I also put in a dorade box so my boat ventilates while on anchor and I will soon be adding a solar-powered vent into the front hatch.
Windows:
Keep clean. Rain-X works so good on real glass that I don’t use windshield wipers. Keep sliding window tracks clean and lube with spray silicone.
OK … what did I miss :? ?? I’ll keep this list going as you guys add more ideas and tips …
