Good news for those unfortunate souls who live in areas where boating is strictly a seasonal activity: The season is almost here! But before that first day back on the water comes the annual ritual of getting the boat ready after months of disuse.
Much of what’s needed is obvious — top off fluids and fuel, check trailer tires and lights, charge batteries, clean grime and debris off decks and upholstery, etc. Here, we’re going to delve a little deeper with some additional ideas to make sure your first boat day of the year doesn’t come to an early and/or expensive end.
Trailer Checks
First things first. It doesn’t matter how ready your boat is if your trailer breaks on the way to the ramp. You know to make sure your lights work and your tires (including the spare) are inflated and holding air. But here are a few additional checks worth doing:
A broken bracket or bolt on your trailer can cause real damage in addition to ruining your day.
Make sure it rolls
You don’t have to take your hubs apart to make sure your bearings are okay. Just jack each tire slightly off the ground and give it a spin. It should turn silently, with no resistance, and gradually slow to a stop without “grabbing” at the end.
Squeaking or grinding means trouble. If you have brakes, you may hear some noise and rubbing for a few turns, but it should go away.
Now grab the tire and pull and push it vigorously. A very small amount of in-and-out play — like an 1/8” or so — is normal. More than that indicates trouble.
All of this is fairly subjective. If in doubt, compare each wheel to the others. If they all spin about the same and have about the same amount of play, you’re likely fine. If one is noticeably different from the others, take it apart and see what’s going on.
Jack it up
Most trailer jacks are made of zinc-plated steel, which provides some corrosion resistance but still rusts. Jacks can and do break and get stuck. Even if they work fine over the four or five inches of travel needed to lower your trailer tongue onto your hitch and lift it back off, they may still be rusting internally.
Lubricate your jack’s internals (this is done differently depending on the brand and model), and crank it through the full raise-and-lower cycle a few times.
Test the Winch
Trailer winches are also prone to rust and eventual failure, and winch straps are weakened over time by exposure to UV and the elements. On the ramp at the end of the day is not the place to find out your winch doesn’t work for one reason or another.
Before your trip, pull 10 feet or so of strap off the winch and reel it back up. Make sure the shift lever and springs are working right, the strap isn’t worn or torn, and the winch turns smoothly.
Check Bunk Hardware
Rollers, bunk boards, and carpet get more attention than the hardware that holds them in place. A broken bracket or bolt, though, can cause real damage in addition to ruining your day. You’ll probably have to get on your back to really check out the hardware supporting your bunks and rollers, but it’s worth it.
By virtue of their location — mostly out of sight and right in the path of water dripping down from the bunk carpet — they tend to be among the first components to rust away on a trailer.
Bilge Pump Checks
Bilge pump function is one of the most important things you can check. To most people, that means switching it on and listening for the hum of the pump running. And that’s fine for a mid-season trip. But after a few months in storage, you should get a little more depth. Even if the bilge pump makes noise when it’s switched on, you could still have a split or disconnected hose, a broken or damaged impeller, or a bad float switch.
While the bilge pump is pumping water, look for leaks from hoses and fittings.
At the end of the day, the only way to really check bilge pump function is to put some water in your bilge and make sure your pump can get it out. Just put your drain plug in and run a garden hose into the bilge.
Make sure the float switch turns the pump on when the water rises high enough and turns the pump back off when the water level falls. While the pump is running, look for leaks from hoses and fittings.
Also make sure the expected amount of water is coming out of the through-hull. With a damaged impeller, everything may look and sound normal, but the pump moves less water.
Drain Checks
Deck drains and scuppers don’t make it onto most spring prep checklists, but they should. They’re prone to clogging with leaves and muck over the winter, and blocked drains and scuppers can and so sink boats.
As with bilge pumps, the only real way to test drainage through a hose is with water. Turn the hose on in your cockpit and verify that the water drains freely. If not, send a high-pressure blast of water through the drain hose to dislodge whatever’s blocking it.
As with bilge pumps, the only real way to test drainage through a hose is with water.
If that doesn't work, try high-pressure water from the other end. Still clogged? Look for a check valve in the hose.
Check valves are common in hoses running from deck drains to below-waterline transom through-hulls and are notorious for clogging with leaves, fishing line, and other debris.
Control and Steering Checks
Common sense says to hook engines up to the hose and make sure they start and idle before backing in at the ramp on that first day back. But that’s as far as many boaters go. Take an extra few minutes and make sure your steering and engine controls are working right.
Fluid can leak out of hydraulic steering systems over the winter. Steering, throttle, and shifter cables can corrode internally and bind. The fix is often easy as long as you discover the issue at home rather than on the ramp.
Electronics Checks
You already turn on your GPS, fishfinder, VHF radio, audio system, and so on to make sure everything is in working order. Right? But do you update firmware and software for your electronics?
Chances are updates are due after your boat has been stored away for a few months.
Go to the manufacturer’s website to check for available updates and take care of them before the season gets going.
Safety Gear Checks
After making sure you have all required safety gear on board — distress signals, fire extinguisher, sound producing device, the right number and type of PFDs — check that it’s all in workable condition and not expired.
Pyrotechnic distress signals have marked expiration dates. Fire extinguishers don’t satisfy requirements if
1) they are more than 12 years old based on the stamped date,
2) they are undercharged or overcharged according to the pressure gauge, or
3) they show obvious signs of corrosion.
Handheld air horns — whether disposable or rechargeable — leak down over time.
Batteries in electronic devices like PLBs and emergency strobes gradually discharge. Even PFDs have expiration dates; check the stamped date on the yellow bobbin on automatic inflatables and re-arm as needed.
If you depend on a handheld air horn as your required sound-producing device, check that it hasn’t leaked down
Licenses and Permit Checks
Take five minutes to check all your registrations and permits.
Liability insurance is legally required only in a few states, but every boat owner should have a policy and carry pertinent information on board — insurer name, policy number, phone number to call in case of accident.
Make sure your boat registration sticker and paper registration card are current.
Check your trailer registration while you’re at it. Make sure you have any certificate or license required by your state to operate a boat. And of course check those fishing licenses are valid!