Simple Mid-Season Boat Maintenance and Checks

By Scott Homes – Kawartha Lakes Guiding Service

As many people do, I tend to leave things a little longer than I should. Boat maintenance is one of those things that should be done on a regular basis. Mid-season is a great time to do a few fast checks. It will help with a little less maintenance on your boat and keep you out on the water, with a little less strain on your wallet.

I normally grease the motor a few times during the season, which is a good place to start. I will grease all the fittings on the motor with a grease gun.

Then I grease my bearings, making sure that the grease is a dark blue colour, not milky blue. If it is milky blue, you should look at the seals and replace, if leaking, or have a shop do it for you.

Check your spare tire to make sure that it is at the right tire pressure. Nothing is worse than getting a flat tire and finding out the spare is also flat.

I then take the prop off the motor and check to see if there is any fishing line wrapped around the shaft. If you find any, remove it and then check the oil in the lower end to make sure the seal on the prop shaft is not damaged. At the same time, you can look at the oil and if it really dark you can drain and replace it. I use my boat a lot in the summer so I always do a mid-season lower end oil change.

Next, I take the prop off the electric motor and again look for line around the shaft. If there is any, again remove it and make sure everything looks good and replace the prop.

Both my main motor and electric have had mono and braid wrapped around the shafts. There was no damage, but it would have been if I wasn’t checking it regularly. Please people dispose of your old fishing line properly!

I will go around the boat and make sure the screws and nuts and bolts are all tight.

Finally, take a walk around the trailer and make sure the lights are working.

I am no mechanic but doing these checks can make you aware of a problem and, if necessary, you can take it to a marine mechanic to have it fixed to keep you out on the water!

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