1. Clean your boat regularly
It may sound obvious, but this is vital for keeping your boat in the best condition. It’s also important for the structural integrity of the boat as it keeps the finish intact. If you don’t do this, sea salt will eventually erode and scratch your boat, which will be difficult and expensive to fix.
Furthermore, a dirty hull has the potential to increase fuel costs by up to 30%! Why pay out more on fuel when you could simply clean your boat and keep it looking beautiful and shiny in the process? Just make sure to clean your boat on land where possible to avoid polluting water, and use fresh water to remove any salt.
2. Conduct engine maintenance
One of the easiest ways to keep your engine running soundly is by carrying out some preventative measures. Boat engines require more maintenance than most vehicles since they repeatedly run at very high RPM for long periods of time.
Some of the things you can do to make sure your engine stays in good shape are checking that the fuel tank vent is open, ensuring any water intake has no debris in it and assessing your propeller for excessive oil build-up or caught weeds or fishing lines.
3. Stick to a schedule
There are so many things you need to do to ensure your boat is running smoothly that it can be hard to keep track. For this reason, it can be very useful to have a schedule listing the maintenance you need to carry out and when.
This checklist should cover the basic upkeep you need to do every time you take out your boat (e.g., flushing the motor to eliminate sand), but also the extra checks you will need to run after 50 or even 100 hours (e.g., cleaning the bilge pump, checking the fuel line for degradation) to make sure your boat always stays as good as new.
Choosing a great boat
To maintain your boat, first, you need to own one! Ballina Marineland offers a great range of boats as well as spare parts which will come in handy for repairs.