Article by Capt. Steve Katz
Mid Season Check-up
Flipping through the pages of the Coastal Fisherman, it looks like it has been a good fishing season for most anglers. The slips at local marinas are full, the West Ocean City boat ramp has a steady flow of boats and there are a lot of boats out on the water. A few days away is the White Marlin Open, and whether you are a participant or a spectator, it is a great time for all. Good luck to all anglers.
Now is a good time to perform a quick maintaince check on your boat and it’s various systems. There is still a lot of summer left you don’t want a sudden problem to end your season early.
Batteries
Summer heat is just as bad, if not worse, than the winter cold for the performance and life of a battery. The high temperatures temporarily increase the batteries performance while accelerating corrosion and other deterioration factors which reduce the life of the battery. Check to be sure your battery is secured properly and is well ventilated. Check all battery connections, even the hard to reach ones. Heat cycling and vibration tend to loosen connections. Just today I investigated a boat that had trouble cranking the engine. The battery tested good but further investigation found a loose connection at a junction, hidden behind a panel. Heat and re-charging causes water to evaporate from batteries. If your battery has removable filler caps, open the caps and check the water level in each cell. Make sure the plates are covered by the fluid inside. This prevents sulfation and reduces the possibility of an internal battery explosion. If the water level is low, add distilled water until the plates are covered. Don't use tap water. Avoid overfilling, especially in hot weather, because the heat can cause the solution inside to expand and overflow.
The engine alternator supplies power and recharges the batteries when the engine is running. A check-up of the alternator and drive belts is important to maintain a good charging system. The drive belts can stretch with use. A general rule of thumb is if you can turn the alternator by hand, the belt is too loose. It is not just inboards that have alternator belts, some outboards do also and these can easily be checked by removing the cowling and inspecting the belt.
Electrical
Moving away from the batteries, check over the rest of your electrical systems. Motion, vibration, heat, water and other factors can quickly deteriorate systems on your boat. Bilge pumps and connections are always susceptible to the environment and should be checked regularly.
Fuses can loosen in their holders and corrosion can build up, both causing increased resistance and poor contact. Navigation lights bulbs are often shaken loose from their sockets, water can leak into the fixture causing corrosion and LED bulbs can burn out. Did you install some electrical accessories temporary that need to be permanently installed? These are some of the common trouble areas I see on a regular basis that should be checked.
Check your shore power cord, both ends, looking for corroded, loose or even burnt connections, this holds true for the small 15 amp extension cords to the large 100 amp shore power cords. Often the boat side of the power cable gets wet or falls into the water at the dock unknown to you while you are out fishing. This causes corrosion then overheating and melting when the cord is put back into service.
Larger boats have a bonding system that electrically connects all underwater metal, usually by #6 or #8 green wire. A visual inspection and a slight pull on these connections will allow you to find loose or failed connection. This bonding system is important to control the corrosion of underwater metals. Outboard boats usually have a small bare bonding wire to connect the engine to the lower unit, be sure this wire is clean and connected properly. While on the subject of corrosion, be sure to check your underwater Zincs (anodes), usually mounted to the transom, rudder and or shafts. These act as a sacrificial metal for corrosion instead of your expensive propellers and other underwater metals, Zincs are also used in the raw water cooling system of your engine and generator and should be checked or changed regularly.
Electronics
Today’s electronics often contain software that is updated by the manufacturer. Most of the major manufacturers have released software updates this season, including Furuno, Garmin, Simrad and Raymarine. While you do not necessarily need to upgrade your software, you should read the manufacturers release notes to see if the update will be a benefit for you. As an example Simrad released a newer version of their software for the BSM-2 CHIRP, in my opinion if your BSM-2 is working well, I would leave it alone, if you are having issues, the update may be a benefit to your system. Another example, Garmin released software that allows the 8000 chart plotter series to connect to the GCV10 SideVü/DownVü black box sonar, if this is a feature you need, you should upgrade, if you do not have a GCV10 on your 8000 system, there may not be a need to upgrade.
The radio antennas and all electrical power connections should be checked to be sure they are clean and tight. A loose antenna connection on the back of the VHF can degrade performance of your transmission and reception. Test all your system while at the dock, it is a lot easier to make repairs then while at sea.
Most of us enjoy music on our boats and the stereo system seems to need more maintaince than other electronics. The outdoor speakers do not last long in the elements, connections corrode or become loose.
Stereo amplifiers seem to be mounted in the dampest areas and corrode and fail just when you have a group of friends onboard.
Take some time this week before you head out fishing to go over your systems to help ensure a trouble free rest of the season.
Captain Steve Katz is the owner of Steve's Marine Service and holds NMEA MEI, AMEI, NMEA2000 certificates, ABYC Master Technician certification and factory training from many manufacturers.
