Article by Capt. Mark Sampson
You can have the best tackle available, the freshest bait and know exactly where, when and how to catch the fish, but none of that really matters if you don’t have a reliable boat to get you safely to and from the fishing grounds. In preparation for the new fishing season, some anglers will spend a lot of time detailing their tackle to ensure their drags turn smooth, knots are strong and hooks are sharp while neglecting the fact that they are heading out to sea in a boat that has some of the same problems it had at the end of last season. It doesn’t matter if it’s new or old; if it’s a boat it’s going to constantly require a certain level of maintenance and repair.
As I go through the season, I always keep a running “to-do list” on the boat so that as things pop up that need attention I can quickly jot them down. From buying toilet paper to replacing line on a reel, the list includes everything and anything that I can and should take care of whenever we have a day or two at the dock. The list stays on the boat and is kept in a handy place so that as things pop up they can be quickly recorded. If you own a boat you know that there are always “a lot” of big and little maintenance and repair type things that can reveal themselves at any time. By the end of August, the list will grow to include any winter projects that need to be taken care of before the next fishing season.
Boaters must keep in mind that any uncorrected issues their vessel might have had at the end of last season are still going to be there to haunt them this spring. Boats don’t just magically heal themselves. If anything, problems that are ignored will only get worse, even a boat that’s sitting out of the water and under a winter cover. Corrosion, rotting wood, mildew, delamination, electrolysis, fuel contamination, dry rot and oxidization from the sun - so many surprises await boaters when they first open up their boats in the spring. And how about that funny noise your engine was making at the end of last season? You had better believe it’s still going to be there, hinting that something could be seriously wrong under the hatch!
Regardless of how much preparation someone did or didn’t do at the end of last season, the best thing a boater can do right now to ensure that they will be ready for an enjoyable fishing season ahead is to climb aboard their boat and go through it from bow to stern looking for any kind of trouble they can find. Such trouble can come in the form of flaking paint or soft spots in decks that could indicate moist or rotten wood below, or severe mildew buildup which could mean improper ventilation and lead to damage of fabric parts such as cushions, canvas, wall and window coverings and PFD’s, not to mention moister related problems to wiring, electronics, mechanical equipment and wood.
Green corrosion growing on electrical wires or connections can be a tip-off to future problems and should never be allowed to remain unchecked as it can lead to a drop in current transmitted through the wire and possibly an eventual failure of the wire altogether. If affected wires supply current to critical devices such as the engine’s starter motor, bilge pumps, communication or navigation equipment, a failure could create a very hazardous situation for boaters while they are out on the water and need them working the most.
Just as green corrosion is an indicator of problems in wiring, brown corrosion showing up on nuts, bolts or any other metal part on the boat should be a red-flag that tells a boater that some kind of corrective action is in order. While rust is something anyone who lives in the saltwater environment is accustom to battling, boaters always seem to be on the frontline of this never-ending war. When possible, boat builders will typically steer away from the use of easily corroded metals such as regular steel, and use plastic, stainless steel, aluminum and other corrosion resistant compounds to combat issues with rust. But none of these materials (even stainless steel) are totally immune from the effects of corrosion, which can show up as simple as a brown stain running down a bulkhead from a rusty screw, or as problematic as an engine mount rusting through and breaking 60-miles offshore on rough seas.
Whenever and wherever a boater encounters brown rust they should address the problem right away because it’s only going to get worse. When possible, rusting fasteners should be replaced with nuts, bolts, washers or screws made of good quality stainless steel. Poor quality stainless is still prone to rust. Rusting parts of the boat or engine that cannot be replaced with stainless can often be cleaned, painted and then kept lubricated to ward off further corrosion and might need to be replaced periodically before they get too bad.
A broken fuel line will shut down an engine and could result in a fire, a leaking exhaust hose could fill a boat with water and sink it, a broken fan belt will cause an engine to overheat and shut down and a leaking or broken bilge pump hose could allow a boat to sink. No boater wants to have to face the results of any of those problems, therefore, fuel lines, exhaust hoses, fan belts, engine hoses, bilge pump hoses and anything else made of rubber should be inspected for signs of deterioration from dry rot, chafing or anything else that might cause a failure.
Just as important as the condition of the hose is the condition of the clamps that hold it in place. Hose clamps should be all stainless steel and free of corrosion. They should also be inspected for cracks in the strap, which will sometimes occur after the clamp has been in use for a few seasons.
From kayaks to 70-foot sport fishermen, every boat is different in the time and effort required to make a thorough pre-season inspection but every boat is also the same in that they all need that inspection before their first voyage to help ensure a safe, fun, and hopefully productive fishing season ahead.
Mark Sampson is an outdoor writer and Captain of the charter boat, “Fish Finder”, docked at the Ocean City Fishing Center.
