Saturday, December 26, 2009

Boat and Motor Heading In For Maintenance

Usually during the long and cold winter months, I'll clean the gear and tackle out of the boat and take it up to Lakeside Marine in Harrisburg, PA. for it's annual maintenance once over. There are a few items that need to be done each year and I also have a couple of other problems that need to be corrected.

The annual maintenance items will include the draining and changing of the motor oil in the four stroke engine. A four stroke motor is like a car engine and burns only gasoline. The oil that is in the motor is for lubrication purposes. It should be changed every 100 hours or yearly, as I do. By changing the oil, one can prevent a costly repair bill from dirty oil destroying the crankshaft journals in the four stroke engine.

I would like the mechanics to make sure my steering cables are functioning okay and add grease to the fixtures... steering link rod pivot points use light weight oil, steering cable grease fitting using anti-corrosion grease or 2-4-C marine lubricant.

The water separator filter will need to be replaced with a new one

The trailer will be looked over for any stress related cracks or problems. They will also look at the wheel bearings and make sure they are packed correctly.

I have an automatic bilge pump system that uses a float to turn on the bilge pump. I had the boat up at the shop over the summer and water remained in the boat (I didn't remove my plug because of the auto-system). There should have been no sitting water in the boat if the system was functioning correctly. I think I located a corroded wire that causes the float to trip on the bilge pump. I'll have them check and fix it.

My Minn Kota TM has been ticking internally over the past few trips. It may be a bearing or bushing issue(?). It almost sounds like the ticking you hear from a depth finder transducer. The TM is still under warranty.

The last thing I would like to have done is the installation of two rubber rod holders on the front deck. I'll show JC where I want then installed. I tried to install one of them this past spring and I just ran into bracings, etc. So, the heck with it... I let the "professionals" figure it out. These rod holders will help keep my rods on the front deck as I negotiate rough water. In the past, they would flop around and fall into the gunnie. Not good for the rods at all! All my other boats had them and this one is going to get them, too.

Well, that should be plenty for Lakeside Marine to work on over the next few weeks. The boat will be in tip-top shape and ready fro my next adventure on the river.

dad