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Boating Thoughts

  • Writer's pictureChampion Marine

Keeping Your Boat Ship Shape.

Large and fancy or small and functional, every boat needs maintenance to keep you on the water for as many hours as possible. Routine maintenance with a healthy dollop of elbow grease will pay off in boating time and preserve your investment.


Wash Your Boat!


One of the easiest boat maintenance tasks is to wash your boat regularly. After every run if you boat in saltwater to remove salt residue. Salt will not only corrode metal, fasteners and other hardware, if it's left too long on your gelcoat, it can mar that as well. Use a long handled soft boat brush with marine detergent, which is formulated for gelcoat.


Change Your Oil


Boats, just like cars, need regular oil changes. Check your manufacturer recommendations, but a general rule of thumb is to change your boat oil every 100 hours of operation. Unfortunately, there aren't any quick change oil shops for boats, so you either have to change your boat’s oil yourself, take it to your local dealer, or you could just call us and we'll be happy come and do it for you.
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Check the Propeller


If you have an outboard or stern drive boat you should check the propeller as part of your pre-launch routine. Use a deep well socket to remove the propeller several times during the season to make sure discarded fishing line hasn't become wrapped around the propeller shaft. If it has, have your dealer inspect the gear case because fishing line can cause gear case leaks and that is not a do-it-yourself job.While you have the propeller off, inspect it for nicks, dents and other signs of damage. It’s alright if your prop is missing paint, but send it out for repairs if you find signs of impact. The smallest dent can cause your boat to lose performance and burn excessive fuel. A damaged prop also can vibrate, putting too much stress on bearings and seals causing additional damage.Finally, put a liberal amount of waterproof grease on the propeller shaft to prevent corrosion from “freezing” it in place. Then re-install the propeller and hardware in the same order that you took them off. Tightening the nut snugly and secure the locking tabes against the nut so it can’t back off the shaft threads. Simple Prop Repairs You Can DIY - https://www.championmarinerepair.com/blog/simple-propeller-repairs-you-can-diy

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