Preventative Maintenance

[peterlafond]

I am just joining this site, and I have a 17 Aquasport with a 90 h.p. Johnson, which I use in Maine coastal waters. I store the boat after winterization in a barn, covered. I would appreciate insights into preventative maintenance for the boat, as opposed to the motor.  I don't know the year my boat was manufactured, as it had little paperwork when I bought it. I hope my question is not too general.

Thanks

[fitz73222]

Hi Peter,
You should be able to read the hull ID numbers on the upper left(port) corner on the outside of the transom. The last two digits (year) on the right followed by a month code.

Sounds like you are taking care of the engine and having her fogged for the winter.
Todays main problem is preservation of ethanol boosted fuel. I`m using Starbrite blue that seems to be working but the boat isnt sitting this time of year.

[John Jones]

For the rest of the boat, about all you can do is a good wash and wax.  Anything metal needs something to protect it even more so.  Either a "smart" battery charger connected all the time or put the battery inside where it's warm and charge it once a month.

As for washing, a chemist told me something acidic would remove salt better than a soap or detergent.  I use a citrus based cleaner and I can tell the difference as far as getting salt off.

I use this from Home Depot.  I can't find it anywhere else.




Just for reference, here is the body of the email from the chemist.

Salts dissolved in water dissociate (split) into metallic ions (sodium, potassium, etc.) that are positively charged and halide ions (mostly chloride) that are negatively charged. The negative ions cling very tightly to surfaces that have a net positive charge (most metals, plastics). These negative ions hang on to some of the positive ions (sodium, potassium) and so you get salt crystals.

Detergents don't have much effect because they tend to be electrochemically neutral. They don't affect the attraction caused by different electrical charges.

Cleaners that include a mild acid (e.g. citric acid) release a lot of hydroxyl ions (H+) into solution (that's what it means to be acid). The hydroxyl ions are FAR more reactive than the positive charges on the steel of your trailer or the plastic cowling on your outboard and will bind to the halide ions. So...the citric acid cleaners will likely remove the salt much more effectively than water alone.

[RickK]

JJ you amaze me every day - you, you, your're just full of it  
Great tip.

[John Jones]

My wife tells me I'm full of it most every day.

[gran398]

JJ, mine too. But she means it.

So, guess this stuff is similar in structure to "Salt X?"

But with some soap and degreaser?

Thanks too for the tip....always looking for a better mousetrap.

gran

[John Jones]

I think it's really close to the salt removal products and it was only $6.95/gallon the last time I bought some.  I use a 1 gallon pump up $10 garden sprayer.  I put about a quart of the citrus cleaner in and fill with water.  Wet the boat and trailer, spray with the citrus, brush any blood or cast net mud, then rinse.  I actually pay more attention to the galvanized trailer than I do the boat.  It's a '97 trailer and still looking good except for a couple of bunk brackets that are pretty rusty.

For the motor, instead of one of those expensive Salt-Away devices get one of these at an Ace Hardware or garden shop.  I paid $10 for mine on sale at Ace.



http://www.agriculturesolutions.com/Fer ... k.tpl.html

I am a serious believer in proper motor flushing.  No matter how tired I am or if it's raining or dark I still put the muffs on my motor as soon as I get home.  I stick the pickup hose of that device in the citrus jug when flushing the motor.  I let it suck the citrus for about 10 seconds, then take the pickup out of the citrus jug and let the motor rinse with fresh water.  It makes a world of difference over plain water in getting salt out of the motor passages.

Here is what my motor looked like at 10 years with plain water flushing.  Especially look at the t'stat sitting on top.



I cleaned that mess out the best I could and put in a new t'stat.  I don't have a current picture but I pulled it down again last winter after 3 years of citrus flushing and it actually looked better than it did after I got done cleaning it 3 years ago.

[gran398]

GREAT job, JJ. Now guy's, THAT's preventive maintenance.

[John Jones]

GREAT job, JJ. Now guy's, THAT's preventive maintenance.

Most call it being anal.  

[peterlafond]

Thanks very much for the responses to my questions about preventative maintenance. Any suggestions for how to reomve difficult stains on the inside and outside of the boat. At some point Fall leaves stained the interior, and because the boat is at a mooring the outside waterline gets stained.

Thanks again.

[fitz73222]

Rust Aid from Lowes or Home Depot. Removes Oak stains, rust stains, Tannin stains and no where near as toxic as ON -OFF Hull cleaner. It takes about 30 seconds to work on rust and rinse immediately to avoid streaking.

[Capt. Bob]

Rust Aid from Lowes or Home Depot. Removes Oak stains, rust stains, Tannin stains and no where near as toxic as ON -OFF Hull cleaner. It takes about 30 seconds to work on rust and rinse immediately to avoid streaking.

+ 1 on the Rust Aid.
Be careful around aluminum fittings and trailers.

It removes tannin and staining we get in the coastal water up here very nicely.

[John Jones]

Either will eat metal and skin.  On and Off is much stronger but the MSDS is pretty scary compared to Rust Aid.

[seabob4]

+2 on the Rust-Aid...

[Skoot]

I know this may sound odd, but Sno-Bol toilet bowl cleaner.  My buddy (a charter capt) told me about it, so I gave it a try the other day. This stuff takes rust off screws/bolts/everything, they look brand new. Removes ALL stains! Trust me, my boat had 10yrs brackish water stains and this stuff took it off without scrubbing      Even my Bronze garbord drain looks brand new.    
Even my wife said, " what did you do to the boat, it looks really shiny" I'll post some before aft pics soon.

Figured you guys wanted to know, this stuff is amazing. I give it...