As with cars, boats require regular maintenance. You can’t just leave a boat at a garage on your way to work like a car. Most of this maintenance falls upon the owner. The jobs that are put off tend to be the most expensive and time consuming. This section gives a breakdown of maintaining a boat whether it is used for cruising, fishing or is a floating home.
Regular maintenance
Most engine work on boats and cars is similar. The exceptions are reminders. Dealerships and repair shops send out scheduled maintenance reminders. Boats don’t come with scheduled maintenance reminders. On a boat, an owner has to keep track of hours run, not dates, because a boat that’s run every day has a different maintenance schedule than a boat that’s used occasionally. Batteries on a liveaboard get a lot of use and need to be checked often. Traditionally packed stern glands, where the prop shaft sticks out of the hull and the seal is packed with grease, need to be greased often. It is easy to forget to pack the glands until water is found in the bilge.
The hull also needs maintenance. Worn anodes need to be looked for while the boat is blacked, because pitting can lead to larger corrosion problems. Taking your Boat off the Water explains more about this process. Our maintenance schedule gives a year long plan for this maintenance.
Running costs
Fuel is the first expense people notice. The real culprit is typically the engine, whether its a V8 in a cabin cruiser or an outboard on a center console. You’d be surprised how much fuel a skinny canal boat burns in a season. Slow speed and clean hulls help, and more tips can be found in How to Save Money on your Boat’s Fuel Bill. The rest is made up by repairs, parts, blacking and mooring fees.
Winter
Boats that are not lived on are vulnerable to damage during the winter more than at any other time of the year. Water in the pipes, calorifier and engine cooling system can freeze and split the hull. This can happen even when the boat is covered over, and you may not find out about it until the cover is off in the spring. winterising, checking the antifreeze and good ventilation takes care of most problems. Others lift out and store ashore. Others stay afloat and visit often to check that everything is dry. Our guide on winterising and storage covers all of these methods.
Safety on board
Most risks on a boat are from normal sources, like a gas stove, a gas fridge, or an engine that’s left on and is shut in a cabin. The cheapest thing you can fit to enhance safety is a working CO alarm. After that is fire extinguishers that you can easily reach, a fire blanket near the stove, life jackets, knowing where the gas shut off is without having to look, etc. Our on-board safety explains safety in each room on the boat, and Some General Safety Rules for Sailing discuss what you should have when you’re sailing.
Test the CO alarm when the clocks change. It only takes a few seconds, and it’s the test people forget.