Spring tuneup
 

Ok ... Yes I know my boat wont even see water till about June 1st. But this question has been pondering in the back of my mind for some time.

Is a "spring tuneup" required @ the start of every season?



Reason being is, I had a tuneup done last spring (plugs, cap, rotor, fuel filter, fuel/water filter) and I wanted to know if I needed to replace all those parts again before the start of this season.

I would rather pay the money to have my boat running in 100% tip top shape, but at the same time, if there is more life to be had out of some parts, why replace the parts. I also dont want to find out mid-season that " hey I wish this was replaced in the spring" kind of thing happens.

This way, when I start heading up north again at the end of April and pay up for boat storage and maintanence, I know what to expect. The place where I store my boat I dont think is going to "take me for a ride". But when you just plain don't know... you can be taken advantage of.

Also, anything sterndrive related. That is a 100% DO IT thing. Gimbals and any seals or hoses / pipes etc I dont even blink. Just replace it.

.. Discuss !

Plugs, cap and rotor should be good for several seasons.

Fuel/water separator should be done seasonally. Your outdrive oil should have been changed when it was winterized. They should normally inspect the rest (bellows, gimbals etc.) at that time. Water pump? I'd go by what the shop recommends, as it will depend on how much boating you do, and the kind of water you boat in.

Alrighty then. So would several seasons mean about 2 seasons then. Unsure about condition of water pump or impeller as well. I will stick to what he recommends. I will have a new prop & torq II hub installed this spring.

Well, I only boat along the trent severn. Mostly just on Sparrow Lake. Couple hours on a saturday, couple hours on a sunday kind of thing. We tried to go up at least every weekend of the summer. When we didnt, we were up the following saturday for sure. Every long weekend was up there as well.

I will be asking him to install an hour meter onto my boat. Plus I will be keeping better logs of my travels this summer.

If you are unsure about it's condition, or don't know when it was last done, then I'd replace it no questions. It's cheap insurance. Failed water pump = not good...

I was told if you boat in water with a lot of sand/silt your replacement interval should be shorter, as the blades on the impeller will wear faster. The impeller rubber also just detriorates with time. I was told 3 to 5 seasons max where I boat on Georgian bay, which is almost exclusively rock bottom and crystal clear water.

I've heard of some people changing it religously every season, but I think that's overkill, esp here in Canada, where a good season probably only puts less than 50 hours on it.

Oh yah. Canadian boating seasons are so short. Its summer, then puff .. its fall. I probably never reached the 50hr mark. If I did ... great! LOL.

Agreed. I have heard the same about the sand silt etc. Doesn't help when you start up the boat in a mud bottom river. Which is why when I start up my boat for the first time I untie it and push it out a bit so that the sterndrive is into deeper water.

Well im sure the mechanic would inspect it anyways. I will mention it tho to him.

In Missouri the boating is about 9 months. My boat yard recommends a change of the water pump every other year. About $300, its a lot cheaper than the alternative.

Up here its about 4 to 5 months. If you fish, it is 5 months. If you are a powerboater then about 4 months. Normally the boats up here start to go into the water after the May 2-4 (Victoria Day) long weekend.

This whole boat thing is going to be expensive... hehe. I know I will be spending around a grand before the boat hits water.

$324 insurance
$300 (or so) storage/winterizing
$XXX tuneup / replacements etc

then ...
$100-150 Trent severn pass
$200-300 ish for fuel (for the season)

Is it worth it ... ummm .. yep.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOh yes. Cheap at twice the price

Still .. that is thereason that I have a small boat & small motor vs a big boat and big motor... :wink_thumbup:

Can't wait to be on water again!

Alrighty, well I had a look at my boat on Sunday and spoke with the marina owners and so far the list repairs to be done before it hits water will be:

Carb rebuild
Gimbal bearing (replaced free of charge)

There was one other item. I forgot what she had written down. I did mention to her again about the slight loss of power on throttle when accelerating for the first time. I know WetWilly and I spoke about that in another thread and I tried to mention to her what WetWilly had spoken about.

I will be getting an hour meter installed for this season. I have a brand new rebuilt prop going on my boat. Which they did for me in the off season. :wink_thumbup:

Should be on the water in about 2 weeks time ! :)