Propeller Maintenance and Replacement

Propellers require relatively little servicing. Many people remove their propellers at the end of the season and store them inside. This protects the expensive propeller from theft and ensures that it won’t become frozen in place due to corrosion. Trying to remove a prop from a corroded spline can end up damaging either the prop, the spline, or both. Removal is straightforward. Straighten out and remove the cotter pin, then unscrew the keeper nut. Beneath that is the prop nut, the unscrewing of which wil l require a special wrench or a big socket on a ratchet. To prevent the prop from turning when you unscrew the prop nut, use a block of wood to hold it steady, bracing the wood against the lower unit.

Making A Galley Box

Many small boats lack adequate storage for the dozens of items a galley requires. Another common problem is the lack of a proper place to use a portable stove, whether it is a single-burner backpacking stove or a big, two-burner propane unit. After years of carrying my galley gear in a couple of plastic milk crates, I decided to design a galley box to organize it. My objectives were to create a simple way to store and carry spices and all nonfood galley items and to provide a stable platform for a two-burner Coleman propane stove. I wanted the box to be easy to move around so that I could carry the whole galley into the cockpit when I wanted and just as easily pack it up and return it below when I finished a meal.

Keeping The Boat Shiny : Do Washing and Waxing

Most of us, however, take a certain pride in a clean boat kept new-looking, and a clean hull actually runs better and saves fuel. And the hours of elbow grease spent keeping a boat clean are often repaid when it’s time to sell the boat—appearance is everything when it comes to moving a used boat. Although boats live in water, they get dirty. Those used for fishing get very dirty. To keep a boat looking new and functioning well, it has to be washed regularly—and those used in salt water must be washed after every day on the water. The standard wash-down is with soap and fresh water. Wash-and-wax–type car-wash soaps do a nice job and leave a protective coating on the gel coat, but plain old dish soap is okay, too.

Collect and Organize Information of Your Boat

The world of boats isn’t like the world of automobiles. Boat engines are generic in the sense that many different models can be—and often are—installed in any given model of boat. A 2002 Corvette engine probably won’t fit anything but another Corvette of about the same age, but a 17-foot Whaler could have an engine ranging from 25 to 200 horsepower or so, of any year, from any engine manufacturer. Likewise with accessories and fittings—hardly any of these are made by the boatbuilder, and hardly any can be considered “standard.” To further complicate matters, boatbuilders and parts suppliers go out of business much more frequently than auto makers.

Marine Communication Device

The most important electronic device to carry aboard is some sort of communications device. It’s a handy way to find where the fish are biting or which beach the sundown rendezvous is planned for. It’s also useful when you want to talk with the harbormaster in a new port to learn which slip he wants you in, and even to call the waterfront restaurant and reserve a corner table. And if things ever go really bad—sinking boat, life-threatening injury, heart attack—you need dependable contact with the world ashore, in the crack.