Boating Safety
Boating Safety is one of the basic tenets of the South Shore Cruising Club. In an effort to promote safe boating, we offer this webpage to encourage everyone to BOAT SAFELY!
SPRING COMMISSIONING
Get ready for spring by making sure your boat is ready for fun! If your marina or mechanic didn't do your spring maintenance, why not do it yourself?
Fitting Out After Storage
1. Clean up, reinstall, and charge battery to full capacity.
2. Inspect entire exhaust system for worn or broken parts. Replace worn hose with "certified" hose. Double clamp each exhaust hose connection with stainless clamps.
3. Inspect entire fuel system for evidence of water or probable leaks. Repair immediately.
4. Close all drain valves and carefully inspect all water lines for deterioration.
5. Replace any frayed belts and install to proper tension.
6. Check engine oil and transmission fluid levels. Add oil or fluid as needed to bring levels up to "full" mark on dipsticks. Do not overfill.
(See Pre-Oil, below, before you fill the engine oil.)
7. Check propeller shaft alignment.
8. Reinstall the sea pump impeller if it was removed during lay-up.
9. Check throttle and shaft control cables for proper engagement.
10. Install new spark plugs, ignition points, and condenser.
11. Inspect and replace plug wires, distributor cap, and rotor as needed.
12. Check and replace the engine thermostat and pressure relief valves if they show excessive wear or corrosion. (Pressure relief valves are used only on raw water cooled engines.)
13. For engines with closed cooling, fill heat exchanger with 50-50 mixture of fresh water and antifreeze coolant. Check heat exchanger pressure cap for performance and replace if necessary.
If you need to pre-oil the engine:
Cranking Method:
1) Ground Coil lead
2) Remove spark plugs
3) Spray fogging oil into cylinders
4) Hook water to sea water pickup
5) Ventilate engine room then crank until you get a oil pressure reading at the dash board.
Note: On engines equipped with a water lift muffler, turn water supply to engine off after 1 minute of no-start cranking. Then continue to crank until you get an oil pressure reading.
6) Assemble and start motor
SPRING COMMISSIONING
Get ready for spring by making sure your boat is ready for fun! If your marina or mechanic didn't do your spring maintenance, why not do it yourself?
Fitting Out After Storage
1. Clean up, reinstall, and charge battery to full capacity.
2. Inspect entire exhaust system for worn or broken parts. Replace worn hose with "certified" hose. Double clamp each exhaust hose connection with stainless clamps.
3. Inspect entire fuel system for evidence of water or probable leaks. Repair immediately.
4. Close all drain valves and carefully inspect all water lines for deterioration.
5. Replace any frayed belts and install to proper tension.
6. Check engine oil and transmission fluid levels. Add oil or fluid as needed to bring levels up to "full" mark on dipsticks. Do not overfill.
(See Pre-Oil, below, before you fill the engine oil.)
7. Check propeller shaft alignment.
8. Reinstall the sea pump impeller if it was removed during lay-up.
9. Check throttle and shaft control cables for proper engagement.
10. Install new spark plugs, ignition points, and condenser.
11. Inspect and replace plug wires, distributor cap, and rotor as needed.
12. Check and replace the engine thermostat and pressure relief valves if they show excessive wear or corrosion. (Pressure relief valves are used only on raw water cooled engines.)
13. For engines with closed cooling, fill heat exchanger with 50-50 mixture of fresh water and antifreeze coolant. Check heat exchanger pressure cap for performance and replace if necessary.
If you need to pre-oil the engine:
Cranking Method:
1) Ground Coil lead
2) Remove spark plugs
3) Spray fogging oil into cylinders
4) Hook water to sea water pickup
5) Ventilate engine room then crank until you get a oil pressure reading at the dash board.
Note: On engines equipped with a water lift muffler, turn water supply to engine off after 1 minute of no-start cranking. Then continue to crank until you get an oil pressure reading.
6) Assemble and start motor