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The annual task of preparing our boats for each season usually starts with a list. But what if you don't have one?
If you don’t know if a maintenance item was done or not, such as changing the oil, it’s best to change it again. Photo: Getty Images
I adore lists. I make them constantly, tick them off religiously, then sleep well at night knowing I haven’t forgotten to message someone back, make a work deadline, take out the trash, or pick up a new fuel filter. With our old boat, I could make a spring commissioning to-do list without even looking at the boat – I knew her and what she needed each spring like the back of my hand. Then my husband and I bought a used boat this past fall. As we stood in the yard looking up at the transom of our new baby, a 2000 Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 45.2, Nic turned to me and asked, “So what’s on the list?” I had no idea.
The first thing on the list was to make a list. You may be in the same boat, even if you’re spring commissioning your well-loved boat for the tenth season in a row. Take a step back and reevaluate your personal checklist from a fresh perspective. You may be missing brewing problems by not undertaking a more thorough inspection.
1. Go bow to stern, system by system.
Presumably you already stuck your head into every nook and cranny during the buying process. Go back again, slowly, with a notepad and inspection light, and really look at the details such as hose clamps, electrical connections, thru-hulls, seacocks, and bilge pumps. Take a good look at your shaft seal and shaft bearing, if applicable. Inspect equipment that came with the boat, such as anchor and rode, docklines, propane tanks, jerry cans, and shore power cords.
As you inventory your systems, make a list of new tools and spares you may need aboard. A quick fix you used to be able to accomplish with a half-inch socket may require a three-quarter-inch socket on your new boat, or you may need fuel filters in a different size, or have an entirely new system (that requires its own set of spares) that you didn’t have aboard your previous boat. Discovering those changes now will save you time and frustration in the future, and may even save a day on the water.
2. Reread your survey.
After you’ve done your own inspection, go back to your prepurchase survey. If you didn’t get one (yikes!), consider getting one now. A professional surveyor will identify issues you may have missed, or issues with systems or components with which you may be less familiar. A good surveyor will categorize items by urgency. Add everything considered urgent – which could include improperly wired electrical components, improperly installed plumbing, or other systems not up to code – as well as anything required by your insurer, onto your list.
3. Compare against our BoatU.S. checklists and spring commissioning resources.
Next, check out our host of spring commissioning resources on our website (BoatUS.com/Spring). Our expert lists may include items that both you and a surveyor may have missed, especially ones that you won’t think of from a visual inspection alone – such as changing the oil or raw-water impeller on your engine. Add everything that’s relevant to your boat to your master list.
4. If you don’t know, assume it needs to be done.
Can’t remember if the oil was changed in the fall, or don’t have the receipt to prove it? Go ahead and change it in the spring. Can’t tell if those anodes will make it another season? Replace them anyway. The low cost of an oil change is worth the small risk that it was unnecessary. For more arduous or costly endeavors, use your best judgment.
5. Sort your priorities.
Now prioritize the items on your list into categories. Anything marked highly urgent by your surveyor or insurer falls into the top-priority section, as well as anything having to do with safety or the regular maintenance of critical systems – especially for a new-to-you boat. For example, added to our high-priority list of items found by our surveyor was to resolve an engine raw-water hose chafing problem and replace a broken steaming light.
Other items may fall into the wish-list category, such as upgrading a chart plotter, reviving vinyl, or upholstery. In our case, for instance, we know we’d prefer a higher-capacity bilge pump than the one originally installed and hope to get to that this first season, but definitely by next season. On the wish list is to replace the engine compartment insulation, which is beginning to crumble away. Next winter, other priorities will be touching up the scrapes in the boot stripe and adding more handholds in the cabin. And the list goes on!
Once you enjoy a season on your boat and learn its ways, your priorities and proclivities on what goes on your winter to-do list may change. By then, you’ll have the confidence of really knowing your boat and systems firsthand.
BoatU.S.: Your one-stop spring commissioning resource
Visit BoatUS.com/Spring to find detailed information on how to prepare your boat for boating season.
- DOWNLOAD and follow our comprehensive, time-tested BoatU.S. Spring Commissioning Checklist. Scan the QR code to pull up the checklist on your phone or tablet, and tap on links for additional information and how-tos.
- WATCH our playlist of spring fitting videos on YouTube.com/BoatUS (or access them from our spring commissioning resource page).
- READ more than a dozen how-to articles from BoatU.S. experts.
- SIGN UP or RENEW your BoatU.S. Towing Membership at BoatUS.com/Towing to ensure you’re covered for unexpected breakdowns, soft groundings, running out of fuel, or dead batteries.
— Stacey Nedrow-Wigmore
