What all would you do?

[chambers1517]

Last year I bought a 2005 Caravelle 207 with a 5.0 mpi in it. It was towards the end of summer and we took it out about 3 times. I fogged the cylinders and put stabilizer in the fuel and parked it in the garage for the winter. I didn't winterize and 54 was the coldest it saw all winter. We took it out last week and just rode a little and now I am wondering what all I should do before boating season really gets going. It has about 130 hours on it and runs great. I noticed some slop in the steering this week so I will work on that. Since you never really know how the previous owner treated it, what would you guy do right now if it were your boat?

 

[MTribe08]

Re: What all would you do?

I would consider all of these things:
When was the last time the Engine oil was changed?
Drive Oil?
Impeller?
Fuel/water separater?
lube the gimble bearing
Check the condition of the Bellows
Lube all cables and coupler

Go boating and have fun!

 

[backwater dawg]

Re: What all would you do?

I agree-take care of your boat and it will take care of you---change fluids---lube it---have fun

 

[john from md]

Re: What all would you do?

Even if you keep it in the house, you should keep a battery tender on it so that the battery stays at full charge and doesn't start to sufate. This will add a couple of years on the battery.

Fill the tank so you don't get condensation and add Marine Stabil to the fuel whenever you add gas.

Pull your trailer bearings every year and repack. This job only takes an hour or so but neglected bearings can cause you to lose your boat on the road.

John

 

[ziggy]

Re: What all would you do?

i'd get the oem service manual and read the maintenance interval part of it. see what the oem thinks i should be doing to the rig at x number of hours. then follow through with whatever pm needs to be done..

 

[RickJ6956]

Re: What all would you do?

Pull your trailer bearings every year and repack. This job only takes an hour or so but neglected bearings can cause you to lose your boat on the road.

May I add: If the trailer doesn't have Bearing Buddies, install them. They keep water out of the hubs.

 

[ziggy]

Re: What all would you do?

Quote:
Originally Posted by john from md
Pull your trailer bearings every year and repack. This job only takes an hour or so but neglected bearings can cause you to lose your boat on the road.

May I add: If the trailer doesn't have Bearing Buddies, install them. They keep water out of the hubs.

still, do the wheel brgs. every year. the bearing buddies are dandy for sure. gives ya a way to grease the brgs. but..... the grease injected only gets to the outer wheel brg. it never makes it to the inner..... so ya still gotta service them. i tried going 2.25 years w/o service. one day i went boating and ended up R&Ring wheel brgs at the ramp. i was hosed. nothing left of the inner brg. i was lucky to have made it to the ramp w/o incident.
do your wheel brgs. the hard way, disassemble them.... messy and a drag to do, but it's worth it.

 

[jafo9]

Re: What all would you do?

unless you have the records from the PO, you have to assume nothing has been done. then when you do it, you have a "baseline" for the PM. the first season will be the hardest since you basically have to do it all.

all my trailer hubs, 4 axles on 3 trailers, have at zerk fitting on the inner part of the hub that lets you put in grease from the inside and watch it come out the front bearing on the outside. i find this very useful when "winterizing" to push any water out of the hub.

when i repack the bearings, i use an old fashioned bearing packer that sandwiches the bearing between 2 plastic pieces and fills the bearing. sure beats the old way of grinding it into your palm. it speeds things up alot and helps alittle with the mess.

 

[Bondo]

Re: What all would you do?

I fogged the cylinders and put stabilizer in the fuel and parked it in the garage for the winter. I didn't winterize and 54 was the coldest it saw all winter.

Ayuh,.... Here's what ya shoulda done last Fall,...
And,...
Here's what you should be doing to insure a fun filled season...