Spring Boat Maintenance
Greg Myers

Now that it is Spring and time to get the boat out and go fishing, there are some things that need to be checked on the boat and boat trailer before it leaves the yard.

You need to hook the boat up and then check all the lights to make sure they are all burning. Be sure and turn the turn signals on too to make sure that the boat turn signals are working. Check the safety chains to make sure they are securely connected to the boat trailer and not rusted to where they can slip through the bolt holding them onto the trailer.

Make sure the strap holding the front of the boat to the trailer is not frayed or in bad shape and needs replacing. Also, check the straps in the back of the boat and make sure they are not frayed or in bad shape.

Pull the boat forward and hit the brakes and see if the trailer brakes are working correctly. You will also want to check the wheel bearings. You will have to pull the wheels to see if there is enough grease in the bearings. Be sure and put the wheel bearing back in correctly and tighten them down so you don't have any side play in them. While you have the wheels off, check and see if you have any brake fluid on the backing plate. This can tell you if you have wheel cylinder problems which will affect your brakes.

Make sure all the batteries in the boat are charged up and good. Over the winter a battery might have gone bad on you and you would rather find that out before you get to the lake.

Check your electronics and make sure that your depth finders and gauges work. Get you a set of ear muffs and run water on your motor and make sure that they motor will start.

Check your fire extinguisher and make sure it is fully charged. Fire extinguishers do lose their pressure and become useless.

Make sure that you check your horn and make sure that it works.

And last, but not least, be sure and check the air pressure in your boat trailer tires and your truck tires.