Article
Date: 10/20/2004
Keep
It Clean - by Steve Hunger
What I have
learned...Boat Maintenance
A while
back while I was watching that new fishin’ show, “The
Bachelor”, I heard one of those girls comment that she was
“High Maintenance” and didn’t think a bass fisherman’s
salary could support her. The realization suddenly came to me that
I’m a “low-maintenance guy”. A status it’s
taken some 50-years to achieve.
- I
drive a low-maintenance car though it cost me a couple cars to
find that oil is a good thing.
- I
have a low-maintenance yard; everything that ain’t concrete
or rocks grows slow and comes back every year.
- Even
my wife is low maintenance. I’ll not say another word about
that one.
I tried
that low-maintenance thing on my bass boat though and it didn’t
work. For example, did you know you’re supposed to grease
your steering cables every-so-often? I fixed that by having power
steering installed. Turned out to be a very smart - but expensive
and probably avoidable - move. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve
had a number of boats over the years, but never one I needed to
know much more about than where to put the key, if it had one. No
one ever told me that a high-performance bass boat needs occasional
attention.
I’ve had this one some 7-years now and it continues to be
a learning experience. I’ve learned stuff like: 1.) Stainless
Steel Props are expensive; lift the motor some before gliding it
on the trailer. 2.) Fiberglass scratches, beaching the boat is not
an option. 3.) When that rubber thingy on the trailer wears down
or breaks, replace it ‘cause the thing it’s covering
is like a chisel when you run the boat into it. 4.) A $2 plastic
worm stuck in a rock ain’t worth the $35 trolling motor prop
and $70 transducer you broke going in to save it. And the ever-popular
5.) There’s a whole bunch of stuff that don’t float
when it flies out of a boat doing 70.
 Most
recently I’ve learned why those guys wash, wipe, wax, buff
and cover their boats as soon as they get out of the water. About
3-years back my cover finally rotten and blew apart, getting to
the point where I thought it was more trouble to put it on than
what good it was doing. The boat sat in the sun for almost the entire
mid-California summer. The result was a gel-coat that was all but
dissolved. It became yellow and pitted and the silver flake underneath
just seemed to enhance the problem. In short, it got ugly quick.
I tried waxes, spray buffs, cleaners and all sorts of stuff.
Before
It
just
continued to deteriorate. I got several estimates and “expert”
After
opinions on what I could do to correct or stop the problem. Comments
came in like, “sink it and call the insurance man” to
quotes of $2000 or more with no guarantees.
Repairing the rotted carpet was no problem. Eight-hundred dollars
later it quit flying off the boat and hitting me in the face at
70mph. The finish on the deck was still ugly.
A short time ago I attended a fund-raising dinner for the Black
Bass Action Committee where various vendors and suppliers offer
goods and services for auction. I bid on several items and happened
to win a boat detailing, valued at $850. My wife actually encouraged
me to bid on this saying that I had nothing to lose. I did and ultimately
won the bid. Best thing I ever did!
Pro Fiberglass in Livermore, CA (phone 925-447-0884) did what no
one else could. First of all I was impressed with their attitude
of welcoming the challenge. Seems they were looking for an opportunity
to see just how good they were. This old boat went from “for
sale, cheap” to “they’ll bury me in it”
in a week.
Before
Awesome
After
Pennies
on the dollar for fishing rods, reels, baits, lures, and more? You
be the judge!
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