*** Safety first! Remember to always wear safety glasses, gloves and a respirator if
applicable if you are dealing with potentially penetrating objects and / or chemicals! ***
Clean
❏ If you haven’t done so recently / before the boat was put away last fall wash your boat thoroughly inside and out with warm water and dish soap
❏ Funky smell? Use diluted bleach.
❏ Hard to get to salt crusts? Using diluted vinegar helps.
❏ Polish with a rubbing compound and protect with a marine wax as needed.
Inspect for visual damage on hull and deck
❏ Thin spots, deep gouges, cracks and punctures that would allow water penetrating into the fiberglass need to be fixed to avoid further damage.
❏ At any of the above spots: Are there visual signs (different colour / shade than surrounding
composite, visual crack) on the inside that need to be fixed and/or reinforced?
❏ Any visual signs that the bulk heads are detached or have cracks in them?
❏ Inside the cockpit: Does the area at the foot rest / pedals feel rough? The fiberglass might be wearing through and needs additional protection.
❏ If you have customized your cockpit with fittings for lashings and thigh pads etc: Are they still firmly attached?
❏ Do you see any gaps / cracks between cockpit / hatch rims and deck? Is the seam between hull and deck intact? Is the skeg box and all its fittings firmly attached?
Hatch covers
❏ Pay special attention to the hatch rim and cover, worn neoprene covers or failing rubber seal profiles on one piece hatch covers.
❏ Rubber hatch covers need to be treated with 303 regularly to prevent premature breakdown. If there are cracks in them they need to be replaced.
❏ Tether your hatch covers.
Water test
❏ Put a couple of gallons of soapy water in the back hatch and have the water sitting on vulnerable spots and check for water seeping through (bulkhead seam, hull / deck seam, skeg box or rudder pin attachments.
❏ Repeat the above for each hatch and the cockpit.
Mechanical issues
❏ Rusty, frayed and/or kinked cables need to be replaced. While you have them out measure the length for the cable you keep in your repair kit.
❏ Is the deployment line in good shape?
❏ Rusty cracks in that white plastic block that attaches the rudder to the boat? Replace it now instead of on-trip. The same is valid for the rudder pin block.
❏ Use a water hose with good pressure to get that sand etc out of those tight spaces between wheel and cage etc., depending on how sticky it is, it might be time to take the assembly apart for cleaning.
❏ Clean the foot tracks and ensure that the pedals slide freely and without any grinding noise. Fixed foot pegs or gas pedal style? Make sure that they can be adjusted and that moving parts move freely and solid parts don’t show extensive wear and tear.
Ensure that the skeg deploys smoothly.
Problems?
❏ Pull the skeg blade out by catching it with needle nose pliers, drill a small hole into the blade and attach a pull string. Remove any pebbles etc from the skeg box. If you have tape in there to prevent the rattling noise from the blade when deployed, replace or reglue as needed.
❏ Pull the cable out and rinse the cable housing with water. Measure cable length for replacement.
❏ Replace a kinked cable. In systems that have a slider rod that the cable feeds into and that don’t have an stopper, you might get away with bending the kink back and turning it so that the kink is in the rod.
❏ Is your skeg system field repairable? Include the slider knob in that assessment. (Some skeg systems don’t come [easily] field repairable from the manufacturer - modify the system if possible or adjust your paddling accordingly.)
Deck rigging
❏ Tighten all loose bolts and replace deck eyes, toggles and other hardware etc as needed.
❏ Replace worn perimeter lines. Your boat doesn’t have any? Install them for your safety and consider adding tubing as handrails for rescues.
❏ Check shock cord and replace if they are not elastic anymore.
❏ Does your boat have rescue and/or hatch straps? Check the integrity of the straps and the hardware
- UV exposure weakens those materials over time.
❏ Toggle cords need attention too.
❏ Tether your hatches.
Creature comfort in the cockpit...
❏ Does that seat still work well for your body? Does the seat padding hold up for the season?
❏ Are the thigh braces in the right spot?
❏ Do you need an underdeck shelf for easy access on the water if you don’t have a day hatch?
❏ Adding some new gear? Test it in a safe environment before the season starts.
And while you’re at it...
❏ Check your paddle, make sure that your two-piece paddles come apart easily but also fits together properly and solidly. Keep that ferrule clean.
❏ Is your spray skirt in good shape?
❏ Treat the gaskets on your drytop or drysuit with 303 and/or replace as needed.
❏ Inspect / fix / replace your dry bags
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