Keep Your Boat in Top Condition Mid-Season
Boat maintenance is an ongoing process for any boat owner. It doesn’t stop just because your boat seems to be running 
fine. That can change at any time based on how well you take care of it. Mid-season boat maintenance is particularly easy to forget about. When you’re out on the water having fun, boat condition and maintenance can be the furthest thing from your mind. But there are some simple mid-season repairs, checks, and part replacements that you should stay on top of.
Tighten Loose Fasteners on Your Boat
General use during the season can easily cause fasteners all over your boat to loosen just a bit. That’s not generally a problem right away. However, neglecting to tighten loose fasteners for a long time can lead to trouble. Everything from windshields and bow rails to engine accessories like your alternator can have fasteners that need to be checked.
Check on Your Seacocks
The seacocks are basically valves on your boat that allow you to control the flow of water into certain areas. That water can be used to cool a boat engine down or keep a boat balanced to reduce the risk of capsizing, depending on the type of vessel. The two important things to check when it comes to seacocks are that the valves are currently in the position you want and that the handles can be easily manipulated to change that position. If you can’t move the handle to open and close your valves, you’re asking for trouble on the water.
Regularly Check All Boat Fluids During the Season
Another aspect of maintaining good boat condition and safety is checking all of your boat fluids. Boat fluids include everything from fuel to cooling, steering, and transmission fluids. If any of those bot fluids are low, contaminated, or otherwise not up to the best standards, you could have a rough ride, or you may not be able to have any ride at all.
Check Boat Filters and Handle Part Replacement Quickly
Part replacements are another part of mid-season boat maintenance that you should take care of quickly as soon as you notice a problem. Boat filters like oil and fuel filters should be checked regularly for clogs or other flaws. You may also want to replace gaskets, o-rings, belts, and other boat parts that tend to wear out or loosen over time.
Maintain Boat Batteries
Boat batteries also need regular checks and maintenance. You could have a very basic problem like a loose nut on your terminal connection that could cause battery failure when you’re on the water. There are also bigger problems that can occur with boat batteries. For instance, cell batteries can get flooded, causing them to lose electrolytes. That problem can easily be at least temporarily corrected with distilled water.
Don’t Neglect Superficial Boat Maintenance
While anything that impacts boat safety should be your top priority, superficial boat maintenance is also important. For example, repairing a small section of worn gel coat or paint quickly can keep you from having to completely redo the gel coat or paint job later. In short, making small repairs and part replacements mid-season can prevent bigger problems from occurring when the next boating season starts.
