• Storm prep starts early

• Changing outboard engine oil

• Learn before you launch

• First aid kit Rx

Storm prep starts early

With the onset of hurricane season, you can protect your vessel by taking effective, early action whenever there’s even a slight chance a storm will hit.

It’s better to prepare early and lose a few boating days to a false alarm than to lose the rest of the season because your boat was destroyed.

Beforehand, decide where you’ll take your boat when a storm is forecast, and make sure the marina you choose has the proper equipment and enough jack stands to handle your boat.

Simply hauling your boat and supporting it with jack stands might not be enough. You should also tie it down at the bow and stern.

Other people will haul their boats as the storm approaches, so don’t wait until the last minute when marina workers are busy getting the marina ready for the storm.

I have weathered three hurricanes at my marina. Because of the marina’s layout, I leave my boat properly secured in its slip. I tie it with a spider web of lines. (You can’t have too many!)

Next, I strip everything above deck and take home electronic equipment, so I won’t lose my electronics if water gets into the cabin. Don’t forget to disconnect the radio antenna. If you don’t and lightning strikes, you could be buying a new radio after the storm.

Once the boat is secured, I take photos of it. Should the boat sustain damage, the photos prove I took every reasonable precaution. Also keep in mind that if your boat isn’t properly secured and breaks loose, you are liable for damage it causes to other boats or the marina.

–Don Baker

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Changing outboard engine oil

By Dave Osmolski

When you get tired of shelling out close to $100 to have the oil changed in your four-stroke outboard engine or cleaning up after someone else’s job, you might consider getting out your owner’s manual and changing the oil yourself.

Unlike your automobile, your outboard’s drain plug is usually located below the power head. On my Yamaha, it’s in the rear, but placement varies. These drains are either angled downward or at a right angle to the leg, which means the oil will flow outward into a catch basin as well as down along the leg onto the anti-cavitation plate and entire lower unit.

Preparation
Before you start, purchase a new drain plug gasket, oil filter, and enough oil to refill the crankcase and filter.

You’ll also need a can large enough to contain all the oil, a plastic funnel fitted with a piece of garden hose that reaches from just below the drain to the mouth of the can as it sits on the ground, and a standard metal oil-changing pan.

Wear grubby clothes, and have lots of rags or a roll of paper towels handy.

Changing the oil

• Lower the engine to the operating position, and place the oil-changing pan underneath the lower unit.
• Hold the funnel underneath the drain, and unscrew the plug. Apply slight pressure to hold the plug against the opening, and slowly pull the plug away and catch as much oil as possible. Let the dregs drain down the leg and into the oil-changing pan. Inspect the magnetic metal plug and remove any metal particles with a paper towel.
• Remove the old gasket, and replace it with the new one.
• Clean the outside of your engine around the drain and replace the plug to the specified torque. If you don’t have a torque spec, finger-tighten the plug until the gasket makes contact with the drain hole’s surface, and then tighten no more than one-half turn with a wrench.
• Remove the engine cowling, locate the oil filter and place several paper towels under it. Remove the filter with an oil filter wrench, and place the filter in the pan under the lower unit.
• Prepare the new oil filter by using your finger to wet the filter’s rubber gasket with a little bit of oil. Carefully screw on the filter. If it sticks or balks, make sure it isn’t cross-threaded. Don’t screw the filter on too tightly, and never use a wrench.
• Pour the oil from the drain pan into the can, and remove the old oil and con­tainers.
• Clean off the engine using rags or paper towels. You can also wash the surface with bilge cleaner. Rinse and dry it.
• Pour in all but one-half quart of the suggested amount of new oil into the oil fill port. Close the port, start the engine, and run it for a minute while providing cooling water to the engine before shutting it off.
• Give the oil a few minutes to run back down into the sump, and then check the oil level on the dipstick. Add extra oil if necessary, and check the plug and filter for leaks.

Now, you’re good for another 100 hours or six months, whichever comes first.

D/1st/Lt David H. Osmolski, AP, of Charlotte Power Squadron, has been repairing boats since high school when his first boat, a canvas-covered canoe with cedar ribs, leaked in gallons per minute and required constant repair. Dave’s current boat, a 16-foot Carolina Skiff, gives him plenty of opportunities for repair and upgrades, so look for more of his maintenance articles in upcoming issues.

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Learn before you launch

Avoid embarrassment or damage to your boat. Practice before launching your boat for the first time.

Learn to reverse
To become comfortable reversing your trailer, drive to a quiet parking lot. Position the vehicle and trailer as straight as possible, roughly a trailer’s length away from your destination.

Grasp the wheel at the bottom and steer gently and gradually—it’s easier to add more steering than to correct after turning too much. Grasping the wheel at the bottom prevents you from over-turning the wheel, and if the steering wheel starts straight, your wheels will be straight when your hands reach the same position.

While slowly reversing, turn the wheel to the right and look out the driver’s side window, keeping your eyes on the trailer. When the trailer starts to turn, start straightening while still reversing. Straightening too late and moving the wheel too quickly will cause the trailer to jackknife. Eventually you will be steering in the opposite direction while still reversing. Bring the vehicle’s front around to follow the trailer, and watch the trailer’s position in case it needs to be corrected.

Check both mirrors while reversing in a straight line. Reverse carefully and go slowly. When you can see more of the trailer in one mirror, steer toward that side to start moving the trailer the other way. Corrections require only small steering movements. If you need to straighten the trailer, pull forward before continuing to reverse.

With practice, you’ll soon be able to back up several hundred feet without jack-knifing the trailer or rear-ending anything.

At the launch ramp
Choose a quiet weekday morning for your first launch, and have experienced help at hand. Prepare your boat before getting on the ramp. Safely store all equipment, put in the drain plug and ignition key, remove fastening straps, disconnect trailer lights, and connect a safety line to the bow. Keep the winch strap and safety chain connected until you reach the water.

Slowly reverse the boat down the ramp, and stop just before the stern hangs over the water. Disconnect the winch strap and remove any pins or other devices used to prevent an outboard motor from tipping down.

When the boat is disconnected from the trailer, back the boat down the ramp until the trailer wheels are submerged. Have a helper take the bow line, or tie it to your vehicle or winch handle. Once the boat is away from the trailer, tie your vessel to the dock with the bow line. Experienced boaters will have someone move the boat away from the dock until the driver has parked and is ready to board. A quick, smooth launch is courteous to other boaters.

When loading the boat on the trailer, tie up at the dock, put your keys in your pocket, retrieve your vehicle and get in line at the ramp. Before pulling your boat, tilt the engine up to avoid damaging it on the ramp.

–Dan Fortman

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First aid kit Rx

Before heading out on the water this summer, make sure you have a well-stocked medical kit and are competent in CPR and first aid, because having a kit without the knowledge to use it is like having no kit at all.

A basic coastal and near-shore first aid kit should be packed in a watertight container and include the following minimum supplies for stabilizing a victim until professional help arrives:

• Assorted bandages
• Gauze pads
• Adhesive tape
• Sterile dressings
• Instant cold packs
• Elastic roll bandages
• Tweezers
• Scissors
• Antibacterial skin cleanser
• Antibacterial ointment
• Gloves, sterile and non-sterile
• Eyewash
• Blanket
• Finger splint
• Triangular sling
• Thermometer
• Aspirin
• NSAIDs (ibuprofen or naproxen)
• Salt pills
• Antacids
• Anti-seasickness and anti-vomiting medication

–Steve Yolen

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