Boat hull maintenance tips & tricks
The hull of a boat is the most important part of the boat as it keeps it floating, in addition to keeping all the people on board safe. In addition, the hull is also the part where the salty water directly comes into contact with the boat, which causes it to be damaged more frequently than the rest of the vessel. As a result, the boat hull maintenance is an essential task for all boat owners. The hull takes up a massive surface of the whole vessel and requires extra care and attention.
There are a few methods on how to make the entire process involving the boat hull maintenance a little easier and less tiresome for all avid boat lovers. The first thing to keep in mind, however, is to include it in the schedule of maintenance tasks. Although it might seem like something that no one would forget about, you can never be too careful. Proper maintenance of the hull of the boat will guarantee the preservation of your initial investment so make sure not to neglect it. You can use features of TheBoatApp to organize your boat maintenance tasks.
Top 5 boat hull maintenance tips
Maintaining such a huge element of the boat as it is the hull, requires a series of tasks. Here are 5 of the most important things to keep in mind, in order to make your life easier:
- First of all, learn all you can about the hull of the boat. The hull can be made of various materials, with fiberglass being the most popular for modern boats, and is used to maintain the integrity of the boat when on water. Further protection is added through a layer of gel coat. In order to maintain the fiberglass as well as the layer of gel, you need to clean it with soapy water whenever you are doing your routine maintenance checks.
- Next, make sure to clean the hull with fresh water from time to time to minimize the chances of corrosion due to salt.
- Moreover, do your inspections properly and with care. Check that there are no dangerous tears in the hull of the boat and make sure to be rigorous. The hull of the boat is not something you want to play around with as it is the one that guarantees the integrity of the entire vessel.
- Paint the hull when the time has come, in addition to waxing it and making sure that all aluminum parts are intact. Spray painting is not advised as it can be toxic to marine life. Alternatively, seek out the proper equipment to paint the hull of your boat.
- Lastly, try to do all repairs and maintenance on the dry, and preferably off-season. It is always easier to work on dry land and let the paint, wax or anything else settle before getting the vessel back on the water.