Category Archives: recreational boats

Pontoon Gazebo

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We are looking for ways to expand the usability of our new Bentley Cruise 200 pontoon.  One thing we wanted was more shade to hide under on those really hot summer Iowa days.  Being a 20 foot ‘toon doesn’t really offer enough space for another full size front mounted bimini (maybe it would, but I also was being cheap and wanted to save a few bucks), so after shopping around for new ideas (umbrellas, Bimini’s, tarps, etc.) I bought a Taylormade Gazebo for the pontoon. 

I have a bad habit of not wanting to drill holes in my boats so I started a search for alternate ways to mount the brackets that the gazebo poles fit into.   And what if I want to trade the ‘toon for a bigger and faster ‘toon… then I have to buy the brackets again.  But if I had a clamp system it could just move the gazebo to whatever boat I needed it on.  Don’t worry Jeanne; I am not thinking of trading!

So instead I bought four “quick clamps” from The Bimini Buddy (www.TheBiminibuddy.com). Okay, I could have bought the Bimini Buddy and skipped the Gazebo, but I was trying to cut costs this time around and Overtones (www.overtons.com) had a great deal on the Gazebo. If you haven’t shopped Overton’s they have great prices, quick service and free shipping! 
I bought four “Quick Clamps” from The Bimini Buddy and used them for the install.  I may have to buy a few more, these clamps are great. They are designed to fit over the 1 ¼ railing and tighten with a flip of the lever.  They are a very cool clamp, good quality and fast shipping.  
Anyway, I spent Sunday afternoon working on different attachment methods for the fittings to the clamps. After three or four trips to the hardware store, I finally ended up installing them in the simplest way possible by just screwing the bracket directly to the quick clamp. Duh!
Should have tried that first and saved me all the time, but if you have ever tried to make a special bracket, you know you have to go through the difficult trial and error process and exhaust a few ideas before the easy solution shows up.

Now I need some time and good weather to install the clamps and Taylormade Gazebo and see if it all works as advertised. If so, I will have shade for the front of the ‘toon, for less than 200 bucks. That is a pretty good deal.  

Spring Boat Service – Interior

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Interior
Cleaning the interior includes not only the fabric and carpets, but also checking for leaks or signs of damage to the hull, hatches and port holes.  Most interior fabrics can be cleaned with any household fabric cleaner.  Dedicated vinyl cleaners are available for cleaning and protecting the vinyl seats and cushions. 

This is also a time when any wood trim or joinery should be cleaned and protected with an appropriate material such as teak oil, polyurethane, etc.  If your boat happened to develop moisture during the storage, you may need to remove a little mold and mildew from the surfaces.  It’s a good idea to wipe all the surfaces down with an anti bacterial cleaner anyway, even if you don’t see mold spots. 

Once the basic interior is cleaned it is time to look into bilges, under engines and at storage tanks.  Clean the bilges checking for any debris or oil that might have dropped or seeped into the area.  If there is oil in the bilges you have to find the leak before putting the boat in the water.   You will also need to check the bilges pumps for operation.  Make sure you check both the automatic and manual operation if necessary.  If you only have one bilge pump you may want to take the time to install a back up.  If you leave your boat on the water for the season a back up pump can be a lifesaver during a heavy rain.

Of course, while you’re digging around in the bilge areas, check, test and lubricate all the seacock’s.  Make sure you inspect any hoses and clamps. It’s highly recommended that any hoses that are below the waterline get a little extra protection by being double clamped.  This might also be the time to make sure you have a few appropriately sized wooden plugs as emergency stoppers for through hull fittings.

Systems
Depending on the size of your boat the systems could include the head, water galley and electrical components, all of which need to be inspected, cleaned and tested.
If your head is a portable system the checking is pretty simple, make sure the tank is cleaned out, you have chemicals on board and it works. 

If your have a permanent systems, it’s really not much different. The system need to be cleaned and lubricated for smooth operations. The tanks need to be cleaned and maybe even flushed if possible. If you have chemical treatments make sure you have a supply on board and accessible.  If you have to have your own dump hose for the marina, make sure it’s accessible and not damaged or leaking.  

One other thing, if your boat has a Y-valve make sure it is working, labeled for the correct operation and secured in the appropriate position.

The water system is pretty basic. The storage tank needs to be flushed to clean it out. If it was sitting with water in it, you’ll need to run a sanitizer through it.  In fact, you should sanitize the tanks even if you had antifreeze in it.  Using a pool or spa chlorine will remove bacteria and clean the tank.  Once you add the chlorine to the tank, let it sit for a while and then run the water through the system so that the chlorine gets a chance to pass through all the fixtures and drains. 

While running the chlorinated water through the system; inspect the hoses, clamps and pumps for leaks.  At the same time you can test the water heater to make sure it works. But remember; don’t run the water heater without water in it.

After testing the water system you should inspect clean and operate the refrigerator, freezer, stove and any other appliances.  Depending on your individual situation, this might include operating the appliances on the shore power, battery power or “gas” (like propane).  Any gas fittings should be inspected for dirt, damage and leakage.  A small bottle of bubble blowing liquid works great to find leaks in gas line fittings. 

The electrical system inspection and preparation can be quite extensive depending on your specific boat.  Typically you’ll have batteries that need to be inspected and charged. Batteryfluid levels need too be checked and the terminals should be cleaned and lubricated to prevent corrosion.  Fuses, breakers and wiring should be inspected for corrosion, damage, cracks, worn spots, signs of arcing and operation. 


If you have a fishing boat you may have the addition of a cleaning station and live wells. The live wells should be checked for operation and leakage.  Many boats also have a deck fresh water shower or spray system that needs to be tested.  

Owning a boat has its risk. Common boat claims

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The following is an article I provided for a magazine that is no longer published.  But it think the information is still valuable this time of year.

In general, the biggest risk comes to the bank account.  At least that’s in my personal experience, owning a boat always seems to costs me money.  Of course, so does a Harley, Cessna or anything else I own. There is always a never-ending list of improvements and gadgets that I want to add.  And if I don’t add things to the existing boat, there is always another boat around the corner I want to buy. New or used the “risk” is there. 

So think you can save money by not adding anything new to your boat?  Sorry doesn’t work that way.  Even if you don’t add or change things on your boat, there will always be regular maintenance items that are the result of age or wear and tear. There are also a few fixed costs that boat owners cannot get away from.  Slip or mooring fees and insurance are just a couple. No one but the owner pays these types of expenses.  They are part of the risk of owning a boat. 

Maintenance is necessary and vitally important to maintaining the value and safety of the boat. It is also something that can’t be covered by warranties or insurance. There are a few things that are covered under the warranty that may be construed as maintenance, but typically, warranties are good for defective manufacturing or assembly of your boat, motor and accessories.  If it is a problem that results from regular use (wear and tear) or recommended service intervals…it is not going to be covered by a warranty.  Sure there is always that chance that the local dealer might include free oil changes or tune-ups for some limited amount of time. But that’s not a typical warranty.

It is the same thing for insurance. 

Insurance, (often defined as the transfer of the risk of a potential loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for a reasonable fee) is sometimes expected to pay for these regular expenses.  Well, let me remind you that wear and tear and maintenance are not covered by insurance. 

Many people try to have regular maintenance items covered by insurance only to be disappointed when the claim is denied.   Items like frozen and cracked engine blocks, overheating damage, even the failure of the bellows will not be covered. The cause (poor service, lack of antifreeze, etc) won’t be covered but the resulting sinking or fire may be. That’s the key. Let me try and clarify this again, the accident and the resulting damage should be covered, but the cause might not.  An example could be the deteriorating bellows on a lower unit.  If the bellows dries out and cracks it could leak and the boat could sink.  The bellows would not be covered, but the damage that results from the sinking probably would.   Okay, seems pretty gray, which it is.

What claims are the most common?

There are a few claims that keep popping up.  One marine insurance claim department I contacted felt that about 80 percent of their claims are the result of hitting a submerged object.

Think about it.  The more storms there are, the more rivers that flood, the more stuff is floating in the water and under the surface. Submerged objects will result in damage to lower units, propellers, keels, and hulls.  Sometimes sinking does occur. If you think or know you hit something, make sure you check bilge area and monitor the bilge regularly to make sure there is not any damage that could result in submersion or, in other words…sinking.

Using information from marine insurance claim departments and organizations like Boat US, a few of the other common claims I discovered are:

Theft of assorted boat equipment and parts (portable or permanent).  Items like out drives, electronics, outboard motors, and trailers are some of the most popular parts.  Leaving the trailer unattended in the parking lot or the cockpit uncovered is an invitation for a thief.  Check your policy, many do not cover items stolen from your boat unless it was permanently attached or in a locked compartment. 

Grand theft boat.  Snatching the whole boat is another big claim.  While there are cases of theft from a slip or mooring, trailer-based boats are the ones that are usually turned in on a claim. Boats, like cars, are often stripped and the parts sold a piece at a time.  Remember the phrase “the sum of the parts is worth more than whole” well that’s true with boat parts.  Plus if you take all the parts off the boat, the parts are harder to track down. 

Collision claims.  Collisions with anything are bad.  Collisions with pilings, docks, and other boats can be deadly.  Collisions are not the same as hitting submerged items. Collisions are just that, colliding with something else either moving (another boat) or stationary (like a dock).  You can help stop collisions by watching where you are going, learn the rules of the area and use your charts.

Grounding or running aground.  Most claims departments indicate that often more damage is caused by trying to accelerate through the sand, mud or rocks than by just stopping and waiting for help.  Using a tow service or an alternative method to get unstuck like air bags, reduces the risk for further damage. . 

Now is a good time to repeat – carry up-to-date marine charts and plan your cruising routes to avoid accidental grounding.

A few of the less common but still important claims mentioned are:

Lightning strikes. Being the one of the tallest things on the water during storms is bound to result in a lightning strike.  Lightning usually “fries” the electronics, puts holes in fiberglass and starts fires.  It is a hard thing to prevent.  Best way to reduce the damage is to ground the boat so the current has a way to pass through to the ground.

Damage from docks.  Wind, weather, and hurricanes, can cause chafing, damage to rub rails and hull joints and even rip cleats out of the decks.  Get in a habit of moving the boat to a safe harbor or new neighborhood when bad weather is imminent.  Learn to tie up securely, use high quality dock lines and fenders.  Last year was bad for the hurricane states.  The underwriters are already increasing rates and reducing or eliminating territories and coverage’s. 

There are a few claims relating to fire and explosion. Often the cause is from bad wiring, fuels leaks, overheated manifolds, and even bilge vents not being used or being blocked. These claims can be reduced or eliminated just by taking part in a good preventative maintenance plan.

Occasionally there will be a boat that sinks from bad through-hull fittings, damaged sea cocks and the bilge pump being blocked and/or the back up bilge pump and warning system being inoperative.  Occasionally a storm with lots of heavy rain or combined with a lightning strike can short the boats battery preventing the bilge pumps from working.

Of course, the list above is not inclusive.

There are all sorts of variations along with different levels of each type of claim.  Even if you take all the precautions, accidents do happen. Boat owners buy insurance to transfer the risk to the insurance company for those unexpected catastrophes, so make sure you have the right coverage for your vessel and you implement a preventative maintenance plan to help reduce potential claims.