Boat maintinance

I have a 87 aluminum traveler boat with a 50 horse motor. The rig has not been in the water in 2 years. It has been covered and has new carpet and decking so the rig looks great. Before loading it down with gear and heading to the lake I am going to take it to the shop for some general maintinance. I have been told that I need to have the water pump replaced as it is probably dry rotted. Is this true and is there anything else that I need to specificaly mention to the mechanic to look at before I hit the water?
Also I have seen many different products to put on aluminum boats to clean them up. Specificaly the waterline mark on the boat. I have heard there are products that you just spray on and wash off and the boat will look new. I dont believe the adds for most of this stuff and want to use something that one of you guys has used and know works.

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Originally Posted by gooch

I have a 87 aluminum traveler boat with a 50 horse motor. The rig has not been in the water in 2 years. It has been covered and has new carpet and decking so the rig looks great. Before loading it down with gear and heading to the lake I am going to take it to the shop for some general maintinance. I have been told that I need to have the water pump replaced as it is probably dry rotted. Is this true and is there anything else that I need to specificaly mention to the mechanic to look at before I hit the water?
Also I have seen many different products to put on aluminum boats to clean them up. Specificaly the waterline mark on the boat. I have heard there are products that you just spray on and wash off and the boat will look new. I dont believe the adds for most of this stuff and want to use something that one of you guys has used and know works.

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Hey, gooch......you're right to get the impeller (water pump) changed out after 2 years, it's probably in pieces. I would have him check out the carbs too, even if it had a fuel stabilizer in it, two years is too long a time for it to still be working. It will be an easy test if your mech has a tank to run it in. If the carbs are shellacked, it will bog down under power. Let him know it has set up for two years, he should know what to do.

I use a product I buy at Academy called "Starbrite Instant Boat Cleaner." Just follow directions on the bottle. I fish a couple of swampy lakes and the scum line stands out like a sore thumb. This cleaner makes it an easy job. You may find it in other stores if there isn't an Academy close by. Do not let the cleaner overspray get on any painted surface, it will mar the paint!!

I carry a 5 gallon bucket, long handle soft brush and liquid soap and after I take my boat out, at the landing, I give it a quick bath while it's still wet and fresh. The bath tub ring comes right off. Looks as good as it did 3 years ago. Most people think I'm crazy at the landing, but after they think about it and try and get some of their's off that's been on there and dried, they do a double take. It takes maybe 10 mins to do it

I also fish the swamp and that stuff is like glue.
Gerald

La Bill is 100% right on those 2 issues. They are the most common problems caused by a motor sitting for a long period of time. Just wanted to emphasize that so you don't get up the creek without a paddle so to speak.

Well I was told to replace my water IMPELLER also. I think it's a good idea to have that rubber impeller replaced every few years and rubber does tend to crack. It's very important to have the proper amount of water flowing though the engine to keep it running for a lifetime. It's a lot cheaper to replace that rubber water pump impeller than to replace a cracked head or to replace a burned out piston. So yes it's worth the money to have that checked and replaced. It' not that expensive and well worth the time and effort.


As for cleaning the scum line off the aluminum boat... Well I have experience in doing that myself. I like to use a gell type acid ((phosphoric Acid) to clean my boat. That and a hard plastic scrub pad and lots and lots of elbow grease. It's hard work but it will make the boat shine line new if you do it right. Start with a small area and clean it really good and then wash the acid off thoroughly. Then do the next small area. It should take you about 4 to 6 hours to get this done. Well I am old and decrepid and I get tired easily so that is how long it takes me to do this job. It's a job that I don't like to do very often.

Last time I cleaned up my boat I went fishing and the damn lake I fish in etched a new water mark on my clean aluminum. I fish in a strip pit that has lots of chemicals in the water. pH is about 8.5 and the conductivity of the water is over 1300 micromohs so it's not very clean water. There are lots of chlorides and sulfates in the water that will chemically attack the new aluminum surface and make it dark colored.

Remember when using any type of mineral acid to wear protective eyewear and goves or other protective clothing. And have a garden hose handy to rinse off any acid that you might get on you. I wear goggles to protect my eye and rubber gloves to protect my hands. Don't use any really stong acids as they may take too much aluminum off in a very short time.

I like the gel type acid as it clings to the sides of the boat and does not streak as much. Start at the top of the boat and work your way down the sides so that you can clean up any streaks that might form when cleaning the top part of the sides of the boat.

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Originally Posted by gooch

I have a 87 aluminum traveler boat with a 50 horse motor. The rig has not been in the water in 2 years. It has been covered and has new carpet and decking so the rig looks great. Before loading it down with gear and heading to the lake I am going to take it to the shop for some general maintinance. I have been told that I need to have the water pump replaced as it is probably dry rotted. Is this true and is there anything else that I need to specificaly mention to the mechanic to look at before I hit the water?
Also I have seen many different products to put on aluminum boats to clean them up. Specificaly the waterline mark on the boat. I have heard there are products that you just spray on and wash off and the boat will look new. I dont believe the adds for most of this stuff and want to use something that one of you guys has used and know works.

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A good cleaner to carry to the lake for getting scumline off when you pull your boat out it is a spray bottle with 50/50 white vinegar/ water. Actually that's a good all 'round cleaner. Cleans carpet good too. As far as shining the aluminum I'd do what the others suggest.

Vinegar is a mild acid. ph of around 4.0. But it's not a strong acid. I use vinegar to clean out my coffee maker and the shower. I have very hard city water that is full of limestone, calcium carbonate and Magnesium Carbonate and after a few months the shower curtains start getting a white powder on them. I spray some vinegar/water mixture on them with a spray bottle and that removes the white powder from the shower curtains. Once in a while I take them down and put them out on the driveway and spray them with the vinegar or clr and let that disolve the white powder stuff. After that they look like new again. I use CLR and dip the faucet heads and shower head in that stuff for about 5 minutes to dissolve the mineral deposits away. Our city water comes from very deep wells along the Ohio River and there must be a bed of Limestone down there that gives the water it's hardness. I measured the conducitivy and it was around 850 micromhoes which is pretty hard.

CLR is just Hydrochloric Acid which is a mineral acid that is quite strong. HCL. Nitric Acid is a bit stronger. It all depends on the Normalality of the Acid. H2SO4 is a stronger acid but I would not use it for cleaning the boat.

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Originally Posted by fiddlefarter

A good cleaner to carry to the lake for getting scumline off when you pull your boat out it is a spray bottle with 50/50 white vinegar/ water. Actually that's a good all 'round cleaner. Cleans carpet good too. As far as shining the aluminum I'd do what the others suggest.

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Thanks guys I will pass your aluminum cleaning advice to my wife and have her get started.

Moose when you say a gel type cleaner do you have a brand you reccomend?

Also instead of cleaning your shower curtians in the driveway you can just put it in the washer with some clorox and it will come out like new.

for profeshional info on a boatand motor go tohttp://www.themarinedoctor.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl. he will give you some good advise. this site has a video of a waterpump replacement . look at the cronickles of tmd. he has short video s of different services he has don .

I can give you the brand name. I'll have to go out in the garage and dig up the old bottles of that stuff. I purchased the stuff at the local Hardware store that has gone out of business. Kuester's Hardware. But I bet that Lowes or Home Depot may carry this stuff. DURO Bathroom & Kitchen Tough Stain Remover Concentrated Thick Liquid.

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Originally Posted by gooch

Thanks guys I will pass your aluminum cleaning advice to my wife and have her get started.

Moose when you say a gel type cleaner do you have a brand you reccomend?

Also instead of cleaning your shower curtians in the driveway you can just put it in the washer with some clorox and it will come out like new.

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