Leaving Boat in the water...

[LunkerBaitCo]

Just bought a cabin, but won't have a decent boat lift for some time. Have a fiberglass bass boat. If I leave this boat tied up at the dock with a mooring cover for extended periods of time, are there any probable problems to look out for? Thanks in advance for your advice or thoughts.

[Valv]

Watch for wind direction, tie up boat on opposite side of dock where wind blows, so it gets moved away from it, and doesn't slam into it, unless your dock is very light and will blow with boat.

Get some very nice large boat bumpers, it will save your hull, beware that some rub against it and might leave marks, ask for the better quality kind.

Be sure battery is fully charged and/or have a good charger onboard and connected to power so it will charge battery while gone, and install an automatic bilge switch.

Be sure mooring cover doesn't leak.

Cross your fingers....... just kidding !!!!

An alternative is to hire me to watch it while I'm fishing from it, I will promise I'll give you good rates....and secret fishing spots...

This way it will never hit dock.....

[BIG DS]

About the only thing would be make sure you change your lower unit grease this fall. There is a much greater possibility of water getting into the gear case since it is constantly in the water. Does your boat have an automatic bilge pump? If it does, does it have an onboard charger? The boat will get water in it even with a mooring cover. They get terribly heavy when they are full of water sitting on the bottom of the lake. I'm talking from experience on this one. It's worth the cost of the bilge pump if you don't already have one. If you don't have an onboard charger, the 2 and 3 bank chargers have come down in price and all have a battery tender in them now so you can leave them plugged in when your not using the boat, even over winter. Keep your eyes peeled, lifts are starting to come down in price now also.

[Hemlock]

We keep our boat in the water from May until November. The above advice is very good. I would say however, with all of the batteries, chargers and auto bilge pumps, even though these things are all worth having, that if you could get someone to keep an eye on it, that would be good insurance too. You never know when a knot or a rope might let go, or the ring on the dock....Just my two loonies...

[Northlander]

Lunkerbait if you are ever looking at lifts call Jay Soderbloom and he can hook you up at a great price and he does great work. www.soderbloom.com

Only other advice I would give is keep the motor trimmed up. It sucks trying to get a lower unit out of a foot of muck.

[LunkerBaitCo]

You guys are great! Thanks for the advice.

[Dave1]

This might be a no brainer but tie it up with the bow pointed towards the lake. It'll ride out storms better.

[sparkyaber]

One thing not metioned above is having the bottom of your boat being covered in algae. My dad leaves his bass boat in all summer and it needs to be cleaned often. Not with soap and water, but with the acid stuff, the name escapes me now, but it is a nasty job. Granted, he lives on a scummy lake (Rush Lake, Chisago county), but I am sure this type of problem is commmon.

Good luck.

[buzzsaw]

Speaking of having the bottom side of your boat covered in crappola... what would anybody recommend using to take this brownish discoloration off the boat? I've heard people say: Simple Green and Goo Gone... but if you use Goo Gone you should re-apply a coat of wax as the stuff is potent! Any other idea's guys?

[Shorelunch]

Try Turtle Wax Bug & Tar Remover. It's safe for your finish but you may want to wash it off afterwards with soap and water.

[mudman]

I know this my sound smart A$$ but why don't you take it out every time you leave, the 10 min at the launch will save you more time in the long run with maintaince and repair and cleaning and save you from worrying.

[sparkyaber]

to remove the gunk on the bottom of the boat...I found the best stuff is an acid that you can purchace at fleet farm or any marine dealer. I can't remember the name,(it's something like hull cleaner or algae remover, I am pretty sure the brand is Star Brite) but it is potent stuff. gloves required, and you better be outside.

It works so good all you have to do is spray it on wait a few minutes and rinse it off. If the scum is really bad, second application will finish the job.

good luck.