Love Is In The Air

With Valentine’s Day upon us and love ones preparing romantic gestures for one another, show why not show your boat some TLC this weekend?

Maintaining your narrow boat is a major part of owning a boat and something you should be doing throughout the year. By addressing maintenance issues over the year rather than in one hit will help you financially as well as keeping your boat in top notch condition.

The performance of your boat relies heavily on how well you look after it. Pampering your narrow boat will make for better boating and make cruising more pleasurable.

These are some suggestions of how to improve your boat; this is only a small selection of things to do and by no means exhaustive. With the weather still against us certain jobs like painting, new signage and tidying our roof gardens are going to have to wait till the Spring when we hopefully will see blue skies and a bit of sunshine.

 

So here are our top tips;

Love Your Engine – Check battery electrolyte levels, flexible hoses/pipes & wiring for rubbing/wear, fan belt worn/slack, exhaust leaks, diesel leaks from all pipework especially metal spill rails, engine mount nuts, engine alignment, stern tube packing, fan belts, weed hatch rubber seal, for debris round the prop, that prop nut/split pin secure. Tighten jubilee clips on hoses. Re-new fuel filters, Renew/clean air filter. Change gearbox oil.

Make Her Shine – Polish the bright work like the mushroom vents and tiller bar.

Cabin Checks - Clean electrical contacts on bullet and blade fuses, clean in-line filters in water pipes and shower pump. Set accumulator tank pressure to 7psi, Re-new drinking water filter cartridges, Service central heating system. Look for water seepage from: water pump/shower pump/hoses for sink/shower/bath waste/washing machine/central heating connections/pump-out toilet fixings and pump-out pipes. Check gas flames on your fridge, water heater and boiler ensure they are burning clean blue.

Interior Matters – Check your upholstery and soft furnishing, now is a good time to think about upgrading to a new colour scheme and create a new look for your interior. Do your homework now researching new looks for your boat and think about fitting these new purchases and ideas in the Spring.

Baby Light My Fire – Boats can be rather damp this time of year if they have been left empty over the winter. Light a fire to clear the air and enjoy an afternoon curled up on the sofa planning your summer cruising plans.

Tie The Knot – Inspect the condition of your ropes, fenders and mooring pins/rings. There are some amazing colourful ropes on the market if you need to replace ropes that have chaffed and seen better days.

So that’s what we recommend you doing this weekend, but what are you going to do? Let us know how you are going to treat your floating palace this weekend.