Tackle & Maintenance Tips

Foam Reel Storage

Capt. Jeff Donahue
70-foot Hatteras, Hatterascal
Skill Level:

When it comes to interior design, rod and reel storage on a boat is commonly an afterthought. Capt. Donahue  utilizes strategically-placed foam under the salon sofa to securely stow his arsenal of reels (as pictured). Captain Donahue purchased his foam from www.thefoamfactory.com and says “outline each reel and cut out the sections as needed.”

Cable Puller Trick

Capt. Kevin Deerman
74-foot Viking, Draggin’ Up
Skill Level:

When doing electronics upgrades, you’ll likely run new cables at some point. Running wires can sometimes be problematic. We recently had a tech on the boat who was having a hard time running a new cable in the buggy top of the tower. The main problem was that it was full on one side and there were no pull cords or cables on the other. His solution was ingenious. He tied his pull cord to a ¼” hex nut and dropped it into the empty aluminum pipe opening on top of the buggy top. Next, he took a strong cabinet magnet he picked up at the hardware store. From there, he was able to “walk” the nut through all the turns in the aluminum pipe with the cord attached. In doing so, he made a new run with room to spare. It’s also a good idea to tape the face of the magnet to keep from scratching your aluminum or paint. Want your teak deck to dry faster and cleaner with no fish scales? Next time you visit Home Depot grab one these Unger Squeegees. They connect to your standard brush pole and will help clean off all the hard to see fish scales.

Teak Squeegee

Capt. Tucker Colqhuin
72-foot Tribute, Huntress
Skill Level:

Want your teak deck to dry faster and cleaner with no fish scales? Next time you visit Home Depot grab one these Unger Squeegees. They connect to your standard brush pole and will help clean off all the hard to see fish scales.

Cover Board Seal

Capt. Jeff Donahue
70-foot Hatteras, Hatterascal
Skill Level:

This is an added step that Captain Donahue incorporates to the teak covering boards on Hatteras boats. The idea here is to stop water from intruding into the teak end grain. Water’s entry into the teak can ultimately leads to teak cracks. Each covering board is finished with a biscuit edge glued to the edge of the teak covering board. Then the edge is coated with epoxy as a final sealant.

Clip the Downrigger

Capt. Scott Fawcett
Offthechainsportfishing.com
Skill Level:

When running dredges from a center console, attaching flatline clips to your downrigger boom is a great way to get flatlines out into the clean water and provide a bigger footprint.

Wanted: Boat Maintenance Tips

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