By Winslow Taylor
Maybe you’ve worked on boats—put in your time, mated for some folks all the while learning what to and what not to do. The result of your journey? You’ve finally been offered a job to run a boat. Or maybe you are a seasoned vet running an established program throughout the world.
It seems that my boat checklist never ends. The checklist is a valuable tool for me which I use religiously. I always keep it handy. If you are like me, and don’t write down what you’re thinking, it most likely will be forgotten. During any given week, my mate and I work off of a checklist that is continuously updated. The list consists of everything, such as supplies needed, metal that needs waxed or repairs that need to be made. One would think that you could run out of things for a checklist, but if you keep a top-notch boat and stay up with all the systems that should not happen.
By Captain Scott “Fraz” Murie
Modern sportfish yachts have so many high-tech systems on board that it’s truly mindboggling, and keeping them up and running is imperative. We have systems for everything including ice makers, watermakers, refrigeration, satellite communication, night vision, radar and fuel cleansers. There are advanced electronics with crystal clear multi-touch displays and black box communications that transfer signals and data throughout the entire boat, underwater lights of all colors, along with stabilizers and sonars. Today’s boats literally have every gadget imaginable, from hydraulic outriggers to bidets!
By Dave Ferrell
With all of the hurricane destruction of the past years, photos of destroyed, damaged, sunken or otherwise battered boats are floating across the internet. What becomes of these boats? How does salvage work and what about insurance coverage? The following is Dave Ferrell’s breakdown of the process. Whether a boat owner, captain or crew, this information is a must-know for anyone involved in boating.
The intersection of sportfishing and money is an interesting one. It takes lots of money to buy a sportfisher, it costs a lot to keep it running. This boat name (NYSE stands for New York Stock Exchange) illustrates the case in point.
By Dave Ferrell
There’s no getting around it…boats cost a lot of money to operate and maintain. Keeping a large sportfisher, or even a small charter boat, up and running through an entire season is akin to walking a tight rope; where any little slip can cost thousands of dollars in repairs and lost fishing time spent in the yard. Some of these nagging problems can’t be avoided. All boats eventually experience issues of one kind or another and the more sophisticated and advanced the systems onboard, the more likely you are going to run into trouble if you aren’t staying on top of things. But let’s face it, even the best captains can’t keep a boat from breaking down.
By Captain Scott “Fraz” Murie
“Paper Captain.” That’s the term I use for some of these so-called captains that are at the helm of multimillion-dollar sportfishing boats these days. Paper Captains don’t have a clue as to how or what it takes to maintain or operate these vessels.
Captain Chase Lake from Destin, Florida discusses ceramic coating the newly painted hull of a 76’ Viking sportfisher.
Do you have any comments or questions for us? We’d love to hear from you.
By Captain Scott “Fraz” Murie
Dry docking your boat is necessary maintenance that we must do. That said, the routine of doing it once a year seems a little too often in my opinion. I believe that the annual dry-docking routine started back in the day when all boats were made of wood.
In those days, you had to keep up with adding cotton to the seams when you needed to keep them tight. Also, it was necessary to keep an eye out for worms eating away at whatever they could, as well as replacing planks where needed. Monitoring the worm shoe on your keel was also important. I highly recommend dry docking a wooden boat and inspecting it annually.
On the other hand, as the majority of boats have transformed from wooden to fiberglass, the haul out routine has never changed. With the products on the market today, if you take some preventive maintenance steps you can extend your haul-outs to every two years – or at the very least eighteen months. This is the routine that I have been doing for some time now.
I currently manage several boats. I have my boats on a plan that includes divers to come and clean the bottom monthly, keeping an eye on all zincs, checking all thru-hulls and sea chests, checking rudders for play, inspecting and cleaning wheels, cutlass bearings, shafts and trim tabs.
Also, you want to make sure your diver pays close attention to electrolysis. (For instance, if one rudder is clean and the other has signs of electrolysis you probably have a broken or corroded bonding wire on that rudder topside. If you keep your bottom clean there should be little effect on your fuel burn). These services cost an average of three dollars per foot. A 60-footer, for example, is $180 or you can do it all yourself if you really want to save some money.
Then there is waxing. Now there is no doubt waxing the hull is easier when the boat is out of the water. But with a little extra work we do it in the water and it’s no big deal. This is one way to save thousands of dollars every other year. Simply get out of the same old routine and do things a little different by getting your money’s worth out of the high-tech products we are all using today.
After all, as crew or owner you know the boat better than anyone: where it’s been, what it has been put through, if you’ve bumped bottom or whether it needs hauled and blocked. Use common sense. How many times have you hauled your boat out of the water and said, “Dang, she looks pretty good.” Probably just about every time because you just hauled her out twelve months ago!
So, go another year, or six months, and save a pile of money. Keep up with your dive maintenance and when you haul your boat out in two years, you’ll probably say, “Dang, she still looks pretty good!”
– That’s my two-minute warning. Fraz
Do you have any comments or questions for the Fraz? We’d love to hear from you.
