What routine maintenance schedule should I follow for my boat and its systems?

Check your boat before every trip, inspect it monthly, review it every six months and service it annually, tracking engine-hour limits alongside calendar dates. List the equipment aboard and check its manuals: maintenance intervals are maximums, and salt water, heavy use or prolonged inactivity may call for shorter intervals.

Before every trip

Start with the bilge. Unexpected water, diesel, oil or coolant can warn of trouble. Know what is normal aboard your boat so you can spot a new leak.

• Engine: check engine oil, coolant at the header tank when cold, fuel quantity and the fuel/water separator. Follow the specified procedure for checking gearbox oil; some gearboxes require a particular temperature or dipstick position.
• Cooling and exhaust: inspect the raw-water strainer and accessible hoses. After starting, confirm cooling-water discharge where applicable, check that instruments read normally and look for new leaks.
• Electrics: check battery charge, navigation lights, VHF and essential instruments. Test the bilge pump manually and check its automatic switch.
• Hull and controls: check steering movement, throttle and gear selection, accessible seacocks, mooring lines and anchor security.
• Sailing equipment: look for chafed sheets and halyards, damaged sails, loose shackles and missing split pins at rigging terminals.
• Safety: confirm that lifejackets, fire extinguishers and emergency equipment are accessible and suitable for the trip.

Stop the engine before reaching near belts or shafts. Isolate electrical circuits before dismantling them, and close the relevant seacock before opening seawater plumbing.

After use and monthly

After a saltwater trip, rinse exposed fittings, blocks, sheets and the furling drum with fresh water. Flush an outboard through its designated connection, following its manual exactly; flushing arrangements differ between models.

Once a month while the boat is in use, work through these checks:

• Inspect engine hoses, clamps, belts, mounts and the exhaust hose for movement, cracking, salt deposits or leaks. Check belt tension against the engine specification.
• Inspect battery terminals, cable supports and charging connections for corrosion or heat damage. Check electrolyte only in serviceable flooded batteries; sealed AGM and lithium batteries have different requirements.
• Exercise accessible seacocks without forcing stiff handles. Check toilet hoses, freshwater connections, shower drains and bilge-pump strainers.
• Inspect steering cables, chains, hydraulic connections or outboard linkages, as fitted.
• Check guardrails, stanchions, cleats, anchor chain, windlass connections and accessible rigging terminals.
• Inspect shore-power plugs and sockets for discolouration, corrosion or overheating.

Engine hours and six-monthly checks

Record engine hours whenever you refuel. Service items fall due at the stated hours or elapsed time, whichever comes first. Even a lightly used engine can need an annual service.

Some engines specify an initial service at around 20 hours; others have different running-in intervals. Follow the schedule for the exact engine model and year, including oil, filters, valve clearances, belts and cooling-system work.