As am owner of an 18 ft Aluminum bass boat, I sure seem to spend a lot of time maintaining and keeping things up on my boat.  How much time do you boat owners spend maintaining and keeping your boat in tip top shape?  

Also, any tricks or ways you have improved your maint. program on the boat?

I spend very little time maintaining my boat. There just isn't much there to maintain. I have a 16' aluminum boat with a 40 HP outboard. I change the lower unit oil and winterize at the end of the season. In the spring I start it up to burn off the fogging oil and change the plugs. Other than the 3 or 4 times a season when I hose out the spilled beverages, fish slime and other goodies off the carpet. There really is not a whole lot else to do.

If you are adding trailer stuff to that. I just inspect and repack at the end of the season.

All in all I spend maybe 3 hours a year maintaining my boat. The rest it is just fishing.

The boat is a 2001 I bough it new and it still looks it. These picture where taken last spring during un-winterizing. It has my old 25 on there I got the 40 this spring. No pics yet.

http://home.comcast.net/%7Eteam_dougherty/boat00.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/%7Eteam_dougherty/boat5.jpg

What are you doing to your boat?

Well, when it comes to my boat, I am rather anal about it.  After a fishing trip the boat gets washed, hand dried, same witht the trailer and chrome wheels.  A cleaning wax every other month.  The inside gets vacuumed.  Then there are the oil changes, the squeaks and stuff that all get attended to.  For instance the trolling motor, I noticed it started to squeak when I would turn it.  I want as little noise when I am over fish, so the bearings and gear get lubed.  A trailer light goes, out, yep, gotta change it.  Carpet spots form blood, etc, gotta clean it.  It just seems there is always a little somthing that needs attention.  Now granted, I am probably a little too anal about it.  I could wait and do alot  these things at once every couple of months, but I just dont like to have things un-done.  That's just me.

When I posted, Iwasn't really complaining, as I would rather piddle with my boat than stay stuck on the couch.  I was really just curious about how much time others spend on their boats.  

oil changes,how often are you doing your lower unit?every week it sounds like ;D

Good thing you didn't buy a used boat.   ;D

I really have no idea how much time I spend on maintenance. I don't have any idea how much time I spend on my vehicle maintenance either.  I guess I don't think about it. It's one of the unseen costs of boat ownership and one of those things that cause people to use that old adage about owning a boat ... "The happiest days of a boat owners life is the day he buys it and the day he sells it"

Since I consider working on a boat(s) as something of a hobby, I consider it quality time.

As am owner of an 18 ft Aluminum bass boat, I sure seem to spend a lot of time maintaining and keeping things up on my boat. How much time do you boat owners spend maintaining and keeping your boat in tip top shape?

Also, any tricks or ways you have improved your maint. program on the boat?

My wife says I spend too much time...I feel I do not spend enough! LOL! I could not really put a number of minutes on it...but I have found that the boat is exactly the same as my work truck. Put things away...WHERE THEY BELONG ( hoping the wife reads that...hint hint dear!) ...as soon as you are finished with them! So long as I put things away,back where they belong, and take the few minutes it takes to get the major junk out of the boat and weeds off the deck/ trolling motor yadda yadda yadda....the only time I find myself spending maybe an occasional carpet vacum and quick wipe down from time to time.

My wife says I spend too much time...I feel I do not spend enough! LOL! I could not really put a number of minutes on it...but I have found that the boat is exactly the same as my work truck. Put things away...WHERE THEY BELONG ( hoping the wife reads that...hint hint dear!) ...as soon as you are finished with them! So long as I put things away,back where they belong, and take the few minutes it takes to get the major junk out of the boat and weeds off the deck/ trolling motor yadda yadda yadda....the only time I find myself spending maybe an occasional carpet vacum and quick wipe down from time to time.

I should have said I do the same thing. I make sure everything is away when I am finished using it or as I am putting the boat back in the garage. I am like that about everything. Everything has a place and everything is in it's place when I am done with it. I get wound up when I go to use something that my 12 year old son, or wife, used and did not not put it away.

I wipe down the out side of the boat when every I clean the carpets. The $99 I spent for an electric pressure washer the best money I ever spent.  one of these brush kit removes the scum line very quickly. http://www.pressurewashersdirect.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=474

PRESSURE WASHERS RULE!!!!

between the boat and cleaning up the yard, crates, kennels for the dogs ( we also run a  Coonhound rescue)...that thing saves me HOURS AND HOURS a week! It used to take me all day to scrub the paw prints off the screen door and deck...now 5 minutes with the pressure washer!

I like to keep my boat clean and ready at all times.  I even carry a 12v vac in one of the boxes.  I don't allow guys to take a leak on the gunwale.   You get blood on my carpet, you get a towel to clean it off.  I don't buy boats often and want mine to last.

I do a through cleaning once a week and wax once every 2 weeks. U can not resist the pretty pretty shiny shiny.

Many of you know that I bought 1990 17' Tracker last week.  The previous owner was an absolute pig!  I'm  sure Jeff Foxworthy has spoken about this type of Redneck many of times.  I spent two days just trying to clean it up enough to be able to pressure-wash the carpeting without causing an environmental disaster in the storm drains.  The gas tank/ battery compartment was caked with two-cycle oil and it was also running into the bilge.  I suppose the previous owner didn't care about polluting our lakes and rivers.  Today I started working on the wiring.  My best guess is that this dufus never heard of a soldering iron, or a crimp connection, or heat shrink tubing.  This guy was in love with wire nuts.   They are everywhere and ALL of them are corroded.

Ah, well, the motor is newly rebuilt, and it alone is worth the money I paid for the whole rig.

I figure in another four days I'll be ready to put my new toy on the water without leaving an oil slick and I will be confident that I will not be bitten by ants or spiders.  In addition, I will have no earthworms crawling between my toes.  I told you this guy was a pig.  Hey, a new Foxworthy joke.  "If you ain't growin earthworms in your fishing boat, you ain't a Redneck."  ;D

Many of you know that I bought 1990 17' Tracker last week. The previous owner was an absolute pig! I'm sure Jeff Foxworthy has spoken about this type of Redneck many of times. I spent two days just trying to clean it up enough to be able to pressure-wash the carpeting without causing an environmental disaster in the storm drains. The gas tank/ battery compartment was caked with two-cycle oil and it was also running into the bilge. I suppose the previous owner didn't care about polluting our lakes and rivers. Today I started working on the wiring. My best guess is that this dufus never heard of a soldering iron, or a crimp connection, or heat shrink tubing. This guy was in love with wire nuts. They are everywhere and ALL of them are corroded.

Ah, well, the motor is newly rebuilt, and it alone is worth the money I paid for the whole rig.

I figure in another four days I'll be ready to put my new toy on the water without leaving an oil slick and I will be confident that I will not be bitten by ants or spiders. In addition, I will have no earthworms crawling between my toes. I told you this guy was a pig. Hey, a new Foxworthy joke. "If you ain't growin earthworms in your fishing boat, you ain't a Redneck." ;D

well I wish you many years of happy fishing in your "new to you" boat!

There is guy in our tourney club who is like the guy you bought that boat from. He says..."it still floats and catches fish!".  

My work truck was like that when I bought it...It do not think the guy ever cleaned from the day he bought it. I found some of the most disgusting stuff inside...even an old used condom...which aparently means he had a heck of alot more fun at work than I ever did!