With the summer fast approaching, the vibe on the waterfront and in marinas Cape-wide is high energy. Everywhere you hear the whine of disc sanders, the hum of air-compressed paint guns, and, of course, the melodious sounds of swear words sung out by boat owners trying to loosen a frozen rusted pipe or bolt. All these tell us the time has come to get ready for another season on the water.
There isn’t a more caustic, machine-degrading environment than the saltwater one we put our boats in. Actually, the salt is not just in the water — it is also on the breeze. I have owned and maintained boats in both freshwater and saltwater environments, and the differences are astounding. Salt water is far harder on boats.
Corrosion and rust as well as physical wear and tear from rough days at sea are powerful forces that will degrade that brand-new shiny-clean boat you had on the day you bought it. There’s a lot of truth in the old saying that the two happiest days of your boating life are the day you buy the boat and the day you sell it.
The work is endless, though now is when boat owners rush to get it done. We have to check and recheck everything on our boats before starting a new season. Wires turn green from salt corrosion, eventually dissolving into powder and rendering whatever the wire is powering useless. This is problematic when the wire powers a bilge pump or engine ignition. Every wire on a boat needs to be inspected and recoated with a dielectric grease where exposed to air, or just replaced, every year before the season starts.
Pipes can degrade from salt water through a process called electrolysis, where low currents of electricity in the water — from improperly grounded electrical feeds, typically found around marinas or commercial wharves — can turn a pipe into a sieve. Boats usually have sacrificial metals installed to attract the electrical current to them first and away from other metal structures. Made of zinc or magnesium, these need to be replaced when they appear to be reduced to almost nothing.
Bottoms need to be scraped of barnacles, mussels, and grassy growth, and their removal is followed by a couple of coats of paint to minimize the effects of all the living things that want to call the boat bottom home. Engines that have been winterized (one hopes) need to be fired up, run to operating temperature, and inspected. Safety equipment needs to be thoroughly checked as well. Life preservers, the horn, running lights, fire extinguishers, flares, anchor and anchor line, and the VHF radio all need to be in working order.
The Coast Guard has ramped up its inspection efforts and can be seen just outside the breakwater in Provincetown Harbor during the season ready to pull aside a departing or arriving boat to check the aforementioned items. If you don’t get the certificate from them showing you’ve passed inspection, you will not be allowed to take the boat out until whatever items they found amiss are corrected.
The preseason work that goes into preparing for a safe and enjoyable boating season can seem burdensome, especially given the shortness of the boating season in this part of the country. So, what makes us do it? Despite all the challenges of owning a boat, a day on the water can bring endless peace and joy to the soul. For me, anyway, that more than makes up for all the work (and money) it takes to be a responsible boat owner. For a lot of us, the pleasure is well worth the pain.
Still, I get it when, for some people I meet, a boat brings that second happiest day of boat ownership much more quickly than they anticipated.
