Research, Learn, Plan NOW for the Best Boating Season
Published: Tuesday, January 26, 2021
By: Professionals of Henry H. Smith Co.
It is the middle of winter and, on the Great Lakes, this means boating is a distant memory at the moment. The boats are fully winterized and tucked away, waiting for spring to break. We usually look to boat shows to get us through these cold months, but the pandemic is impacting those. It’s time for “Plan B”: Time to fire-up the internet to do some research and plan for the year ahead.
When it comes to marine drives, there are many questions to ask and plenty of information to seek-out. For marine drives, the better you understand your drive—its limitations and its potential—the more equipped you are to get the most from your boating experience. This can relate to performance and efficiency, safety, and reliability, all the things we strive to achieve.
Outboards and stern-drives require regular service to ensure reliability, including oil changes, impellers, and paint touch-up. Research your specific model to explore the requirements, and make plans to complete any task necessary now, well before launch. Similarly, inboard drives have skeg-bearings and shaft seals that need inspection and maintenance. You can find much of this supporting information online to help guide you through the analysis and any maintenance that may be required.
Propellers are another area with vast amounts of information on the internet to review. There may be blogs with owners of similar boats to yours discussing their performance challenges and/or success with various propellers. Then, propeller materials are always interesting considerations; with aluminum and bronze standards, there are many higher strength materials like stainless steel, Nibral, and others. There are articles discussing the virtues of three, four, and five-blade propellers. There are also sources looking into leading-edge developments in propeller technology that is beginning to become available to recreational boaters that may be of interest. There is almost no end to the options to explore when it comes to propellers.
Winter... It is the time of year to research, learn, and plan. And, if any concerns arise, rest in the knowledge that you can always reach out to your favorite marine drive specialist, who will be more than happy to fill in the gaps and answer any questions.
Founded in Detroit by Henry H. and William H. Smith, the company continues to employ 3rd and 4th generation members of the family, carrying on a legacy established in 1900 - to be your Marine Drive Specialists.
A version of this article appeared in the Winter Issue (Jan/Feb) 2021 of Great Lakes Scuttlebutt magazine.
tags: bow thuster, Off Season, Propellers, Researching Boats, Winterization
