SHORELINES

26 Shor e l i n e S | 2015 Vol :1 Above: Photo by Billy Brown — Check the prop for nicks and, if small, use a small grinder to smooth them out. This is a good time to change the oil in the outboard foot if it has been awhile. It's not hard or expensive to do and it protects the gearing in the foot. Spray some lube on your steering, throttle and gearshift cables. It is easy to do. Check all your required safety gear: a fire extinguisher, life jackets, lights and a noisemaker. Take a long rope to tow, hopefully to tow others, but it might be to tow you. I always carry a charged cellphone, although the rule on my boats is no cellphone use. I also consider my pocket GPS critical, as it has saved me many times in the boat and on the road. Being small, I can carry it on my Jet Ski, motorcycle and boat. Besides, it is the only real way to check your gas mileage. For boat storage: The worst thing you can ever have in a stored boat is … water. Boats hate water! When a boat is stored, wash it, use a wet/dry vacuum to dry it out, and then leave it open for a week to really dry it out. This makes a big difference on the life of all components, especially the electrical ones. Also for storage, always cover your boat with a sheet of plastic. Even if you have a cover, still use the sheet of plastic, as this makes a lot of difference in protection. This will triple the life of your boat. See you on the water. I'll be the one towing in some poor sucker who did not read this! — CHR IS MILLER

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