Boat service North Wales, check list

The below blog is aimed to provide information to our customers regarding boat service North Wales, check list and other overlooked maintenance items. We hope that you will find it useful for your boating enjoyment.

This is the first, of our soon to be regular blogs, on boat engine and boat related maintenance items.

Overlooked engine maintenance items on annual boat service

If you service your own boat engine or have just purchased a used boat then the following are some items on the engine that will require periodic attention. If the below items are overlooked this can cause a mechanical breakdown.

Engine valve clearance adjustment which should be done on top of your annual boat service. Every 2-3 years

Unless you are a competent experienced engineer this is best left to the specialists. This is recommended because as the engine wears internally, the settings can go outside of the tolerances and thus require resetting. This will improve performance and smoothness of operation.

Engine Heat Exchanger and Intercooler removal and cleaning. Every 2-3 years

Specialist work as both can cause major problems if not re-assembled and pressure tested correctly. Please contact us for advice. The engine fresh coolant should be changed at the same time as completing this work. This work is essential to maintain the engine’s correct working temperatures for the cooling system and the air intake system if the engine is turbocharged.

Engine mounts and prop shaft alignment checks. Every 2-3 years

This can be checked by the average DIYer. If you are unsure then please contact us for further advice. Note that the prop shaft alignment needs to be within 4 thousandths of an inch. The stern gland will also need checking and adjusting with this job. This is recommended as the engine mounts deteriorate over time and would cause the engine to become misaligned creating excessive wear on the prop shaft bearings and other components.

Service check sheet

Along with the regular service (please contact us for a free service check sheet for you to work through) if the above items have been attended to, you should be in a good position to have a trouble free season on the water.

Until next time, enjoy

We do stock many boat servicing parts, so please contact us for further details and to help and advise you.

We would welcome feedback to this post and also suggestions for future items.

Boat service North Wales, check list

Rob, marine engineer for MES Ltd, is pictured here. He has removed the heat exchanger and intercooler from the side of the engine for servicing. The image is showing him actually adjusting the valve clearances.