Under the Marine Accessories category at Duck & Sail Nautical Store you will find many useful items for your yacht. You'll want to be sure that some of these devices are in a good order when starting a new boating season.

Zinc anodes protect your expensive devices. There are sacrificial zinc anodes for many purposes like anodes for shaft, anodes for propellers, anodes for hull, anodes for rudder, anodes for outboard engines, anodes for cooling systems, etc.

In the beginning of the season it's recommended to inspect the fuel system. It's time to change the fuel filter, check the condition of the fuel hoses and hose connectors. If you'll change the engine oil twice per year the you will change it also in the beginning of the season. Provided you'll change the engine oil only annually then the right time for the oil change is the end of the season before the moist and cold winter conditions.

Beginning of a new sailing season is also a good time to inspect the cooling systems. Change the rubber impellers at least once a year. If you don't want to buy reserve impellers you can store the old one in glycerol grease inside a small plastic bag. There you have a spare impeller if some dirt in the sea water destroys your impeller or you happen to run engine with cooling water valve closed!

Outboard engines need a change of the spark plug from time to time. Bigger outboard engines with remote steering & control do need control cables. You don't want your control cables to get jammed in operation. Please consider changing them from time to time for your own safety.

Also the fuel tank can be sometimes so rusty that it's time to change the tank, perhaps to a plastic one or a proper good and sturdy stainless steel tank. There are big fuel tanks for yachts and bigger boats but also smaller portable tanks and cans. And yes, we have also the traditional Jerry cans.

From time to time you need to check and perhaps replace some parts that are more integrated to the boat or its engine. These are for example engine mounts, cooling pumps, exhaust hoses and exhaust mufflers, gauges, etc.

Provided your boat has propeller axel with flexible bearings, every 5th year you need to replace the rubber shaft bearing (stuffy box or 'Black Jack' as some call them). With some longer intervals you need replace also the hydro lubricated shaft bearing, the lower one supporting the axel. A rigid axel bearing needs teflon packing material or more traditional greased hemp sealing material. And finally if you want to ged rid of rubber shaft bearing, you may want to replace that with a flexible shaft sealing that is has stainless steel and graphite surfaces facing each other and forming a perfect sealing. This latter option is a good one if there is some lateral movement in the axel that causes screeching sound with a normal rubber shaft bearing.

In summary a boat owner has plenty of items to be checked in regular intervals for the boat to be safe and fully functioning. Taking care of your boat is taking care of your and your crew's well-being at seas!