Spa day...

Wild Blue's first "day at the spa," after getting the first layers of dirt off her from 6 months of storage yesterday. She was put away with nearly half fuel. We pumped that fuel out of the boat - stratified layers when looking into the tank. I'd rather start with fresh fuel. The fuel line from the tank to the filter is the proper type, designed to be used with ethanol laced fuel, so no need to replace. The line from the filter to the engine was the thin wall old type and was replaced. Fresh oil and lower unit lube. Replaced the Honda fuel filter canister.

Before starting the engine, I asked the mechanic about the "priming procedure." He said, "That's our current recommendation." I watched while he fired up the boat, and he did the bulb squeeze 3 times. I watched while they worked on other boats - same thing.

With the motor running, the mechanic did a scan on the engine to see if there were any issues we should look at: everything fine except a high percentage on air intake. "Probably a dirty filter," the mechanic said. Took it out - yep, a layer of dirt on the screen. Blew that out, numbers back to normal.

A new revelation at their shop: they are no longer a Honda OEM dealer. Their main focus is building/selling new boats, and they are equipping them with Suzuki or Tohatsu motors. The boat being worked on next to mine had a 7 year old Tohatsu motor that looked like new... it is the owner's boat. They said no problem with working on Hondas, but they would not be doing any warranty work. The main reason they gave: Honda has gotten out of line on parts prices and shipping charges. The mechanic did say that the 135/150 Honda is a great engine... what would you expect him to say while he's working on mine?


My SeaStar hydraulic steering leaked while in storage. Tomorrow, we will install new seals in it - hope that cures the problem.

Another potential source of debate: to wax or not wax? The blue stripe on our boat is starting to look a bit chalked. I have always subscribed to the "a good coat of wax twice a year" for our boats. The last couple times, the wax didn't bring back the glossy shine like in the past. Today I was told: "You don't need wax. Your boat has a good gelcoat on it - wet sand that with 400, then 600, then buff it out."

I balked on that... "Wax good. Wax make boat pretty."

The owner told one of the workers to "do a small sample spot on that color and show him how it should look." It took a couple minutes, and when buffed, it glowed like new... REALLY obvious against the chalky blue on the rest of the boat.

I accused my friend of pulling "the old vacuum cleaner salesman routine". He laughed and said, "You can do that yourself, or you can pay us to do it for you. Time or money - your choice. But as long as you have good gelcoat on there, you don't have to dull it with wax."

On the way home, I checked with the place that sold me bottom paint the last time... they no longer allow "do it yourself" work in their yard for "anything below the waterline." Estimate for them to do ablative bottom paint: $900.

And, she needs it. Micron CSC Extra is what that yard recommends for this area (and what we've been using).

A little more sprucing up, a few more maintenance things, and Wild Blue will be ready to hit the waterways.