Maintenance schedule for liveaboards

[Hudson Force]

I do keep an active list of those things that have come to mind and need a refit or evaluation. I prioritize this list practicing triage and adjusting the list when new events arise. Sometimes a task may be lowered from the top of the list by weather, the lack of proper tools or expense, but each task remains on the list. The factor that saves me from distress is that I can only work on one task at a time and; therefore, I only work on number One!

[sck5]

When I was living aboard I had a list. I did one boat chore on the list each day. Sometimes I did two. Some chores took more than a day. I dont know if I was good or bad but the boat continues to float and I had plenty of time to do whatever else.

[donradcliffe]

Originally Posted by Roy M

The first step is that you need a boat that is fully repaired and serviced, before you begin a PM program, so you start with that.

ROTFLMAO--there is no such boat.

[bobconnie]

I keep a seperate Maintaince Log. but make maint notes in the ships log, in the case of something breaking at sea, it;s Logged in the ships log as normal, with a note to see Maint Log for repairs or replacement. Works for me and when Ive sold boats , the new owners always seemed to like these logs! In the Maint Log there are lists of spares aboard, and there location, sounds like a lot of work but it really is easy when ya get used to doing it when ya should !

[boating2go]

Like bobconnie I keep a separate maintenance log, had one for my old boat and doing the same for this boat. I do have items I change on a schedule like trapper valves, fuel filters, coolant pump impellers for engines (you'd be surprised how often people break down in the worst places because of this failure), change oil in the main engine and gen set engine twice a year or after hard use, etc...

I pull the boat every 2 years to paint the bottom and check all items I can not while it is is in the water. I also have someone clean the bottom once a month and check the every thing under water, biweekly holding tank pump outs by a mobile unit that comes to the marina. Maintenance is a on going function that I do to prevent break downs. Even then you may expect sooner or later something will happen. Call it the law of averages or Murphy's law. lol

[JanetGroene]

Yes, a notebook comes in handy because some maintenance is done by the season, some by the hour, some monthly or annually. If you get a notebook going with space for things to do each month you can also add reminders such as "reserve haul-out date" and "insurance due". At a glance you can look at the next month or so and gauge both work and expenses. Don't forget to rotate foods in the galley and keep up with your bug spray program.

[captain58sailin]

I put the engineering maintenance in the back of the log book moving towards the front on the back of the pages. Put the navigational information on the front pages moving to the back. I also have a 3 ring binder that has all the systems seperated by dividers with diagrams, or photos of the different systems with all the different specs.

[Sailor g]

I wish I was that organized. I know someone who does similar. She has a SOP (standard operating procedure) binder complete with pictures for all systems. I started but didn't get beyond thru-hulls to close/open when leaving/returning for a holiday.

We keep our repairs and maintenance in our log. I also keep reminders in my phone for things like check water in batteries-but usually remember way before the phone reminder.

[forsailbyowner]

I've been maintaining a Morgan 33 OI for 7 yrs now. Lol have you ever looked over the suggested maintenance schedule that is in the owners manual? It covers just about every finish and system in the boat when new. Its a good place to start but a hard one to keep up with. Do you wax your spars biannually? One thing that will really help you out is to know how to rebuild and service the various pumps, motors etc instead of buying new all the time. I'm compiling a book that has all the part numbers for parts that need rebuilding often ie: starter, alternator, raw water pump. When you get to know the individual parts you will find often that a certain part fails often and you need a couple of these and maybe not rebuild the whole thing every time. Examples: raw water pump lip seal fails 2 or 3 times for each impellor, starter has contact in soleniod cap that can be resurfaced and reused many times before a $2 bolt replacement is needed(saves buying soleniods). Alternator diode tree is common failure etc...