Spring Maintenance 2015, New Owner

[Sharkbait282]

Much love for the knowledge base on this site! New-to-us Grady 282 owner, tackled a lot of work to catch up on some deferred maintenance from the previous owners including a full bottom job.

Learning about 282 fuel tank, water/fuel issues with E10, and other general fuel system concerns, we pulled the Perko fuel fill caps.

Yup, no O-rings on either tank, and the seller had made it clear they had bad fuel removed from the main tank at the end of last summer.

Start it off 2015 right!

Put new O-rings on your fuel fill and water caps!

Inexpensive insurance against a major source of water in fuel tanks!

 

[Fishtales]

Some things to check before you splash.
Inspect the zincs on outboard and thruster if equipped.
Replace fuel separators if not done as well as oil and lower unit oil and hit the grease fittings. If not run for a while, I'd carry some extra fuel separators - 1micron on board.
When was the last time the plugs, tstats, fuel filter and water pumps were done?
Charge batteries and ensure they hold a charge.
Pressurize water and check all pumps.
Inspect hydraulic steering and tilt/trim mechanisms on motors.
Props in good shape?

 

[Sharkbait282]

Hey thanks for the two cents Fishtales, always interesting to see how my work list lines up with another experienced owner!

-We changed out the four external zincs (tabs and brackets), and visually inspected the 8 internal (twins) to confirm we had plenty of meat left for this season.
-Lower unit and crank case oil are new after pressure test from survey and midsection replacement before closing the deal, oil filters as well.
-Fuel filter/separator we're running the OEM 10 micron Mar fuel filter, and we've just picked up a pair to burn and a pair as on-board spares.
-Mechanical inspection and maintenance records put us into next fall for water pump, plugs, and maybe some injector refresh.
-Batteries we started from scratch, 3 new, and then tracked down a charging issue to a rotted inline 30amp fuse holder, followed that up with a once-over by a local recommended marine electrician, money well spent for peace of mind.
-Freshwater system we're still working through tank fulls to clean out the winterizing, and we haven't spent much time on the bait well or raw wash down.
-Hydraulic steering we've got our work cut out for us, tilt sea star has the telltale fluid weeping, and once we get past the Volvo Ocean race stop-over we'll be getting the parts for front and rear seals as well as the vented plug. I suspect from 2002 we have the original unvented reservoir plug.
-Props are rehabbed, in new condition and new to the boat, previous owner had a broken blade and we insisted on a matched pair before we closed.

Big shout out to the guys at Bennett for taking my calls and questions about a leaking trim tab pump. They were extremely helpful and followed up with fresh springs, seals and valve seats for the two pump valves. Sorted out a leaky pump to put our trim tabs back in action!

Moving into a much larger and more complicated boat from our J24 racing sailboat, we're starting to get a sense for the types of spare equipment and extra fluids to carry aboard, and what sorts of deferred maintenance items we'll be chasing after for our first season on the water!

 

[Fishtales]

Sounds like you have it covered. Best of luck with her.