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I was talking to a yard mechanic about service on a steering system. I thought maintenance would include squirting a little oil and some inspection. He told me that what they do is completely disassemble the whole thing. Clean it, coat all screws, nuts and bolts with the proper goop replace any worn parts then reassemble. This takes a few hours. He said if you don't do the full service what happens is that you can't see the parts that are wearing. And fasteners will seize over time and when you need to fix them they will break.
I don't keep my cars for 20+ years and they are not on salt water but wow this is a whole nurther world. If you are supposed to do that every 5 to 15 years on every system on the boat and their are 20 systems then you have to plan on a major system overhaul or two every year.
It sounds true. I've looked at several 20+ year old Catalina 30's in the under 20,000 range and I suspect that the steering, roller furling, standing rigging, electrical, freshwater, through hulls etc have not be touched since day one.
I guess you get what you pay for. If this is true then I can see that a 20+ year old boat that had every system completely serviced properly every few years would be worth a lot more.
I guess what I'm asking is that the level of service you put in your boat or do you just sail it and if something breaks fix it?
IOW when was the last time you completely disassembled your steering system, Roller furling, electrical etc.
I don't keep my cars for 20+ years and they are not on salt water but wow this is a whole nurther world. If you are supposed to do that every 5 to 15 years on every system on the boat and their are 20 systems then you have to plan on a major system overhaul or two every year.
It sounds true. I've looked at several 20+ year old Catalina 30's in the under 20,000 range and I suspect that the steering, roller furling, standing rigging, electrical, freshwater, through hulls etc have not be touched since day one.
I guess you get what you pay for. If this is true then I can see that a 20+ year old boat that had every system completely serviced properly every few years would be worth a lot more.
I guess what I'm asking is that the level of service you put in your boat or do you just sail it and if something breaks fix it?
IOW when was the last time you completely disassembled your steering system, Roller furling, electrical etc.