A trip does not end when the boat comes off the water. Salt, heat and sunlight keep working on an engine, a reel and a trailer long after the last cast, and most of the equipment that fails on a Belize boat does not fail out on the reef. It fails quietly, between trips.
Earlier in our On the Water Guide we looked at why Belize gives you your best fishing and at what to check before you leave the dock. This instalment covers the hour that matters most afterwards.
Rinse before the salt dries
Salt does the least damage while it is still wet. The sooner fresh water goes over everything, the less chance it has to do its work.
Flush the engine as its manual sets out, then rinse the hull, deck, transom and every fitting you handled during the day. Pay attention to the places salt collects out of sight: under the cowling, around the trim, behind cleats and chocks, and in the corners of the deck where water sits.
Open the hatches and let air move through. A boat that is rinsed but shut up wet in Belize heat will grow its own problems.
The trailer takes the worst of it
The trailer is the only part of the rig that gets dunked in salt and then left in the sun, and it is the part most often skipped.
Rinse it thoroughly, including the frame, springs, winch cable and lights. Check the rollers and bunks for wear, look over the coupling and safety chains, and keep an eye on the bearings, which give very little warning before they go. If something is beginning to seize, rust through or sit loose, it is far cheaper to deal with now than on the roadside. We carry trailer parts for exactly these jobs.
Dry and store tackle and dive gear properly
Rinse rods and reels, lures and terminal tackle in fresh water and let everything dry fully before it goes back in a box. Back the drag off before storing a reel. Run your fingers along the last few metres of line and leader and replace anything that has gone cloudy, curled or rough.
Dive gear needs the same treatment. Rinse masks and snorkels, fins and booties, dry them out of direct sun, and store them where they are not folded or under pressure. Speargun bands and tubing perish faster than people expect in this climate, so check them for cracking and softness rather than waiting for one to let go. Replacement bands, barbs and tubing are worth keeping on hand.
Look at the quiet places
Most of what strands a boat is small and unglamorous. Check battery terminals and wiring connections for the green dust that signals corrosion. Look over switch panels, lights, hose clamps, and the bilge pump and its plumbing.
Inspect anchor chain, shackles and swivels, and run your hands over dock lines and fenders. Rope that has gone stiff and chalky is telling you something. Stainless fittings that have started to weep rust at the base are worth replacing before they are load bearing in bad weather.
Bigger jobs are easier before the season turns
October and November are a sensible time to deal with anything you have been putting off. The Atlantic hurricane season runs to the end of November, and Belize’s cold fronts, the northers, become most frequent from December through February, when they can chop up the water for a day or three at a time. Work done now is done calmly rather than in a hurry.
That is the moment for jobs that need the boat still: gelcoat and fibreglass repairs, paintwork, replacing tired rope and sorting out electrical work you have been living with. If you are replacing something properly rather than patching it, it is worth looking at the brands we stock and buying once.
Come and talk it through
You do not need to know the part number. Duke Marine stocks marine parts, fishing tackle and diving equipment, and our family has been helping Belizean boat owners work out what they need since 1991.
Bring us the worn part, a photograph of it, or a description of what has stopped working properly. We will help you identify the right replacement, check availability and tell you honestly if it can wait.
Visit Duke Marine at Mile 4½ on the Philip Goldson Highway, call (+501) 223-0319 or WhatsApp (+501) 628-7395.
Look after the boat between trips, and the boat will look after the trip.
