Why Boats Sink in the Spring

Are you as excited as we are about the upcoming boating season? Did mentioning "Spring" in our title for the third time in 10 days give us away?

We armed you with some great spring commissioning resources last week, but thought it was worth another look after BoatU.S. announced the top five causes of springtime boat sinkings earlier this week. The list was compiled from a summary of BoatU.S. marine insurance claims files.

Why Boats Sink in the Spring
Some of the reasons that boat sink may surprise you, but all can be avoided with proper maintenance. The top five reasons boat sink in the springtime are:

1. Missing or damaged hose clamps
2. Unsecured engine hoses
3. Spring rains
4. Broken sea strainer
5. Leaking stuffing box

What can you do about it?

• BoatU.S. has their own spring commissioning checklist which is worth checking out, along with more details behind their top-5 list, at their website. 
• After last week's post, we received this very useful spring commissioning article by Cpt. Vincent Pica, a District Captain in the USCG Auxiliary and publisher of the Atlantic Maritime Academy website. 
• And of course we also encourage you to review our spring commissioning post from last week, which includes tips and resources from several other trusted sources.

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