Hi cost of boat repair

I think all of us dislike the cost of getting our boats repaired and new equipment like electronics for our boats.  My web page :Digital Compass Shop  ( http://www.digitalcompassshop.com/) only carries things that I feel are good a good value and for the most part will be used. In the next few weeks I am going to be going over the things on my site to make it better.

I have come to the conclusion simple and redundant is the best way to go.  With much of the new electronics there are many things in them you most likely will not use. The features are nice, and there can be compatibility problems between items. Unless you put them in yourself that can cost you big bucks. Not to put you off from buying something from me, if you are putting in a complete system in the boat and can not do it your self, have the place you buy it from install it, and get a warranty on the installation (in writing).  Also a system all from one manufacturer will give you less problems.

On repairs in the boat, there a lot of things that you can do your self.  One thing I check regularly are hose connections...to through hulls. Hose clamps rust away, and many stainless steel hose clamps that are sold may not have a stainless screw in them.

Your batteries: they need to be in a non-conductive battery  box with a lid on them. That way if something falls or is put on them there is no short out. I also like to see a switch that will disconnect the battery from everything be near the battery. That way when you check the batteries for water or clean the terminals or work on other electronics you can be unplugged from the boat.  There is enough power in a battery you can do light ark welding with it.

LED lighting. It is the way to go. I have replaced all my lighting wit LEDs.  You can pick up inexpensive LED fixtures at dollar stores, or an auto parts store or marine stores.  I just wired them in to the boat fixtures that were all ready on my boat and remove the incandescent sockets. My running lights use almost now power.  The cabin lights are now brighter and produce no heat to speak of and I even put in Red LED's  in some fixtures for night vision. Cheap, solar powered yard lights will light your cockpit all night and are not even even tied to your boat batteries.  LED's are just the way to go.

I have found that a good quality oil base paint works well on a older boat. The surface painted does not have to be glass smooth to get a nice finish and because it is not supper glossy like many high gloss marine paints the small imperfections do not stand out.  You get a nice pain job at a lot less money. And when the paint surface is wet it is as glossy as the marine paint.