Not everyone has the luxury of living in a waterfront home and taking advantage of the opportunities a waterfront lifestyle presents. Some are still saving to reach their waterfront living goal; others are already there.
For those of you lucky enough to live your best life on the waterfront, you need to keep your marine maintenance requirements in mind. You want to retain your waterfront dream; you don’t wish it to become your nightmare.
As our name suggests, we are marine maintenance experts at Micks Marine Maintenance. Thus, we have the knowledge and experience to guide you on the right path to avoid common marine maintenance issues.
Continue reading as I share the top two marine maintenance issues you should avoid at all costs.
General Wear and Tear
Although you may think it’s just a little wear and tear, all these little things add up, and unless you take care of them as they arise, the result may be beyond the scope of repair and more in line with a replacement.
In the case of a pontoon dock, common marine maintenance issues that arise from wear and tear include; worn marine carpet, barnacle buildup, saltwater buildup causing corrosion, and worn brackets and rollers, to name a few. These issues are all easy to take care of with regular maintenance. Failure to maintain a pontoon will require more substantial repairs, which, in turn, leads to higher maintenance costs.
To reduce marine maintenance costs, inspect your assets regularly and perform any notable maintenance that may be required before they reach a point beyond repair.
This is where Micks Marine Maintenance can help! We are marine maintenance experts, and our name is synonymous with pontoon repairs on the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast and Tweed Coast. If you would rather leave your maintenance duties to someone else, we are the team to call.
Corrosion and Rot
The other common marine maintenance issues you want to get on top of to avoid catastrophic repercussions is marine corrosion and rot. Both issues are unpreventable in a marine environment, but that doesn’t mean you should let nature run its course.
There are preventative measures you can take to prolong the life of aluminium structures, such as a pontoon, to reduce corrosion. Corrosion can occur due to contact with dissimilar metals without proper insulation, chemicals dumped into the water to control weeds or to clean marine fouling from pontoons, etc. To avoid corrosion, one should refrain from using chemicals and action regularly cleaning to dislodge any buildup that can encourage decay.
Timber rot, which is standard with jetties, is not so easy to prevent or control. As stated by the Oregon State University Extension Marine Advisory Program, “it essentially calls for removing or changing the conditions that support the growth of rot fungi.” Obviously, such conditions are out of one’s control. Thus, the only way to manage timber rot is to stay abreast of it. This means; replacing rotten deck planks, rafters, beams, and piles as required. Performing regular maintenance as needed will ensure the jetty remains safe and functional, and will also prevent a total replacement from being needed.
The team at Micks Marine Maintenance are expert jetty repairers and have the skills, experience, and ability to rejuvenate a jetty in any condition. Give us a call for any jetty maintenance requirements on the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, or Tweed region.
Conclusion
Living on the waterfront and enjoying the waterfront lifestyle comes with some maintenance drawbacks, which, if overlooked, can have catastrophic impacts on your marine assets and, in time, your back pocket.
The top two marine maintenance issues you want to avoid are neglecting general wear and tear and overcoming corrosion and timber rot. While both are unavoidable, they can be minimised and managed to provide better longevity for your assets.
For aluminium pontoons, it’s vital to perform regular maintenance to stay on top of small issues before they evolve into larger ones. With timber jetties, likewise, it’s important to replace decaying timber before it becomes unsafe and unusable.
For all your marine maintenance needs, call Micks Marine Maintenance. Phone 0431 778 468 today. Alternatively, read this blog post to learn how to find replacement parts.