As a younger man one of my dream lifestyle scenarios included living on board a boat that was anchored down at one of the local marinas. Growing up in the San Diego, California area, there were no shortage of opportunities to see this in action and make it happen.

photo credit: Indy Kethdy

It wasn’t until I was in my mid twenties that I had the chance to purchase a small, 28 foot boat. I never lived on the boat because of all the repairs I discovered it needed. One of the first jobs was fixing the motors, and the acquisition of stern drive parts. Once I had that taken care of I was at least able to figure out that I was also in need of some Mercruiser parts so I could solve some of the challenges related to the steering assemble, specifically as it tied into the dual stern drives.

Perhaps the biggest shocker was the discovery of an overwhelming amount of stern drive maintenance that the boat was in need of. It’s not until you take the boat out of the water that you get the best feel for everything that is wrong with your vessel. And this boat had much more than the fair share of challenges. If I’d only known more before deciding to become a boat owner!

Technorati Tags: Mercruiser Parts, Stern drive parts