As the weather starts to warm and the footy season wraps up, powered fishing boats are brought out of the shed and hit the water. 

The problems often start when they try to return to shore after a day’s fishing — and the engine won’t. “We respond to about 10 or so of these types of calls between September and October,” Coast Guard Portland member Stephen Brown said. 

“We’ve had three in the last three weeks.” 

Mr Brown said the problem seemed to stem from stale fuel in tanks left over from previous seasons. 

“We think what happens is when they fire up and leave the dock, they either top up with fresh fuel or the fuel in the lines is fresh enough to work without a problem,” he said. 

“But when they go to come back, they hit the stale fuel and they have trouble. Either the stale fuel has been burnt off faster than normal on the way out to their spot, or it won’t start the engine and they flatten the battery trying.

“At this time of the year the fishing is close to shore, so they aren’t generally carrying extra fuel.” 

Mr Brown urged those planning on hitting the water to ensure they have fresh fuel in their tanks as part of their safety checks. 

“Vessel maintenance doesn’t have to be a chore. There are four main areas to check — the motor, fuel, batteries and boat structure,” he said. 

“If you get into a routine it shouldn’t take too long and will prevent breakdown and failure on the water.

“Transport Safety Victoria have some great information about powerboat maintenance on their website which is worth checking out.”