How to care for your Coxmate

19 April 2012

Its getting near that familiar time again down here in the Southern Hemisphere and its time to start looking towards the off season and preparing for next summer. As we all know, our equipment often gets neglected in the during winter and when summer rolls around again we find dead, rusted or dust infested gear smelling of last season.

So here is some advice on the maintenance of your Coxmate equipment on a day to day basis and some tips for the off season.

After Each Outing:

• Rinse in fresh water if used in salt water
• Store in clean dry area

Quarterly for Freshwater, Monthly for Salt Water:

• Clean:

1. With an alcohol rag and Grease (SILICONE GREASE ONLY- DO NOT USE OTHER LUBRICANTS _ ESPECIALLY WD4O OR SIMILAR) clean the 4 pin rubber connector on the unit; Both the rubber and the metal contact parts.
2. Clean the Microphone and Radio sockets.
3. Clean the 4 pin rubber connector inside boat; Both the rubber and the metal contact parts.
4. Clean the charge socket

• Check:

1. Protective caps are in place.
2. Make a Visual inspection of the controller for any mechanical damage - If there is signs of damage, then do a leak test by immersing the unit in hot water(tap temperature) and looking for bubble streams.

End of Season

• All activities in 2 above
• Grease all two pin connectors in harness
• Fully discharge the unit and recharge
• If unit is not to be used in off season, then connect it to timer so units are charged ½ hour per day or 3 hours per week.

If you don't have a timer for your charger then it is very important to charge your Coxmate controller at least once a month if you are not using it in the off season. This will ensure good battery life when you break it out of storage next season.

Enjoy these long rows and the end of your season everyone and stay tuned for more articles on winter training exercises in the next few months.

P.S - Dont forget to check out our Resources for Coxswains Page - lots of FREE helpfull advice for coxswains fo any level including videos, audio, blogs, books and training advice.