The 10 parts that cause boaters the most grief

In 2023, River Canal Rescue (RCR) responded to 3335 call-outs to help with issues such as electrical, fuel and engine problems, flat batteries, over-heating and gear box failures.

Despite RCR’s best endeavours, parts do break down. So what are the top 10 parts that cause boaters the most grief, why do they fail and how much do they cost to replace?

Times replaced	Part	Reason for failure	Cost (dependent upon type)
188	Fuel filters	Contamination.	£5 - £35
186	Cables	Wear and tear, routed incorrectly.	£20 - £140
166	Batteries	Misunderstanding around what battery to use, its electrical capacity, charging levels and lack of attention to electrical connections.	£100 - £280
131	Alternators	Misalignment, fan belt too tight, electrical faults, damp.	£70 - £270
109	Starter motors	Over-use, damp, electrical faults, over-tightening of parts.	£140 - £600 (£1200 for Vetus)
100	Gearboxes	Lack of servicing and being heavy-handed.	£650 - £2600
81	Fan belts	Wear and tear	£15-45
78	Drive plates	Hitting underwater obstacles, stern gland too tight, misaligned engine, excessive vibration due to worn engine mounts, engine revs too high.	£90 - £190
73	Fuel pumps & injection pumps	Blockages, contamination and fuel pipe degrading.	£50 - £850
43	Couplings	Hitting underwater obstacles, snapped bolts, stern gland to tight, misalignment.	£100 - £600

 

Others

Just outside the top 10 are water pumps (caused by seal failures, wear and tear, impeller break up and sheared components), morse controllers (wear and tear) and engine mounts (hitting underwater obstacles, wear and tear, age, rubber degrading, misalignment and bolts shearing).

The majority of replacement part call-outs are due to damp getting into electrical components, excessive or harsh use, vibration, accidental damage, wear and tear, the effect of pollutants such as diesel, oil or anti-freeze, old-age and misalignment of parts.

Ninety per cent of RCR’s jobs are sorted the same day as engineers carry spares such as gear boxes, injection pumps, starters, alternators, morse controllers, couplings and fuel pumps.  However, it can take up to 48 hours if parts specific to the boat, like drive plates and engine mounts, have to be ordered.

RCR says the list demonstrates why its Replacement Parts Cover is important. An excess of £50 covers items that have a higher value.