[Gerry Zagorski]

Good suggestion Gilligan. Gear oil is one of the things you should consider doing at the end of the season for the reasons you mentioned above. Plus, if you do have an issues with water in the oil, you can have it taken care of over the winter rather then in the spring when boat yards are busy and you are in a hurry to get in the water.

Most common cause of water getting into the oil is the seals around the prop shaft. One of the major reasons shaft seals fail is fishing line getting caught behind the prop and digging into the seal. If you get fishing line fouled in your prop you should make every effort make sure and get it all out. This is espcially true with braided line since it is way more abbrasive then mono and will make short order of your seals. This is one of reasons a lot of captains don't like people fishing with braided line.

I think it was Captain Mike on the MiJo who told me the story of a piece of braid getting caught on a shaft. The braid was so strong and abbrasive it eventually dug a deep line into the steel shaft.