This is the final column in a series offering tips on boating skills and seamanship prepared for The Citizen by the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary.

This will be the last column for the season, and since most boats are going to be out of the water during the next few weeks, a few tips for maintenance and winter storage is appropriate.

Every boat lives in an adverse environment. The sun, with a strong component of ultraviolet light, fades pigments and hastens deterioration on all types of materials. You may not realize it, but your boat begins to deteriorate the moment it is put in the water.

Wood once was the dominant boat-building material, but the leadership has now gone to fiberglass. Wood requires well-planned and frequent sessions with the scraper and paint brush. The major part of the work must be done with the boat hauled out of the water.

In recreational boating, fiberglass now dominates. It needs waxing once or twice a year to keep the finish from getting dull and powdery. The bottom still has to be painted to avoid marine growths, but usually you can forget painting the superstructure.

More time and money is spent on the application of paints and varnishes than on motor maintenance. Most of us never have to face more difficult paint problems than those on our boats. A paint film, just a few millimeters thick, must adhere to various hull surfaces.

A boat is subjected to motion at all times when in the water; it twists, flexes, shrinks, swells and is bumped into any number of objects. It is exposed to violent winds, the sun's rays, rain, salt, sprays and wind #- whipped sand and gravel, and it's walked on and sat on.

To withstand this abuse, boat paints must have far better components than paints used around the house. No matter what type of material your hull is constructed of, there are certain principles that apply to all boats.

The first thing is to remember that a coat of paint can only adhere to the surface to which it's applied. One would think that's easy to understand, but, for some reason, it's not.

If the surface we're going to paint is an old coat of paint, as is frequently the case, adhesion of the new coat will be no better than the old coat. If the old coat is peeling or starting to crack, the new coat will come off as fast as the paint underneath.

If you don't follow instructions printed on the label, if you paint in damp weather or if you skimp on surface preparation, you've thrown away your money.

Select environmentally friendly paint which is not likely to release toxicants over time, especially during underwater hull cleaning.

I read online of the mistake someone made when painting a wooden hull. He sanded the surface before cleaning it. About a month later, the boat showed what appeared to be chicken pox. All sorts of spots, large and small, came out of hiding. What he had done was drive the dirt and impurities on the surface into the pores of the wood, and they eventually came to the surface. Of course, it required a new paint job.

Painting a fiberglass hull is better left to the professionals. Hull cleaning on the other hand, is a practice done mostly by boaters themselves, especially those with smaller size boats. It is recommended that one cleans the hull often to prevent growth and reduce scrubbing and possibly toxicant release. Don't use harsh detergents or abrasive cleansers for cleaning and make sure to rinse thoroughly. Your local marina will recommend environmentally sound cleaners. Keep you're boat clean. Accumulated dirt can result in acids forming on the surface of the paint and damaging it.

In addition, properly washing your boat can save time during the polishing process. You can remove the scum below the water line, and strip the build-up from props or outboard motors. A good, long reach flow-thru brush or a pressure washer will accomplish this important step.

Most all boaters wax the hull once or twice a year. The maintenance of a good coat of wax helps ensure the beauty and longevity of the boat.

It is obvious that the time one invests in properly maintaining the hull pays dividends and preserves the value of the boat.

It has been a pleasure writing this column. Many thanks to all those who read it and those who called to obtain more information on the various aspects of boating discussed.

And to those skippers, would be skippers and boating enthusiasts in general, winter is a good time to take a class in boating safety. The U. S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, the U. S. Power Squadron, possibly other agencies will soon announce the schedule for boating safety classes.

John E. Keshishoglou is the commander of the Ithaca Flotilla 22.