RECREATION BOATING : It’s Sailing Season: Time to Make Things Shipshape : The Ensenada Race serves as a reminder to get your boat ready for that long summer ahead.

Boating season starts today. If you need proof, drive down to the bluffs overlooking the beach at Corona del Mar and glance toward the jetty at noon. That’s when more than 3,000 sailors will set sail in more than 500 boats in the 44th annual Ensenada Race.

Like the first baseball thrown out on opening day, the Ensenada Race serves as a symbol of the start of the season.

It also serves as a reminder to get your boat ready for that long summer ahead.

During winter, most boats sit idle in their slips, while a layer of dirt accumulates on deck. Also accumulating are potential problems, resulting from long idleness and neglect.

Before you set out on your first voyage of the season, boat maintenance experts suggest you follow the example set by Ensenada race organizers, who require that every single sailboat, no matter its size, age or condition, be inspected before leaving port.

“We are one of the few races left that actually does a physical inspection of each boat,” says Jerry Moulton, president of the Newport Ocean Sailing Assn. (NOSA), sponsor of the race. “Many races require you to have equipment on board, but they don’t inspect. We have a group of about 18 inspectors from Ventura to San Diego who have been doing this for years.”

Gil Knudson, owner of Moonlight Marine in Costa Mesa, says, “It’s darned good advice for any boater.”

Knudson is not suggesting that every boater have his vessel inspected by a pro before leaving port, but that boat owners complete their own inspections each year.

Most important, particularly for such offshore cruises as trips to Catalina, Knudson says, is making sure the safety equipment list is up to date. That list includes such items as a two-way radio, navigational charts, radar reflectors, flares, life jackets and fire extinguishers, all of which are required equipment for the Ensenada Race.

As Rod Woods, assistant general chairman for NOSA points out: “Fire extinguishers have to be current, so they should be looked at every year. Flares are also dated and should have current dates.”

Among other things, Ensenada racers are required to carry life rafts (which Woods recommends for any offshore cruise), wooden leak plugs or stoppers, a man-overboard pole attached to a life buoy equipped with a strobe light, and at least two anchors.

At Blue Moon Marine Boatyard in Newport Beach, Marshall Steele has come up with his own yearly checklist, available free to customers. But unlike the NOSA list, which emphasizes equipment, Steele’s list emphasizes maintenance.

“The list is a reminder list of things to do,” he says. “It’s what we do when we haul out a boat.”

Spring is the time to run down the list, according to Steele, because that’s when people start to use their boats again. “And it’s traditionally the time when yacht clubs hold their opening days and kick off the boating season. Boat use goes up 50% to 75%,” he says.

Spring is also the time that most boat owners get their boats hauled out of the water and painted, according to Steele, who recommends a haul-out every 12 to 15 months.

Common problems Steele encounters during annual haul-outs are neglected through-hull fittings and shaft packings--both of which could cause a boat to sink. He recommends checking your through-hull fittings before you ever set out on your first cruise of the season.

Jim Evans, owner of Newport Marine, recommends a haul-out every 13 months and offers the following advice to boaters getting ready for the season: “Probably the first thing I would do is make sure all the hoses under the water line are in good shape,” he says. “And that all the pumps work, especially all the bilge pumps. I would check the batteries, too, because batteries can go dead when they aren’t used.”

Evans also suggests checking fuel lines for leaks before ever starting the engine. “And if it is a sailboat, check the winches,” Evans says. “Make sure they work correctly because they can freeze up if they just sit all winter. Annual service is a good idea.”

If you do have a sailboat, Rod Woods says, you should also check your rigging each year.

“Check the turnbuckles and look for signs of wear or rust,” he says. “If you have wire halyards, look and see that they haven’t started to part. You want to make sure your mast is going to stay up. Also go through the sails and see that they haven’t mildewed from being in the bag all winter and not being used.”

Jerry Moulton also suggests that sailboat owners go up the mast at least once a year and check the top. “Very often no one ever goes to the top and looks at the rigging to make sure it is in good shape.”

Moulton says most Ensenada racers spend many weeks getting their boats ready for the competition, including scheduling a pre-race haul-out.

In effect, the race helps prepare participants for the boating season which lies ahead. And, by example, it also helps prepare non-racers, Rod Woods says.

“We require all these things obviously for the safety of the crew and passengers, so it makes sense if you are going to be sailing around this summer from here to Catalina or Santa Barbara Island, then you should have these things on those trips too--especially if you are cruising with your family.”

Opening Day--Dana Point Yacht Club will hold its 39th annual opening day ceremonies May 18. The day is a traditional event to mark the start of the 1991 yachting season. Ceremonies begin at 1 p.m. and will be followed by a boat parade at 2 p.m.

On May 19, the club will hold a regatta for sabots and lasers. There is no entry fee, and activities will begin with a skipper’s meeting at 10:30 a.m.

Wooden Boats--The Newport Nautical Museum has announced plans for a regatta open only to wooden boats to be held June 14 and 15 in Newport Harbor. The Nautical Museum is hoping to make the regatta an annual event. For information call the museum at (714) 673-3377.

Join the Club--Now is the time to join the Women’s Ocean Sailing Assn., according to president Shannon Aikman. The organization is soliciting new members and reminding current members to join up again for next year’s sailing program. Dues are $20 a year. For information write to the group at P.O. Box 2403, Newport Beach, Calif. 92663.