Repair & maintenance guides

How to Inspect Engine Belts and the Tensioner on Sterndrives, Inboards and Diesels

On many inboard, sterndrive and diesel engines, one belt runs the water pump, the alternator and often the power steering. If it breaks or jumps off, the engine overheats and the steering goes heavy at the same moment. Learn how to inspect the belt, tensioner and pulleys, check tension, and carry the right spare.

How to Inspect Exhaust Manifolds and Risers on a Sterndrive or Inboard

Cast-iron exhaust manifolds and risers rust from the inside, and when they fail they can let water into the cylinders and ruin the engine. Learn the warning signs, how often to inspect them in salt and fresh water, how to check a riser yourself, and when replacement is a job for a pro.

How to Inspect Wakeboard Tower, T-Top and Bimini Hardware

Towers, T-tops and biminis carry tow ropes, speakers, boards, electronics and wind loads, all on a handful of bolts. Learn how to check the welds, bases, backing plates, bolts, folding hinges and accessory loads before a crack or a loose bolt becomes an accident.

How to Inspect Your Boat's Fuel Tank, Fill, Vent and Hoses

A leaking gas tank is one of the most dangerous problems a boat can have, and it usually starts out of sight. Learn how to inspect portable and built-in tanks, spot aluminum tanks corroding from below, know the ethanol risk for old fiberglass tanks, and check the fill, vent, hoses, clamps and sender, plus why tank replacement is a job for a pro.

How to Inspect, Clean and Replace Vented Loops (Anti-Siphon Valves)

A vented loop is a small, easy-to-forget fitting that stops seawater from siphoning into your engine or through your head and into the boat. Learn where they live, why they must sit well above the waterline, how to clean a sticky or clogged valve, when to replace it, and how to spot the hydrolock damage a failed one can cause.

How to Inspect, Inflate and Replace Boat Trailer Tires

Check your trailer tires the way the pros do: the right type (ST), the right load range, the right cold pressure, and an honest look at their age. Tires are the number one reason boat trailers end up on the side of the highway.

How to Install a Backup Bilge Pump and High-Water Alarm

Add a second, larger automatic bilge pump mounted above the primary, with its own overboard discharge and a loud high-water alarm wired so it works even with the battery switch off, then test it every month so it buys you real time if the boat starts taking on water.

How to Install a Bow-Mount Trolling Motor

Mount a bow-mount trolling motor so it stows and deploys cleanly and stays put: pick the right shaft length and spot, check clearance in every position, through-bolt it with backing, consider a quick-release bracket, and wire it with the breaker, wire size, plug and voltage the motor maker specifies.

How to Install an Inspection Port (Deck Plate) in a Deck or Bulkhead

Add a screw-out or pry-out deck plate so you can reach hidden nuts, wiring, hoses and through-hulls, or check a deck core for rot. Learn where it is safe to cut, how to pick and size the port, how to seal a cored deck with epoxy, and how to bed the ring so it never leaks.

How to Install and Set Up Forward-Facing (Live) Sonar

Mount a live sonar transducer such as Garmin LiveScope, Lowrance ActiveTarget or Humminbird MEGA Live on your trolling motor or a pole, give it clean power, route the cable so it survives stow and deploy, and dial in the basic settings. Most "bad picture" and "dead transducer" problems trace back to one of these steps.

How to Install EVA Foam Decking (SeaDek-Style Pads) on Your Boat

Closed-cell foam decking makes a hard fiberglass deck grippy and comfortable underfoot. Learn when a peel-and-stick DIY job makes sense, how to template, cut and prep, the temperature and gap rules, how to lay pads without trapped air, and how to clean, repair and eventually remove them.

How to Keep a Boat Maintenance Log and Organize Your Receipts

Set up a simple maintenance log that records the date, engine hours, work done, parts and who did it, and keep receipts and photos organized. Good records help with warranty and insurance claims, show buyers the boat was cared for and reveal wear patterns before something fails.

How to Keep Mice and Rodents Off Your Stored Boat

Mice love a stored boat: dry, quiet and full of soft nesting material and tasty wire insulation. Learn how to remove what attracts them, close their way in, choose deterrents and traps that actually work, avoid the risks of poison, and check the wiring safely in spring.

How to Keep Your Boat in the Water Over Winter (De-Icers, Covers and Checks)

Wintering afloat can be safe if you still winterize every water system, keep the bilge pump and batteries working, use a de-icer correctly on a GFCI-protected circuit, respect the shock and thin-ice risks, and visit the boat regularly.

How to Launch and Retrieve Your Boat Alone

A repeatable routine for putting a trailer boat in and taking it out by yourself: what to do in the staging area, how to rig one long line so you can control the boat from the dock, when power loading is off-limits, and the safety habits that keep you, your boat and the next boater out of trouble.

How to Load Your Boat Safely: Capacity Plate, Balance and Stability

Too much weight, or the right weight in the wrong place, is behind most small-boat capsizes and swampings. Learn to read the capacity plate (persons, weight and horsepower), add up your real load, balance it side to side and fore and aft, and adjust for rough water, water aboard and towing riders.

How to Maintain an Anchor Windlass and Inspect and Mark Your Anchor Rode

Keep your electric windlass working with a seasonal clean-and-grease, sort out a dead or slow windlass from the breaker and solenoid to the motor, and inspect, mark and splice your chain and rope rode. Your anchor is a safety system; this guide keeps every link of it ready.

How to Match Gelcoat Color for Small Repairs

Get a chip or screw-hole repair to blend in with your hull instead of standing out as a bright patch. Learn to polish first so you see the real color, find your builder's color code or a matched gelcoat, tint by tiny steps, test cured samples in daylight, and allow for sun fading.

How to Mount Rod Holders, Fish Finders, Cleats and Antennas Without Causing Leaks

Add accessories to your boat the right way, with through-bolts, backing plates, sealed core and proper wire pass-throughs, so every new hole stays dry and strong. Also learn where you should never drill.

How to Paint a Boat Bilge (Prep, Paint Choice and What to Leave Bare)

A freshly painted bilge is easier to keep clean and makes small fuel, oil, coolant and water leaks easy to spot. Learn how to degrease and sand, pick between alkyd bilge paint and epoxy coatings, ventilate safely, and keep paint off the parts that must stay bare.

How to Paint Your Boat's Topsides (Roll and Tip)

When the gelcoat above the waterline is too chalky or crazed to polish back, a one-part or two-part polyurethane paint can bring back the shine. This guide covers choosing the paint, prep, weather windows, roll-and-tip technique and the safety gear two-part paints demand.

How to Prepare for a Free Vessel Safety Check

Volunteers from the Coast Guard Auxiliary and America's Boating Club will inspect your boat's safety gear for free, with no ticket if something is missing. Learn how to request a Vessel Safety Check, what the examiner looks at, how to get your boat ready and what to do with the fix list.

How to Prepare Your Boat for a Hurricane or Tropical Storm

Make a written storm plan before the season, then haul out or secure the boat with doubled lines and chafe gear, strip off everything that catches wind, and check it safely after the storm. Never ride out a hurricane aboard.

How to Prepare Your Boat for an Insurance or Condition Survey

Get ready for a marine survey your insurer or lender asked for: what a SAMS or NAMS surveyor looks at, the common findings you can fix beforehand (hose clamps, seacocks, bilge, fire extinguishers, wiring), the paperwork to have ready, and how to handle the recommendations afterward.