Repair & maintenance guides

Marine Vinyl Stain Removal: Ink, Sunscreen, Grease, Mildew and Pink Stain

A stain-by-stain plan for boat seat vinyl that follows your vinyl maker's own cleaning list, starts with the mildest method, and keeps you away from the products that strip the protective top coat, rot the stitching or crack the vinyl.

Milky Engine Oil or Water in the Oil - What It Means and What to Do

Milky, creamy or rising engine oil usually means water is getting into the engine. Learn why you should stop running it right away, how to tell harmless condensation from a real leak, and which parts are the usual suspects: head gaskets, exhaust risers and manifolds, intake manifold gaskets, oil coolers and freeze cracks.

Missing or Faded Capacity Plate: How to Read It and Get a Proper Replacement

The capacity plate tells you how many people, how much weight and how much horsepower your boat can safely handle. Learn what each line means, which boats must have one under 33 CFR 183, how to order a replacement from the builder, what to do if the builder is gone, and why homemade numbers are a bad idea.

Mounting Hardware Where You Can't Reach Behind: Blind Fasteners

Learn how to mount light accessories on a boat when you can't get a hand behind the panel, using blind rivets, rivet nuts, well nuts, toggle anchors and bonded studs, when to cut an inspection port instead, and what must never be held by a blind fastener.

Moving Your Boat From Fresh to Salt Water (or Back): Anodes, Flushing, Corrosion, Bottom Paint and Trailer Upgrades

What to change when a lake boat moves to the coast, or a saltwater boat moves inland: switching anode material, a flush-after-every-trip routine, raw-water and closed cooling parts that wear faster in salt, bottom paint that suits your hull and drive, marine-grade hardware, and trailer upgrades that survive salt dunks. Built from BoatUS, Mercury, Yamaha and Boating Magazine advice.

NMEA 2000 Network Basics and Troubleshooting (Plus Chartplotter Updates)

Understand the backbone, terminators, power tap and drop cables that tie your chartplotter, engine data, GPS, depth and autopilot together, then track down why a device keeps dropping off. Finish by updating chartplotter and device software the safe way.

No Spark - Safe Ignition Checks for Outboards, Sterndrives, Inboards and PWCs

Engine cranks but never fires, and you suspect the ignition? Work from the cheap, common causes (kill switch lanyard, key switch, plug wires and caps, plugs, battery) to a proper spark test, and learn what the stator, CDI and coils do and when it is time for a dealer.

Oil or Fuel in the Bilge: Safe, Legal Cleanup

What to do when you find oil, diesel or gasoline in your bilge. Soak it up with oil-only absorbents, keep it from being pumped overboard, dispose of it properly, report any sheen on the water to the National Response Center, and find the leak so it does not happen again.

On-Water Towing Plans: BoatUS vs. Sea Tow vs. Your Insurance Towing Coverage

Compare a BoatUS or Sea Tow towing membership with the towing coverage on an insurance policy: what each pays for (tows, soft ungroundings, jump-starts, fuel delivery), why hard groundings and sinkings are salvage that only hull insurance covers, how to call for help, and what to have ready when you do.

Onboard Tool Kit and Spare Parts: What to Carry on a Day Boat or a Cruiser

Build a tool kit and spares box that fits your boat and how far you go. A blown fuse, a clogged fuel filter or a dinged prop shouldn't end the day or turn into an expensive tow.

Outboard Fell Overboard or Engine Got Submerged: What to Do in the First Hours

A dunked engine can often be saved, but only if you act fast and in the right order. Learn what to do (and what never to do) in the first hours after an outboard goes overboard or a boat swamps, how to buy time until a shop can take it, and when it is a loss.

Outboard Hydrofoil Fins: Do They Help, and How to Install One Safely

Learn when a bolt-on hydrofoil (the fin that mounts on the anti-ventilation plate) can help a boat plane sooner or stop porpoising, what it can cost you in top speed and handling, and how to mount one without drilling into an anode, trim tab or speed pickup.

Outboard or Sterndrive Rough or Surging Idle: Find the Cause, Cheapest Check First

An engine that shakes, hunts or surges at idle but runs fine on plane is telling you something specific. Learn how to read the pattern, then work in order from free checks (warm-up, tank vent, primer bulb, fuel) through plugs, air leaks, carburetor idle circuits and the idle air control valve, and know when it's time for a compression test or a dealer scan.

Outboard or Sterndrive Vibration - Troubleshooting Guide

Track down a new shake or buzz by noting when it happens (neutral or in gear, which rpm), then check the prop, hub, shaft, mounting bolts, motor mounts, engine height and misfires in order, from the simplest to the most serious.

Outboard Stator and Rectifier/Regulator: Symptoms, Safe Owner Checks and When to Hand Off

Most outboards charge the battery with a stator under the flywheel and a rectifier/regulator. Learn how to read the symptoms of undercharging, overcharging and intermittent charging, what voltage checks and inspections an owner can safely do, and which tests and repairs belong to a technician with the service manual.

Overheat Alarm: What to Do in the First 60 Seconds

A short, practiced routine for the moment the temperature alarm goes off: take the load off, look for cooling water, shut down if it isn't there, and check every space the exhaust runs through for heat or fire. Based on a June 2026 Coast Guard safety alert about a fatal fire that started with an overheat alarm.

Owning a Boat in an LLC or Trust: Reasons, Registration, Coast Guard Documentation, Taxes and Insurance

Why some owners put a boat in an LLC or a trust, what it does and doesn't do for liability, how it changes state titling and Coast Guard documentation, why states go after out-of-state LLC tax schemes, and how to keep the insurance, loan and paperwork lined up. General information, not legal or tax advice.

Planning a Repower: Horsepower Limits, Transom, Rigging, Prop and Costs

Putting a new engine on a boat you love can cost far less than a new boat, but only if the plan is right. Learn how to read the capacity plate for maximum horsepower and weight, check the transom, sort out controls, gauges and rigging, budget for the prop and the extras, and decide between a dealer installation and doing it yourself.

Portable Gas Cans and Fuel Storage: Filling, Storing at Home and Aboard, and Getting Rid of Old Gas

Gas cans and portable boat tanks are handy and dangerous in equal measure. Learn what makes a modern can compliant, why you always fill it on the ground, how to store gasoline at home and on the boat, how long ethanol fuel really lasts, and how to dispose of old gas legally.

Portable Toilets on Boats: Emptying, Chemicals, Odor, Seals and Winter Storage

A portable toilet (Porta Potti type) is the simplest legal head for a small boat, as long as it is emptied the right way. Learn where to dump it, which chemicals to use, how to stop odor and leaks, how to secure it aboard, and how to store it for winter.

Power Trim Only Goes Up or Only Down: Relays, Switches and Wiring

When your outboard or sterndrive trims one way but not the other, the cause is usually electrical: a relay, a switch, a corroded plug or a wire. Learn how the up and down circuits work, how to swap-test the relays, how to tell the helm switch from the cowl switch, and how to tell an electrical fault from a hydraulic one.

Powering a Big Boat Sound System: Amplifier Draw, an Audio Battery and Charging

Work out how much current your amplifiers really pull, size a dedicated audio battery, keep it charged with an automatic charging relay or isolator, and fuse and wire it so a long day of music never leaves you unable to start the engine.

Prop Ventilation vs. Cavitation - Why Your Engine Revs Up and the Boat Loses Grip

Sudden RPM spikes, blowouts in turns, or a prop that slips when you accelerate are usually ventilation, not cavitation. Learn to tell them apart, then work through the fixes in order: trim, load, prop damage, the hull ahead of the prop, engine height, and finally a different prop.

Propane (LPG) Safety on Boats - Locker, Solenoid, Sniffer and Leak Test

Learn why leaking propane sinks into the bilge, how to inspect the locker, cylinders, hoses, solenoid and gas alarm, and how to run a simple leak test. Repairs to a propane system belong to a qualified marine technician.