Repair & maintenance guides

Set Up Your VHF Radio: MMSI, DSC, GPS Hookup and Radio Checks

Get a free or low-cost MMSI number, program it into your DSC radio, connect your GPS so a distress alert sends your exact position, check the antenna, and learn the Channel 16 rules and the right way to do a radio check.

Sharing a Boat: Co-Ownership Agreements, Partnerships and Boat Club Alternatives

How to share a boat without losing a friend: choosing a partner, what a written agreement should cover (shares, costs, scheduling, maintenance standards, insurance, title, decisions and the exit), how to handle the inevitable disagreements, and when a boat club, rental or peer-to-peer option makes more sense. Practical guidance, not legal or tax advice.

Shipping a Boat with a Professional Transporter: Quotes, Vetting, Prep and Claims

Most boat shipments go fine, but when they don't, the owner who checked the carrier's authority and insurance, prepped the boat properly and documented everything at pickup and delivery is the one who gets paid. Here's how to hire a transporter, prepare the boat and handle damage.

Shore Power Adapters and Y-Splitters: When a 30A or 50A Adapter Is Safe, and When It Isn't

Pigtail adapters and Y-splitters let a boat plug into a pedestal that doesn't match its inlet, but the wrong one, or the right one used carelessly, can overheat, trip the marina's ground-fault protection or start a fire. Learn the difference between 30A 125V, 50A 125V and 50A 125/250V, which adapters are reasonable, how to keep loads safe, and how to check connections for heat.

Shore Power Cord Ends: How to Judge a Cord, and When to Replace the Plug or the Whole Cord

Burned blades, a hot plug or a cracked locking ring don't always mean a brand-new cord, but sometimes they do. Learn how to inspect a shore power cord and its ends, decide between a replacement end and a new cord, what a proper sealed marine connector looks like, which parts of the job are safe for an owner and when the work belongs to an ABYC-certified electrician, plus the habits that make cord ends last.

Shore Power Inlet and Cord Upgrades: Burned Plugs, Better Connectors and Safe Adapters

Why shore power plugs and boat inlets overheat and burn, how to spot an inlet that needs replacing, what newer connector designs offer, and how to choose, size and care for cords and adapters. You inspect and buy the right cord; an ABYC-certified marine electrician replaces the inlet and its wiring.

Shore Power Safety: Cords, Inlets, Burned Plugs and Electric Shock Drowning

An owner's inspection routine for your shore power cord, plugs, boat inlet, galvanic isolator and ground-fault protection, plus the right way to plug in and the facts about Electric Shock Drowning. This guide is for looking and testing only; any electrical repair belongs to an ABYC-certified marine electrician.

Single-Line Reefing: Converting Slab Reefing and Leading Reef Lines to the Cockpit

Decide between two-line and single-line reefing, plan the blocks, clutches and line lengths, keep friction low enough that one person can actually pull the reef in, and test the new setup at the dock before you need it in a blow.

Small Portable Outboard Care (2.5 to 20 hp Kickers and Dinghy Motors)

Keep your dinghy motor or kicker starting on the first few pulls. Use fresh fuel, flush it, run the carburetor dry before you put it away, carry and lay it down on the correct side so oil doesn't flood the cylinders, and check the shear pin or prop, gear oil and engine oil on schedule.

Smelly Head Hoses: How to Test, Choose and Replace Sanitation Hose

Find out if your toilet and holding-tank hoses are the source of that sewage smell with a simple hot-rag test, then pick the right sanitation hose, route and clamp it properly, and get rid of the old hose cleanly.

Smoke and Heat Detectors on a Boat: Where They Make Sense, What to Buy and How to Test

A fire in a closed cabin, engine room or lazarette can grow for minutes before anyone notices. Learn where smoke alarms and heat detectors make sense aboard, why boats are hard on household alarms, how to power and test them, how they fit with CO alarms, and how automatic engine-room extinguishers and engine shutdown tie in.

Spiders, Wasps and Insects on Your Boat: Prevention and Safe Cleanup

Why boats attract spiders, mud daubers, wasps and swarming lake insects, how to clean webs and droppings without harming gelcoat or canvas, and how to keep nests out of the vents, telltales and fittings your boat needs to breathe.

Spring Commissioning - Getting Your Boat Ready for the Season

Wake your boat up after storage with a step-by-step check of the battery, fuel system, engine, drive and safety gear. Catching a cracked hose or dead battery in the driveway beats a tow on opening weekend, and saves a typical shop commissioning fee.

Spun Prop Hub - How to Tell, Quick Marker Test and Repair Options

If the engine revs up but the boat barely accelerates, the rubber or plastic hub inside your propeller may be slipping. Learn how a spun hub feels, how to confirm it with a simple marker test, the difference between pressed rubber hubs and replaceable hub kits, and your repair options.

Start Isolation for Your ACR: Stop the Chartplotter and Stereo from Rebooting at Engine Start

If your plotter, radio or stereo reboots every time you turn the key even though you have two batteries and an automatic charging relay, the relay may be tying the house battery into the cranking dip. Learn how start isolation and dual-circuit battery switches keep the electronics on their own battery, how to find and test the start-only wire, and what to check after the job.

Stepping and Unstepping a Sailboat Mast: Trailer Sailers and Yard Cranes

How to raise and lower a sailboat mast safely, whether you step a trailer sailer's mast at the ramp or help the yard crane do it, including power-line checks, mast wiring, basic tuning afterward, and when to leave the job to the yard.

Stiff or Seized Mechanical Steering - Lubricate, Inspect and Replace the Steering Cable

Fix hard, notchy or loose cable steering on an outboard boat. Find out whether the engine, the tilt tube, the cable or the helm is the problem, clean and grease what can be serviced, and measure and install a new cable correctly when the old one is done.

Storing a Boat on Stands and Blocks: Keel Blocking, Stand Placement and Safety Chains

Learn how a boat should sit on keel blocks and boat stands for winter or a haul-out, so you can check the yard's work, spot dangerous setups, and keep your boat from settling, distorting or falling over in wind, rain or a storm.

Strange Engine Noises - What a Knock, Tick, Rattle, Whine, Grind or Squeal Can Mean

Learn what common boat engine noises often point to, which ones mean shut down now, and the safe checks you can do yourself before describing the problem to a mechanic.

Stress and Spider Cracks in Fiberglass, Cosmetic or Structural?

Learn what causes spider, stress and hairline cracks in your boat's gelcoat, how to tell cosmetic crazing from a structural problem with a simple tap and flex check, and when a gelcoat repair is enough or a pro is needed.

Stripping Old Bottom Paint: Chemical Strippers, Blasting and Sanding

Learn when old bottom paint has to come off, how chemical strippers, soda or media blasting and sanding compare, how to protect yourself and the water from toxic dust, and why a bare hull needs primer or a barrier coat before new antifouling.

Switching to Lithium (LiFePO4) Boat Batteries: What Changes and When It's Worth It

What really changes when you swap lead-acid for lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) batteries on a boat: the battery management system, charger settings, protecting the alternator with a DC-DC charger, not mixing chemistries, cold-weather charging, and which jobs (trolling, house, starting) suit lithium. House-bank conversions should be designed and installed by a qualified marine electrician.

Synthetic Teak Decking: Choosing, Installing and Caring for PVC Teak

PVC "teak" such as Flexiteek, PlasDECK and Permateek gives you the teak look without oiling or recaulking, but it is glued down for good and it gets hot in the sun. Learn how it compares with real teak and foam, what a pro or DIY install involves, and how to clean, repair and keep the warranty valid.

Taking Delivery of a New Boat: Dealer PDI, Paperwork, Sea Trial and First Service

What to check before you sign for a new boat: the dealer's pre-delivery inspection, the HIN and title paperwork, warranty registration, required safety gear, a systems walk-through and a real sea trial. Then break the engine in properly and book the first service so the warranty stays intact.