Repair & maintenance guides

Clean, Drain, Dry: Stopping Zebra and Quagga Mussels and Other Invasive Species

What Clean, Drain, Dry means in practice for your boat, trailer and motor, what to drain before you leave the ramp, what happens at a watercraft inspection or decontamination station, and examples of state rules you may run into when you trailer between lakes.

Cold-Weather Boating: Cold Water Safety, Gear and Engine Care in Late Fall and Winter

Boating after the crowds leave can be beautiful, but cold water changes the risks. Learn why cold shock is the first danger, why the popular 1-10-1 rule needs caution, what to wear, how to plan, and how to care for the engine, battery and anything that holds water between trips.

Coming Back to the US by Boat: Reporting to CBP with the ROAM App, the User Fee Decal and the Penalties

Every boat returning from a foreign port (the Bahamas, Canada, Mexico or anywhere else) must report its arrival to US Customs and Border Protection right away. Learn who has to report, how to use the free CBP ROAM app or the phone line, when you still have to show up in person, the annual user fee decal for boats 30 feet and longer, and what happens if you skip it. General information, not legal advice.

Composting Toilets on Boats: How They Work, the Rules, Emptying and Winter Care

A composting (dry, urine-separating) head can replace a smelly holding tank, but it has its own routine. Learn how these toilets work, how they fit the Coast Guard's sanitation rules, how to prepare the medium, empty the liquids bottle and solids bin legally, keep odors away and handle cold weather and winter layup.

Converting a Pull-Start Outboard to Electric Start: What It Takes

Find out whether your pull-start outboard can take a factory electric start kit, what parts the job really needs (starter, charging coil, rectifier, battery, harness, key or button, neutral safety), and when a dealer install or a newer motor makes more sense.

Crossing Inlets and Bars Safely: Tide Timing, Coast Guard Bar Restrictions and When Not to Go

Inlets and river bars are where calm-looking days turn deadly. Learn why an ebb tide against an ocean swell builds breaking waves, how to check bar reports and Coast Guard restrictions, how to read the inlet before you commit, how to run it with life jackets on, and when to wait or go somewhere else.

Damaged Propeller: Repair It or Replace It?

Decide whether a bent, chipped or spun prop is worth sending to a prop shop or should be replaced, what a shop can actually fix on aluminum and stainless props, and how to keep the boat running the same afterward.

Diesel Cabin Heaters: What a Forced-Air or Bulkhead Heater Install Involves

Understand what goes into installing a diesel cabin heater (fuel pickup, exhaust or chimney, combustion air, ducting, power and CO alarms) so you can plan it with an installer, check the work, and keep the heater safe with monthly runs and regular service.

Dinghy and Tender Rules: Lights, Registration, Capacity, Life Jackets and Kill Switch

Your dinghy is a boat in its own right. Learn which navigation lights it needs after dark (rowing or under power), when the outboard means it must be registered, and how capacity plates, life jackets and the kill-switch law apply to a small tender.

Docking in Wind and Current: Read the Conditions, Use Spring Lines and Know When to Go Around

Wind and current decide most docking jobs. Learn to watch your drift before you commit, approach into the stronger force, set fenders and lines with a clear crew plan, use a spring line to pin the boat to the dock, handle single and twin engines, and back out to try again before it turns into a collision.

Dogs and Pets Aboard: A Safety Checklist for Boat Owners

Set your boat and your dog up for a safe day on the water, from a well-fitted pet life jacket with a handle to shade, fresh water, safe boarding and a plan for getting a dog back aboard if it goes over the side.

Drain Plugs: Types, Pre-Launch Checks, Spares and Replacing a Garboard Drain

A forgotten or worn drain plug is one of the most common ways a boat floods at the ramp. Learn the plug types, a launch routine that makes it hard to forget, how to look after plugs and fittings, how to replace a garboard drain, and when the plug should come out for storage.

EFI Outboard Cranks but Won't Start, No Key-On Beep or Fuel Pump Hum

When a fuel-injected outboard turns over but stays silent at key-on (no warning-horn chirp, no fuel pump priming), the engine computer usually isn't waking up. Work through the lanyard, battery voltage while cranking, main fuses, relays, harness plugs and grounds before anyone blames the computer.

EFI Outboard Vapor Separator Tank (VST) and Injectors - Symptoms, Filters and When It's a Dealer Job

On a fuel-injected outboard, the vapor separator tank holds fuel right at the engine and feeds the high-pressure pump and injectors. Learn why ethanol varnish and debris clog its filter, how a starving VST feels (stalls at speed, won't hold RPM), what you can safely maintain yourself, and when it's time for the dealer.

ELCI Retrofit: Adding Whole-Boat Shock Protection to an Older Boat

What an ELCI (equipment leakage circuit interrupter) is, why ABYC now requires one on new boats with shore power, what a retrofit involves and costs, and what to do when one trips. You plan, test and troubleshoot; an ABYC-certified marine electrician does the wiring.

Electric and Hydraulic Headsail Furlers: Care, Manual Override and Safety

Keep a powered headsail furler working with simple care: furl the right way, rinse the swivels, check the wiring, breaker and switches, and practice the manual override before you need it.

Electric Linear Actuators on Boats: Kicker Lifts, Towers, Hatches, Tables and Seats

Electric actuators raise kicker brackets, fold wake towers, lift engine hatches and move tables and helm seats. Learn how they work, why water and side load kill them, how to fuse and test one directly on 12 volts, and how to replace one safely.

Electric Marine Toilet Troubleshooting: Won't Flush, Weak Flush, Won't Stop Filling

Electric and macerating marine heads fail in a handful of predictable ways. Work from the cheapest checks to the messiest ones to fix a toilet that won't run, flushes weakly, trips its breaker, keeps filling, loses or gains water in the bowl, or backs up, and learn what to keep out of it.

Electric Outboard Care: Battery Storage, Connectors, Saltwater Rinse and Updates

Electric outboards like Torqeedo, Mercury Avator and ePropulsion need far less work than gas engines, but the lithium battery, the connectors and the prop still need care. Charge and store the battery the way the maker says, keep plugs dry and clean, rinse after salt water, check the prop, fin and anodes, install updates, and follow the rules for transporting lithium batteries.

Electric-Over-Hydraulic and Electric Trailer Brakes: Controller Setup, Breakaway and Care

Why most boat trailers use surge or electric-over-hydraulic (EOH) brakes instead of plain electric drums, how to pick a compatible in-cab brake controller and set its gain, how to test the breakaway switch and battery, and how to keep the system working around saltwater.

Electrical Safety at Your Private Dock or Boat Lift: GFCI, Shock Drowning and Annual Checks

Lights, outlets, lift motors and de-icers at a home dock put household current right next to the water, and a hidden fault can kill a swimmer without any warning. Learn the owner checks you can do safely, the protection your dock should have, the no-swimming rule, and which jobs must go to a licensed electrician.

Electronics That Reset or Shut Off When You Start the Engine: Finding and Fixing Voltage Sag

If your chartplotter, fishfinder, VHF or stereo blinks off or reboots when you crank the engine or switch on a big load, the cause is almost always low voltage reaching the device. This guide walks from the cheapest checks (battery, connections, grounds) to the real fixes: a dedicated electronics feed, start isolation between batteries, and voltage-stabilizing converters.

Emergency Drills for Your Crew: Engine Failure, Fire, Steering Loss and Man Overboard

Practice what everyone aboard does when the engine quits, a fire starts, the steering fails or someone falls in. A few short drills each season turn panic into a plan, and teach your crew to anchor, call for help on VHF 16 or DSC, and get a tow.

Emergency Steering: What to Do When Your Boat's Steering Fails

A plan for the day the wheel goes slack or locks up - stop safely, find the problem, then steer home with an emergency tiller, twin engines, a drogue or a bridled bucket - plus how to build the gear and practice it before you need it, on outboard, sterndrive and inboard boats.