Repair & maintenance guides

How to Get Better Fuel Economy From Your Boat

Boat fuel is expensive, but most owners can stretch every gallon further without buying anything. Learn how to find your boat's most efficient cruise RPM, why a clean bottom, the right prop, good trim and less weight matter most, which tune-up items count, how fuel flow data helps, and which fuel-saving myths to ignore.

How to Grease Your Outboard's Lubrication Points

Grease the swivel bracket, tilt tube, steering and shift linkages, trim rams and prop shaft splines on your outboard. Grease keeps salt and water out of the moving joints. A 30-minute job once or twice a season prevents seized steering, stuck props and corroded brackets.

How to Inspect and Clean a Raw-Water (Sea) Strainer

The sea strainer is the cheap screen that keeps weeds, shells and plastic out of your engine, generator and A/C pumps. Learn how to clean it safely with the seacock closed, reseal the lid so it can't suck air, spot a cracked bowl before it floods the boat, and winterize it.

How to Inspect and Replace Exhaust Shutters and Flapper Valves

The rubber shutters inside a sterndrive's exhaust and the flappers at an inboard's exhaust outlet are one-way valves that keep water from washing back into the engine. Learn where they are, how they fail, how to check them every year, and why riser service is the perfect time to replace them.

How to Inspect and Replace Sacrificial Anodes (Zincs)

Check the anodes on your outboard, sterndrive or inboard running gear, replace them when they are half gone, and choose the right metal for the water you boat in. Fresh anodes are cheap insurance against expensive corrosion damage to your lower unit, drive and prop.

How to Inspect and Replace Spark Plugs

Pull, read and replace the spark plugs on a gas outboard, sterndrive, inboard or PWC. Fresh, correctly gapped plugs help the engine start easily and run smoothly, and the old plugs tell you a lot about the engine's health.

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 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 Remove and Reinstall an Outboard Gearcase (Lower Unit) Without Losing Shift

Dropping the lower unit is the first step of every outboard water pump job, and the reinstall is where most DIY trouble starts: no forward gear, no cooling water or a driveshaft that will not seat. Learn how to set the shift position, protect the water tube, line up the splines and test everything before the boat goes back in the water.

How to Replace a Fuel/Water Separating Filter (and Check for Water in Your Fuel)

Swap the spin-on fuel/water separator on your gas boat and learn to spot water and ethanol phase separation before it stalls the engine. It is one of the cheapest jobs on the boat and one of the best protections for a fuel-injected engine.

How to Replace an Outboard Fuel Line and Primer Bulb

A cracked hose or a stiff primer bulb can leak gasoline, starve your engine or shed rubber into the fuel. Learn how to choose Coast Guard-rated fuel hose, the right connectors for your engine brand and good stainless clamps, install the bulb pointing the right way, leak-test the job and get rid of the old parts safely.

How to Replace the Water Pump Impeller

Replace the rubber impeller that pumps cooling water through your engine, the part most often behind overheating. On many outboards it is a two-hour driveway job that saves a shop bill of several hundred dollars and prevents far costlier heat damage.

How to Sea Trial Your Boat After Maintenance or Repair

A step-by-step test run after service work: dock checks first (leaks, fluids, steering, kill switch), then a gradual climb through the RPM range while you watch temperature and pressure, a wide-open-throttle check against your engine's spec, shifting and trim tests, and a bilge check afterward. Catch a loose clamp or a missed step at the dock, not miles out.

How to Synchronize Twin Engines (RPM and Trim)

Twin engines running at slightly different RPM cause a pulsing drone, extra vibration, uneven wear and wasted fuel. Learn how to sync them by tach, sync gauge or ear, use the one-button sync on digital controls, check that your tachs tell the truth, match trim, and know when uneven engines or cable adjustment are a dealer job.

How to Test and Replace the Engine Thermostat

Find, test and replace the thermostat that controls your engine's operating temperature. A stuck thermostat can make an engine overheat or run too cold. On most outboards and many sterndrives it is a one-hour job with basic tools.

How to Use an Oil Extractor Pump for Boat Oil Changes

Change engine oil cleanly through the dipstick tube with a manual or electric extractor: know which engines it suits, warm the oil first, get as much out as you can, then refill to the dipstick, recycle the old oil and clean the pump so it's ready next time.

Ignition Tune-Up on an Older Sterndrive or Inboard V6/V8

Older carbureted sterndrive and inboard V6 and V8 engines need regular spark plugs, plug wires, distributor caps and rotors to start easily and run smoothly. Learn the signs a tune-up is due, how to replace these parts one at a time, why only marine ignition-protected parts belong in a gas engine bay, and why ignition timing is a job for a shop.

Jet Outboard Care: Grease, Intake Grate, Impeller Clearance and Shallow-River Habits

A jet outboard trades the propeller and gearcase for a pump, so it needs different care. Learn how mounting height works, why the pump bearing needs frequent grease, how gravel and a worn impeller steal thrust, how to clear the intake safely, and when an adjustment is a shop job.

Marine Diesel Service: Oil Change, Fuel Filters and Bleeding Air

Change the oil and oil filter, replace the primary and secondary fuel filters, and bleed air from the fuel system on a Yanmar, Volvo Penta, Beta, Cummins or similar marine diesel. These three skills cover most routine diesel care and can get you out of trouble when the engine dies on a passage.

Marine Diesel Turbocharger Care: Warm-Up, Cool-Down and Simple Checks

A turbocharger needs little attention, but the attention it needs matters. Learn how to warm up and cool down a turbo diesel, keep its oil and air clean, track boost, spot leaks and salt corrosion early, and know when a turbo needs a professional.

Marine Generator Routine Maintenance and CO Safety

Keep an Onan, Kohler/Rehlko, Northern Lights, Westerbeke or similar marine generator reliable with regular checks of oil, raw-water cooling, fuel, exhaust and the start battery, plus a monthly run under load. Generator exhaust is a leading source of carbon monoxide on boats, so safety checks come first.

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.

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.