Repair & maintenance guides

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.

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.

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.

Powered Winch and Windlass Safety: Keep Fingers Clear and Power Within Reach

Electric and hydraulic winches and anchor windlasses can crush hands and pull a person into the drum in seconds. Learn where switches and the emergency power cutoff belong, how to keep hands and lines safe, why the windlass should never hold the boat, and how to brief your crew.

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.

Protecting a Docked Boat: Mooring Whips, Bumpers, Fender Boards and Chafe Gear

Set up your dock or slip so wakes, wind and tides don't grind your hull against it, using mooring whips, dock bumpers, fender boards, spring lines and chafe gear, and know what these can and can't do in a storm.

Reading Marine Weather Forecasts: Advisories, Wind, Waves and Go/No-Go

Learn where to get the official NOAA marine forecast for your waters, what small craft advisories and warnings really mean, how to read wind and wave numbers, and how to make a simple go/no-go call before you leave the dock.

Reading NOAA Tide and Current Predictions for Trip Planning (MLLW, Slack Water and Bridge Clearance)

Tide is the water going up and down; current is the water moving sideways, and their timing doesn't always line up. Learn to find the right NOAA station, read high and low tides against chart datum (MLLW), find slack water and peak current, check bridge clearance against mean high water, and plan launches, anchoring and inlet crossings around them.

Recreational Radar Care: Radome and Open-Array Cleaning, Mounts, Cables and Alignment

Keep your boat's radar seeing small targets by cleaning the radome or open array the right way, checking the mount, cable and connectors for corrosion, and confirming that targets line up with the bow. Includes the safety rules for working near a radar that might transmit, plus winter care.

Remote Boat Monitoring: Bilge, Battery, Shore Power and GPS Alerts on Your Phone

Choose, install and set up a system that texts you when your unattended boat is taking on water, losing battery or shore power, or moving without you. Covers cellular versus satellite, what each sensor really tells you, wiring it so it stays on, sensible alert settings and what happens to your location data.

Renaming a Boat: Paperwork, Removing the Old Name and the Optional Ceremony

Change your boat's name the right way: what a state-registered boat needs versus a Coast Guard documented boat (name change and hailing port go through the NVDC before you letter the hull), getting every trace of the old name off, lettering rules for documented boats, who else to tell (insurer, marina, MMSI, EPIRB, AIS), and the traditional renaming ceremony if you want the fun.

Renting Out Your Boat on Peer-to-Peer Apps: Insurance, Bareboat vs. Captained, State Rental Laws, Taxes and Wear

Thinking of listing your boat on a peer-to-peer rental platform to offset ownership costs? Learn why your personal policy probably won't cover it, what platform insurance does and doesn't do, the legal difference between a bareboat rental and a captained trip, state livery laws like Florida's, how rental income is taxed, and the real cost of extra hours and wear. Practical guidance, not legal, tax or insurance advice.

Replacing a Boat Trailer Axle: When You Need One and How to Order the Right Size

A bent, rusted-through or undersized axle can't be fixed with new bearings. Learn the signs, the difference between straight, drop and torsion axles, the measurements a supplier needs (hub face, spring centers), what to specify for saltwater, and why this is usually a trailer-shop job.

Replacing a Built-In Boat Fuel Tank: What's Involved and Why It's Usually a Pro Job

A leaking built-in gas tank is a fire and explosion risk that has to be fixed, not patched. Learn the signs a tank needs replacing, why foamed-in aluminum tanks corrode, what a compliant replacement tank and label look like, how access, grounding, hoses, vents and foam should be handled, and how to plan and check the work.

Replacing a Seacock or Through-Hull Fitting

When a seacock is frozen, corroded or really a gate valve, it has to be replaced with the boat out of the water. Learn what a proper seacock is, bronze vs Marelon, why the through-hull and backing block usually get replaced too, how the job is done, and when to hand it to a yard.

Right-of-Way on the Water: The Navigation Rules Every Recreational Boater Should Know

There are no lanes or stop signs on the water, so the Navigation Rules decide who keeps course and who gets out of the way. Learn stand-on and give-way, meeting head-on, crossing, overtaking, sail versus power, narrow channels, big ships, safe speed and keeping a proper lookout, with the rule numbers from the U.S. Inland Navigation Rules (33 CFR Part 83).

Roadside Trailer Repairs: Carrying a Spare Hub and Changing a Hub or Tire Safely

Why a pre-greased spare hub and a real spare tire belong in every boat-trailer kit, how to pick the right ones, and how to change a failed hub or a flat on the shoulder without getting hurt: getting off the road, warning triangles, chocks, frame jack points, a lug wrench that fits, and the checks to make afterward.

Rudder, Rudder Bearings and Steering Gear Inspection (Sailboats and Inboards)

Check your rudder for play, water inside the blade and stock corrosion, inspect the rudder tube and its seal, and go over cables, sheaves, quadrant and stops so the steering does not fail when you need it. Includes how to find, fit and practice with the emergency tiller.

Running a Boat Generator at the Right Load: Switching Sequence, Balancing and Avoiding Wet Stacking

Get more life out of your marine generator by starting and stopping it with the AC loads off, switching sources in the right order, keeping it loaded enough to avoid wet stacking and carbon buildup, and moving small loads to the inverter. Includes a simple monthly exercise routine.

Salt and Scale in Raw-Water Cooling: Flushing Habits, Descaling and When It's a Shop Job

Learn how salt and scale slowly narrow your engine's cooling passages, how to spot the warning signs (a temperature that creeps up over seasons, a weak telltale, thermostats sticking), the flushing habits that prevent it, which descaling products and methods engine makers accept, what never to pour through an engine, and when to hand the job to a shop.

Salvage and Branded Title Boats: What They Mean, the Risks, and How to Check Before You Buy

Understand boats that an insurer declared a total loss: what salvage, rebuilt and hull-damaged title brands mean, why flood and storm boats hide expensive problems, how branded titles affect insurance, financing and resale, how to dig into a boat's history, and what a survey should check. Title branding rules differ a lot by state, and some states don't brand boat titles at all.