Repair & maintenance guides

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.

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.

Saildrive Care: Leg Oil, Hull Seal, Anodes and Prop

Keep a Volvo Penta or Yanmar saildrive healthy with simple owner checks (leg oil level and color, anodes, paint, fishing line) and plan the big items, like the rubber hull diaphragm, before they become an emergency. The saildrive seal is one of the largest holes in a sailboat's hull, so it deserves attention.

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.

Testing Engine Coolant: Test Strips, Refractometer or Lab Analysis

Coolant can look perfect and still be worn out. Learn how to test the coolant in a closed-cooled inboard, sterndrive, diesel or generator with test strips, a refractometer or a mail-in lab kit, what each result tells you, and when the answer is a coolant change or a call to a mechanic.