Repair & maintenance guides

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-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.

Engine Cut-Off Switch (Kill Switch) and Lanyard: The Law, Testing and Daily Use

How the engine cut-off switch (ECOS) and its lanyard or wireless fob work, when federal law requires you to wear it (boats under 26 feet, 3 hp or more, on plane), how to test it before every trip, and why a spare clip aboard matters.

Engine Warning Horn and Dash Lights: What They Usually Mean and What to Do

Learn what a warning horn, beeps or a dash light usually mean on a boat engine, from overheating and low oil pressure to water in the fuel and reduced-power (limp) mode. Find out what to do right away and when to stop the engine. Patterns differ by brand, so match what you hear and see to your owner's manual.

EPIRB and PLB Care: Registration, Batteries, Self-Test and Mounting

Keep your 406 MHz emergency beacon ready to work on the worst day of your life. Register it free with NOAA and renew every two years, track the battery and hydrostatic release dates, run the self-test without triggering a false alert, and know what happens after you press the button.

Ethanol (E10) Fuel Care: Stabilizer, Phase Separation, Fuel Lines and Tank Vents

Keep E10 gasoline from damaging your boat engine. Learn how to use stabilizer, test for water and phase separation, and inspect the fuel lines, primer bulb, anti-siphon valve and tank vent. Most fuel-related breakdowns start with one of these.

FCC Ship Station License vs. a Free MMSI: Which One Your Boat Needs, and How to Keep It Current

Most U.S. recreational boats that stay in U.S. waters don't need an FCC radio license, but every DSC radio and AIS needs a registered MMSI. Learn when an FCC ship station license and operator permit are required (foreign ports, SSB/HF, satellite), how to get an MMSI from BoatUS, America's Boating Club or Shine Micro, and what to do when you sell, buy or rename a boat.

Financing a Boat: Loan Terms, Survey and Insurance Requirements, Liens and the True Cost of Ownership

Understand a boat loan before you sign: typical terms and down payments, what lenders check, why they want a survey and insurance, how the lien is recorded (Coast Guard preferred mortgage for documented boats, state title for the rest), how the payoff works when you sell, and how to add up the real yearly cost beyond the monthly payment. Practical guidance, not financial advice.

Fish Box Drains and Macerator Pumps: Clogs, Check Valves and Odor Control

Keep insulated fish boxes draining and smelling clean by clearing scale and slime clogs, checking the macerator pump, check valve and fuse, rinsing after every trip and making sure the water goes overboard instead of into the bilge.

Fish Finder Settings: How to Tune Your Sonar for a Clearer Picture

Get more out of your fish finder by setting frequency, gain (sensitivity), range, contrast, color palette and noise filters on purpose instead of leaving everything on auto, plus how to set the depth offset and track down interference from other electronics.

Fixing a Sagging Cabin Headliner: Re-glue, Battens or Replace

Find out why cabin headliners sag, when a quick re-glue is worth trying, how wood battens make a lasting fix, and how to replace fabric, vinyl or panel liners safely with good ventilation and without drilling through the deck.

Flybridge and Upper-Deck Safety: Weight Up High, Rails, Ladders and CO

People and gear on a flybridge, tower or pontoon upper deck raise the boat's center of gravity and cut its reserve stability. Learn how many to allow up top, how to check rails, gates, ladders and hardtop or tower loads, how to get crew down safely in rough water, and why carbon monoxide can collect at the stern and even on the bridge.

Freshwater Pump Troubleshooting: Cycling, Won't Shut Off or No Water

When the pressure water pump keeps cycling at night, runs nonstop or sputters air, the cause is usually simple: an empty tank, a dripping fixture, a clogged strainer, air in the lines or a tired accumulator. Work from the cheapest checks to the pressure switch and pump, and learn the basics of replacing a pump.

Fuel Smell on Board: What to Do and How to Find the Source

A gasoline smell on a boat is a fire and explosion warning. Learn what to do in the first minutes, the most common sources (fill and vent hoses, tank fittings, fuel lines, carburetors and injectors, overfilling), how to look safely, and when to stop and call a pro.

Fuse Keeps Blowing? How to Troubleshoot a Boat Fuse Block or Breaker Panel

Work through a blown fuse or tripping breaker the safe way: confirm it, tell a short from an overload, isolate the device or wire at fault, replace a worn breaker or panel switch with the same rating, and label every circuit, without ever fitting a bigger fuse.

Galley Stove Safety: Propane, Alcohol and Electric Cooktops Aboard

Cook aboard without fires or carbon monoxide scares by ventilating the galley, storing fuel the right way, checking flame-failure devices, using gimbals and pot holders, keeping an extinguisher and fire blanket in reach and never using the stove to heat the cabin.

Galvanic Isolator: Why Shore-Powered Boats Need One and How to Tell If It's Working

A galvanic isolator (or an isolation transformer on bigger boats) keeps stray DC current from the marina's ground wire from eating your anodes, drive and running gear, without cutting the safety ground. Learn what it does, the owner-level checks you can do, what failure looks like, and why the actual meter test is usually a job for a marine electrician.

Generator Pre-Trip Check: What to Inspect and Test Before a Cruise

A marine generator that quits on the first hot night of a cruise usually gave warning signs at the dock. Use this pre-departure checklist, based on generator makers' own advice, to inspect the oil, coolant, belt, raw-water side, exhaust and CO alarms, run the set under real load, and pack the right spares.