Repair & maintenance guides

Fishing Line Behind the Prop: How It Ruins Gearcase Seals and How to Catch It Early

Fishing line that wraps behind your propeller can melt into a sharp ring that cuts the prop shaft seals and lets water into the gearcase. Learn the quick after-trip check, how to pull the prop and clear line safely, the signs that a seal is already damaged, and when to get a pressure test.

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.

Four-Stroke Outboard Oil Level Rising or Smelling Like Gas: What It Means and What to Do

If the oil on your four-stroke outboard's dipstick keeps going up or smells like gasoline, fuel is probably getting into the crankcase. Learn how to check the level the right way, why lots of idling, trolling, short runs and cold water cause it, what you can do yourself, and when a fuel-system fault needs a dealer.

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 Anti-Siphon Valve: Diagnosing a Sticking Valve and Replacing It Safely

The anti-siphon valve at your built-in fuel tank stops gasoline from draining into the bilge if a fuel line breaks, but a cheap or sticky one can starve the engine at speed. Learn how to tell a restricted valve from a blocked vent or filter, how to clean or replace it with a quality valve of the right type, and why you should never pull the check ball out.

Fuel Demand Valves: Troubleshooting the Valve That Holds Back a Sealed Tank

Modern EPA-compliant fuel tanks stay sealed and build pressure in the sun, and a fuel demand valve keeps that pressure from pushing gasoline into the engine when it's off. Learn how it differs from an old-style ball anti-siphon valve, the symptoms of one that sticks closed or leaks through, how to rule out cheaper causes first, and why the replacement must be the same type, never a ball valve.

Fuel Gauge Reads Wrong or Empty? How to Test the Gauge, Sender and Wiring

Find out why your boat's fuel gauge reads empty, full, backward or jumps around, working from the free checks at the dash to testing the tank sender and replacing it safely. Most problems are a stuck float, a bad ground or a sender that doesn't match the gauge.

Fuel Pump Checks - Is It the Pump or Something Starving It?

Bogging at speed, surging or dying after a few minutes is often blamed on the fuel pump, but vents, filters, primer bulbs and anti-siphon valves cause the same symptoms. Learn how mechanical, pulse and electric pumps work, the safe checks you can do, what the primer bulb is telling you, and why a real pressure test needs the right gauge and the factory spec.

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.

Get Your Boat Ready for the Road: Pre-Trailering Checklist

Most trailering trouble starts in the driveway: an engine left without support, a loose strap, a cover that balloons at 60 mph, gear that blows out or tongue weight that makes the rig sway. Work through this checklist before every trip and do a quick walkaround at each stop.

Guardian, Limp Home and Reduced Power Modes: Why Your Engine Cut Power and What to Do

Modern outboards and inboards cut power on their own when a sensor reports trouble. Learn what usually triggers Mercury's Engine Guardian, Yamaha's RPM reduction and other brands' limp-home modes, how to read the warning, and how to decide between idling home and stopping to call for help.

Gyro Stabilizer Care: Owner Checks for Seakeeper and Other Boat Gyros

A gyro stabilizer needs little from you, but what it needs matters. Learn how to start and shut it down correctly, keep its seawater cooling and zinc in shape, rinse it, read its hours and alarms, winterize it, and know which jobs belong to a certified dealer.

Harmful Algae Blooms: How Boaters Spot Them, Check Advisories and Clean Up Afterward

Blue-green algae and red tide can sicken people and kill dogs within hours. Learn what a bloom looks like, where to check state advisories before you launch, how to run the boat around one, and how to rinse the hull, trailer, gear and your dog afterward. Includes what health agencies say about eating fish from bloom areas.

Heat Exhaustion and Heat Stroke on a Boat: Prevention, Warning Signs and What to Do

Sun, reflected glare, little shade and too little water make boats a classic place for heat illness. Learn how to prevent it, how to tell heat exhaustion from heat stroke, how to cool someone down aboard, how to protect kids and pets, and when to call 911 or the Coast Guard. General first-aid information only, not medical advice.

Heating an Engine Room or Bilge in Winter (Boats Kept in the Water)

If your boat stays in the water through cold snaps, an engine-room heater can add a margin of protection, but only an ignition-protected marine heater on a proper circuit, and never in place of winterizing. Household space heaters, heat lamps and extension cords are a leading cause of winter boat fires.

Helping Another Boater: Your Duty to Assist, Safe Approaches, and When Not to Tow

What the law expects when you come across a boater in trouble, how to approach a disabled or sinking boat safely, how to take people aboard, the basics of a short tow, and when to stand by and call the Coast Guard, Sea Tow or TowBoatUS instead. People first, boats second.

Hiring a Delivery Captain: Moving Your Boat by Water vs by Truck, Vetting, Contract, Costs and Owner Prep

Decide whether to move a boat on its own bottom with a hired delivery captain or on a truck, then vet the captain (Coast Guard credential, experience, references, insurance), put the job in a written contract, budget the day rate and expenses, and get the boat, paperwork and insurance ready before the lines come off.

Hiring a Diver for In-Water Hull Cleaning: How Often, What It Does to Your Paint, and What to Ask

If your boat lives in the water, a hull-cleaning diver keeps growth off the bottom, prop and through-hulls between haul-outs. Learn how often to schedule cleanings, why scrubbing wears away ablative paint, the local rules some harbors (like San Diego and Marina del Rey) put on in-water cleaning, and what a good diver report should tell you about zincs, the prop and the paint.

Holding Tank Level Monitors: Fix, Calibrate or Upgrade Your Tank Gauge

Find out why your holding tank gauge reads wrong, clean or calibrate the sensor, and choose a better internal or external monitor so you never overfill the tank and push sewage up the vent.