Repair & maintenance guides

Anchor Chain Inspection: Measuring Wear, Regalvanizing or Replacing, and Matching the Gypsy

Lay your anchor chain out, find the worn, rusty or damaged links, decide whether to swap it end for end, regalvanize it or buy new, and make sure any new chain actually fits your windlass gypsy before you pay for it.

Basic Rope Work for Boat Owners - Eye Splices, Whipping and Sealing Line Ends

Learn the rope skills every owner uses: put an eye splice in three-strand dock or anchor line, stop line ends from unraveling with a whipping or by melting them, know when double-braid splicing is worth it or when to buy pre-spliced line, and inspect splices so you retire a line before it fails.

Bottom Paint (Antifouling): Do You Need It, Which Type, and How to Repaint

Learn whether your boat needs antifouling bottom paint, how ablative and hard paints differ, and how to prep and roll on a fresh coat safely, without poisoning yourself or the water and without ruining an aluminum hull.

Carrying Your Dinghy: Davits, Swim Platform Mounts and Safe Towing

How to check davits and swim-platform dinghy mounts against the maker's load limit, secure the tender so it can't swing or fill with water, and tow it safely when you have to, with the right bridle, line length and speed, and the outboard off.

Ceramic and Polymer Coatings for Boats: What They Do and How to Apply Them

Understand what ceramic and polymer coatings really do compared with wax, how to prep gelcoat so a coating bonds, how to apply a DIY coating, and how long you can realistically expect it to last.

Composting Toilets on Boats: How They Work, the Rules, Emptying and Winter Care

A composting (dry, urine-separating) head can replace a smelly holding tank, but it has its own routine. Learn how these toilets work, how they fit the Coast Guard's sanitation rules, how to prepare the medium, empty the liquids bottle and solids bin legally, keep odors away and handle cold weather and winter layup.

Diesel Cabin Heaters: What a Forced-Air or Bulkhead Heater Install Involves

Understand what goes into installing a diesel cabin heater (fuel pickup, exhaust or chimney, combustion air, ducting, power and CO alarms) so you can plan it with an installer, check the work, and keep the heater safe with monthly runs and regular service.

Drain Plugs: Types, Pre-Launch Checks, Spares and Replacing a Garboard Drain

A forgotten or worn drain plug is one of the most common ways a boat floods at the ramp. Learn the plug types, a launch routine that makes it hard to forget, how to look after plugs and fittings, how to replace a garboard drain, and when the plug should come out for storage.

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.

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.

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.

Hose Clamps on Boats: Choosing, Installing and Inspecting Them

A rusted or wrong hose clamp can sink a boat at the dock, leak fuel or let exhaust into the cabin. Learn which clamps belong on a boat (all-316 stainless, embossed band, T-bolt where needed), when to double them, how tight is tight enough, and how to find the ones that are about to fail.

How to Add or Replace a Swim Platform on Your Boat

A swim platform makes swimming, fishing and climbing back aboard far easier, but it hangs off the most heavily loaded part of the hull, right next to the propeller and the exhaust. Learn the bolt-on options, how to check the transom and engine clearance, how to through-bolt with real backing plates, and the propeller and carbon monoxide rules that come with it.

How to Add or Upgrade Boat Cleats (Sizing, Placement and Backing Plates)

Most cleats that fail don't break; they pull out of the deck. Learn how to size a cleat to your dock lines, where to put new cleats for docking and spring lines, how to through-bolt them with real backing plates, how to protect a cored deck, and what's different about pop-up and pull-up cleats.

How to Care for Your Anchor Locker and Keep the Chain Running Free

Empty, clean and drain the anchor locker, untwist and restow the rode so it runs out without jamming, tie the bitter end so it can be cut free in an emergency, and decide whether you really need a swivel. A tidy locker keeps the anchor ready when you need it fast.

How to Check a Holding Tank Vent and Replace the Vent Filter

A blocked holding tank vent makes the head gurgle, pressurizes the tank every flush and can collapse it at the pump-out dock. Learn the warning signs, how to clear the vent fitting and hose, when and how to replace the carbon vent filter, and how to keep insects and overfills from plugging it again.

How to Clean and Care for a Boat Windshield (Acrylic, Polycarbonate or Glass)

Clean your windshield without scratching it, tell acrylic, polycarbonate and glass apart, deal with haze, crazing and small cracks, stop frame leaks, and keep wipers and the walk-through door working.

How to Clean and Care for Clear Vinyl (Isinglass) and Polycarbonate Enclosure Panels

Keep the clear windows in your dodger, bimini curtains or full enclosure clear for years by cleaning them the right way, storing them without scratches and avoiding the cold-weather and chemical mistakes that ruin them. Covers soft clear vinyl, coated vinyl like Strataglass, rigid panels and zippers.

How to Clean and Maintain Shower Sump and Macerator Pumps (and Stay Legal)

The shower sump pump fights hair and soap scum every day, and the macerator empties the holding tank, but only where that is legal. Learn how to clean the sump and filter, test the float switch, avoid burning out pumps by running them dry, follow the 3-mile and no-discharge rules, and winterize both.

How to Clean and Protect Boat Canvas, Bimini Tops and Vinyl Seats

Wash your bimini, covers and enclosure the right way, beat mildew without wrecking the stitching, keep vinyl seats soft and stain-free, look after zippers and snaps, and store everything so it comes out clean next spring.

How to Clean and Sanitize Your Boat's Freshwater Tank and Lines

Get rid of slime, stale taste and smells in your boat's drinking water system. Scrub the tank through the inspection port if you can, sanitize the tank and every line with the right dose of plain bleach, then flush until the water tastes clean again.

How to Clean Your Boat's Bilge (Legally, and Without the Smell)

Get oil, sludge and debris out of the bilge without pumping pollution overboard, choose absorbents that actually work, track down bilge odors, clear limber holes and the pump pickup, and dispose of the mess the right way.

How to Clean, Protect and Inspect Stainless Steel Boat Hardware

Remove tea stains and rust from rails, cleats and fittings without scratching them, passivate stainless so it stays clean longer, understand why 304 and 316 behave differently, and spot the hidden crevice corrosion that weakens fittings from underneath.

How to Clean, Protect and Restore Non-Skid Decks

Get dirt, fish blood, rust and mildew out of textured non-skid without wearing it away, learn why ordinary wax makes it dangerously slick, and decide when worn non-skid needs a deck paint with grip additive or traction pads instead.