Repair & maintenance guides

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.

How to Fog an Engine for Storage

Coat the inside of your engine's cylinders with fogging oil before a long layup so rust does not form over the winter. Learn when fogging applies, how it differs for carbureted, fuel-injected and direct-injection engines, and why your maker's instructions come first.

How to Keep Mice and Rodents Off Your Stored Boat

Mice love a stored boat: dry, quiet and full of soft nesting material and tasty wire insulation. Learn how to remove what attracts them, close their way in, choose deterrents and traps that actually work, avoid the risks of poison, and check the wiring safely in spring.

How to Keep Your Boat in the Water Over Winter (De-Icers, Covers and Checks)

Wintering afloat can be safe if you still winterize every water system, keep the bilge pump and batteries working, use a de-icer correctly on a GFCI-protected circuit, respect the shock and thin-ice risks, and visit the boat regularly.

How to Winterize (and Recommission) Your Boat's Freshwater System

Protect the tank, pump, water heater, faucets and showers from freeze damage with non-toxic antifreeze, then flush and sanitize everything in the spring so the water is clean again. A cracked pump or split fitting is a common, avoidable winter repair bill.

How to Winterize a Jet Ski or PWC (Sea-Doo, Yamaha WaveRunner, Kawasaki)

Get your personal watercraft ready for the off-season by flushing and draining the cooling and exhaust system, stabilizing fuel, changing oil, fogging, and storing the battery. Doing it yourself takes an afternoon and helps avoid freeze damage, corrosion and spring no-starts.

How to Winterize a Marine Diesel Inboard (Sailboat or Trawler)

Lay up a marine diesel for winter the way the engine makers describe it, covering fresh oil, a full and treated fuel tank, antifreeze through the raw-water side, the impeller out, the coolant checked, openings plugged and the battery cared for. Freeze damage to a diesel's raw-water circuit is one of the most expensive and most avoidable winter repairs.

How to Winterize a Marine Generator (and Recommission It in Spring)

Lay up an onboard diesel or gasoline generator for winter with fresh oil, treated fuel the way your maker specifies, antifreeze through the raw-water side, the impeller out, the start battery cared for and the intake and exhaust sealed, then bring it back safely in spring. A generator's raw-water circuit freezes just like a main engine's.

How to Winterize a Pontoon Boat: Engine, Tubes, Furniture, Cover and Storage

Put a pontoon away for winter the way pontoon builders describe it, covering the outboard, the tubes and their drain plugs, furniture, vinyl and flooring, rodents, a cover that won't collapse under snow, and trailer or lift storage. Engine and water jobs link to the detailed BoatMend guides.

How to Winterize a Sailboat: Rig, Sails, Engine, Plumbing and Storage

A sailboat-specific winter layup plan, from deciding whether the mast comes down to getting sails, running rigging and canvas off, protecting the diesel or saildrive, plumbing and head, and leaving the boat well supported, covered and ventilated. Each engine and water job links to its detailed BoatMend guide.

How to Winterize a Sterndrive (MerCruiser, Volvo Penta and Similar)

Get the water out of your sterndrive engine, protect it with antifreeze, and service the drive before storage. A cracked block or manifold from one missed drain plug can cost thousands, and doing it yourself saves a shop bill of several hundred dollars.

How to Winterize an Outboard Engine

Protect your outboard from freeze damage, stale fuel and internal corrosion over the off-season. Most owners can do it in an afternoon with basic tools, compared with a shop bill that often runs several hundred dollars.

Sailboat Spring Commissioning: Rig, Sails, Bottom, Engine and First Sail

A sailboat-specific spring checklist: inspect the rig before it goes up, bend on the sails, check through-hulls and the bottom, recommission the diesel or saildrive, bring the head and freshwater back, test electronics and safety gear, and shake it all down on a first sail. Each system links to its detailed BoatMend guide.

Spring Commissioning - Getting Your Boat Ready for the Season

Wake your boat up after storage with a step-by-step check of the battery, fuel system, engine, drive and safety gear. Catching a cracked hose or dead battery in the driveway beats a tow on opening weekend, and saves a typical shop commissioning fee.

Storing a Boat on Stands and Blocks: Keel Blocking, Stand Placement and Safety Chains

Learn how a boat should sit on keel blocks and boat stands for winter or a haul-out, so you can check the yard's work, spot dangerous setups, and keep your boat from settling, distorting or falling over in wind, rain or a storm.

Winter Boat Cover vs Shrink Wrap: Support, Ventilation, Safety and Spring Removal

Choose between a reusable winter cover and shrink wrap, build a support frame that sheds snow, vent it so the boat doesn't mildew, and know the fire risks before you try DIY shrink wrap. Includes spring removal and recycling.

Winter Layup Master Checklist (Step-by-Step, With Links to Each Job)

One ordered checklist for putting any boat away for winter, from booking storage and treating the fuel to winterizing the engine, water systems, head and batteries, then blocking, covering and securing the boat. Each step links to the detailed BoatMend guide for that job.