Repair & maintenance guides
Plain-English, step by step, written for owners. Pick your engine to see the guides that apply to it.
301 of 459 guides · page 4 of 13
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.
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.
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.
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 Much Is a Used Boat Worth? Pricing Guides, Comps and Condition
Work out a realistic price for a used boat, whether you're buying or selling: check sold and listed comps, read J.D. Power, BUCValu and ABOS values the right way, value the engines separately, adjust for hours, condition, upgrades and location, and know when a valuation survey is worth paying for.
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 Adjust and Replace Trailer Bunks and Rollers So Your Boat Sits Right
Set up your boat trailer so the hull is supported in the right places: bunks and rollers clear of the strakes, the transom fully supported, the bow snug against the winch stop and the weight balanced on the tongue. Also covers replacing rotten bunk boards and worn carpet or rollers.
How to Build a Damage-Control Kit: Plugs, Patches and a Plan for Leaks
Put together a labeled kit that can slow or stop water coming into your boat - softwood plugs tied at every through-hull, rescue tape, spare clamps, rubber and plywood patches, plastic sheeting, underwater sealant, a manual pump and the tools to reach a hidden leak - and practice with it so your crew knows where everything is.
How to Care for a Pontoon Deck, Flooring, Fence and Furniture
Keep a pontoon's carpet or vinyl floor clean and dry, find soft spots in the plywood deck before they spread, check fence rails, gates and seat bases, care for furniture vinyl, and cover and store the boat so mildew and sun do not win.
How to Care for Boat Solar Panels, Connectors and the Charge Controller
A boat solar setup is quiet and almost maintenance-free, but salt, shade, loose connectors and a wrong battery setting quietly cut its output or hurt the batteries. Learn the cleaning, inspection and controller checks to do each season, and how to leave the system for winter.
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 Boat for Transom and Stringer Rot
Many older fiberglass boats have wood inside the transom, stringers and deck, and water that gets in slowly rots it. Learn the tap test, the flex test, how to read a moisture meter and the other warning signs, and why a rotten transom or stringer is a structural job for a pro, not a weekend patch.
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 Check and Care for Boat Trailer Surge Brakes
Understand how the hydraulic surge brakes on your boat trailer work, check the fluid, use the reverse lockout correctly and rinse salt out of them after every dunk. Simple habits that keep the brakes from seizing, dragging or failing when you need them.
How to Check, Mount and Replace Boat Fire Extinguishers
A monthly five-minute check of every fire extinguisher aboard, plus how the 2022 Coast Guard rule changes affect you, where to mount them, and when to recharge or replace. A boat fire spreads in seconds, and an extinguisher with a dead gauge, missing pin or expired date will not help you or pass a boarding.
How to Choose and Fit Life Jackets for Children and Babies
Pick the right Coast Guard-approved life jacket for each child by weight, check the fit so it can't slip off, look for head support and a crotch strap on little ones, and learn the federal and state wear rules. Inflatables are not for kids, and a life jacket never replaces an adult watching.
How to Choose, Install and Adjust Trailer Guide-Ons (Posts or Bunks)
Add or tune the side guides on your boat trailer so the hull lines up in wind and current, the posts stay visible at the ramp and nothing rubs the gelcoat on the road. Covers post vs. bunk guide-ons, lighted posts, mounting height, side clearance and yearly care.
How to Choose, Install and Maintain an Onboard Battery Charger
Pick the right marine charger for your batteries (how many banks, how many amps, flooded, AGM or lithium), mount and fuse it safely, set the charge profile, and use it to keep batteries healthy all season and through the winter. The AC (shore power) side is a job for a marine electrician.
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.
Safety: BoatMend is for information only and does not replace a certified marine technician. You are responsible for your safety and your boat. Read the full disclaimer.