Repair & maintenance guides

How to Test and Fix Your Boat's Navigation Lights

Learn which navigation lights your boat must show and when, then test them and fix the usual culprits such as corroded sockets, loose pole-light plugs and blown bulbs. Working lights are legally required at night and in poor visibility and are how other boats see which way you are heading.

How to Upgrade Your Boat's Lighting to LED (and Keep Your Nav Lights Legal)

Switch cabin, cockpit and courtesy lights to LED to cut battery drain and bulb changes, choose navigation lights that are actually USCG-certified (not just LED bulbs), check voltage range and dimmers, seal every connection, and run the Coast Guard's simple VHF test to make sure the new lights aren't deafening your radio or AIS.

How to Use a Pump-Out Station: Finding One, Hooking Up and Rinsing the Tank

Find a pump-out near you with state maps and free apps, hook up to the deck fitting without spills, rinse the holding tank, leave the station clean for the next boat and know the rules for no-discharge zones and mobile pump-out boats.

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 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 Wire a 12, 24 or 36-Volt Trolling Motor and Charge Its Batteries

Set up the battery bank for your electric trolling motor the right way: matched deep-cycle batteries in series or parallel, a circuit breaker sized from the motor maker's chart, a proper plug, and a multi-bank charger that keeps every battery healthy. High-current wiring that runs long distances or ties into other systems is a job for a marine electrician.

How to Wire a Bilge Pump Correctly (Automatic Float, Panel Switch and Fuse)

Wire your bilge pump so the automatic float works even with the battery switch off, the helm switch gives you a manual override, and every circuit has the right fuse, wire size and connections kept above the bilge water. A pump that is wired wrong can leave the boat unprotected exactly when nobody is aboard.

How to Wire a Marine Stereo, Speakers and Amplifier Safely

Install or fix a boat stereo the way that keeps it working and keeps your battery alive: marine-rated gear, a fused feed from the panel, a solid ground, a plan for the always-on memory wire, UV-proof speakers, and an amplifier fused right at the battery. Plus how to stop the stereo from messing with your VHF and compass.

Hull Blisters (Osmosis): How to Tell Cosmetic Pimples From Serious Pox

Learn what osmotic blisters are, how to inspect a fiberglass bottom at haul-out, which blisters you can fix yourself with epoxy, what moisture meter readings can and can't tell you, and when to hire an independent surveyor.

Ice Makers and Drinking-Water Dispensers on Boats: Cleaning, Filters and Winterizing

Keep onboard ice and drinking water clean and tasting good. Sanitize and descale the ice maker, change filters, keep the condenser breathing, fix common faults, and drain and bypass everything before freezing weather.

Impressed Current Corrosion Protection on Yachts: How It Works and How to Keep an Eye on It

Larger aluminum and steel yachts often use an impressed current system instead of, or alongside, sacrificial anodes. Learn what the control panel, anodes and reference electrodes do, how to log and double-check the readings with a portable reference cell, why over-protection can strip paint and attack aluminum, what to do at haul-out, and when to call a corrosion specialist.

Inflatable Boat and Dinghy Care: Cleaning, UV Protection, Leaks and Storage

Keep your inflatable or RIB tender holding air for years. Rinse and clean it the right way, protect the tubes from sun, check pressure with a gauge, find slow leaks with soapy water, service the valves, patch small holes with the correct glue for PVC or Hypalon, and store it clean and dry.

Inflatable Life Jacket Care: Inspect, Test and Rearm

An inflatable life jacket only saves a life if the cylinder is full, the inflator is armed and the bladder holds air. Learn the quick check before every trip, the overnight leak test, how to read replacement dates and how to rearm it after it fires.

Inheriting a Boat: Title Transfer, Coast Guard Documentation, Insurance, Taxes and Keep-or-Sell

What to do when a boat comes to you from a relative's estate: secure it and keep it insured, find out how ownership passes (joint owner, transfer-on-death, probate or a small-estate affidavit), transfer a state title or a Coast Guard documented vessel, deal with the trailer, liens and taxes, and decide whether to keep or sell. General information, not legal or tax advice.

Internet Near Shore: Cellular Routers, Signal Boosters and Marina Wi-Fi Extenders

For boats that stay within sight of land, a cellular router, a legal signal booster or a marina Wi-Fi extender can be a cheaper alternative to satellite. Learn which one fits how you boat, why antenna placement and cable length matter, the FCC rules for boosters, how much power they use and how to test that it actually works.

Is My Vehicle Rated to Tow This Boat? Towing Capacity, GCWR and Tongue Weight Explained

The towing number in the ad is only one of several limits. Learn which ratings matter (towing capacity, GCWR, GVWR, axle and tongue limits, hitch class and ball rating), how to weigh your real rig at a truck scale, and when you need trailer brakes and towing mirrors.

Isolation Transformer vs. Galvanic Isolator: Which Does Your Boat Need?

Understand how a galvanic isolator and an isolation transformer each protect a boat on shore power, when the heavier, pricier transformer is worth it (stray-current marinas, aluminum boats, liveaboards), and what to ask the ABYC-certified electrician who installs it.

Jacklines and Tethers: How to Rig Them and Use Them So You Stay Aboard

Jacklines and a good tether keep you attached to the boat when you work on deck at night or in rough weather. Learn which jackline material to pick, where to run it and what to anchor it to, how to choose a double tether with safe hooks, and the clip-in habits that make the system work.

Jet Ski and Jet Boat Pump Care: Clearing the Intake Grate and Checking the Impeller and Wear Ring

Clear weeds, rope and rocks from the intake grate of a Sea-Doo, Yamaha WaveRunner, Kawasaki Jet Ski or jet boat, and learn to spot a damaged impeller or worn wear ring. A clogged or worn pump is the usual reason a jet craft revs high but goes slow.

Jet Ski Electrical Problems: Dies in Waves, Low Voltage and Bad Connections

A personal watercraft that cuts out when it hits chop, shows low voltage, flickers its display or blows fuses usually has a corroded or loose connection, not a dead computer. Work from the battery and grounds to fuses, relays and module plugs, and learn when the job needs a dealer's diagnostic tool.

Jet Ski Hull Care and Repair: Scratches, Gouges, Keel Guards and Beaching Damage

Learn to tell cosmetic scratches from real hull damage on a personal watercraft, which fixes work on fiberglass versus Sea-Doo's Polytec plastic hulls, how a keel guard helps, and when a crack is a job for a pro.

Jet Ski Impeller and Wear Ring Replacement (What's Involved)

Know when your PWC's impeller or wear ring is worn out, how to check it yourself, and what replacing them really involves: pulling the pump, special tools, the right clearance, fresh seals and the correct pump lube. Most owners do the diagnosis and leave the pump work to a dealer or jet-pump shop.

Jet Ski Intake Clogged with Weeds, Rope or Rocks: How to Clear It Safely

Engine revs high but the jet ski barely moves, or an overheat warning comes on? Something is probably stuck in the intake. Learn the symptoms, how to use iDF and similar features, how to clear the grate safely in the water, on the beach or on the trailer, and how to keep it from happening again.