Boat Maintenance & Repair

You depend on your sailboat's lifelines to keep you from falling overboard. Learn how to inspect aging lifelines and to replace them yourself when needed.

If the mast of your sailboat passes through your cabin top, you need a good seal with a mast boot to prevent water from entering the cabin. You can buy an expensive one or make your own from inexpensive materials. Follow these simple steps.

When your boat’s hull is stained or dirty beyond the power of most fiberglass cleaners, use MaryKate On & Off Gel for the toughest job. This is a serious chemical but is safe on fiberglass, as long as you follow the precautions. Check out these before-and-after photos.

In areas where sailboats are hauled out and stored for the winter, it is important to commission the boat properly in the spring before launch. Here’s a complete checklist of everything that needs to be done.

Winterizing a sailboat involves preparing the engine for winter, removing or protecting gear, and winterizing the head and water systems before covering the boat. You can expect serious problems when the temperature drops below freezing if you fail to correctly winterize all systems.

On many sailboats, the luff of the mainsail fastens to the mast via sail slugs that slide up and down in a groove in the mast. Over time, wear and tear or other factors may make it difficult to hoist or drop the mainsail. A very inexpensive lubricant may be the best solution and work as well as expensive equipment alterations.

The end of a line (rope) on a sailboat should be whipped to prevent unraveling and fraying at the end. Whipping is the best and most long-lasting method for preventing problems.

Boat owners who do their own maintenance need a lot of technical information to repair and maintain the boat and all its systems and equipment. Here’s the classic one you can’t afford not to have: Don Casey's Complete Illustrated Sailboat Maintenance Manual. At 900 pages, it can’t you absolutely everything you’ll ever need to know, but it comes closer than any other.

This site by Torresen Marine has online discussion forums about maintenance and repair issues that may arise with most diesel and gas engines found in sailboats. This is a good place to start if you’re having a problem with starting, overheating, or troubleshooting other problems, or need help finding parts for aging engines. Includes exhaust systems, transmissions, fuel systems, and instruments.

Here’s a collection of how-to articles detailing how to prepare your diesel for freezing temperatures and lay-up, including winterizing the cooling system, choosing the right antifreeze, bleeding the fuel system, and starting up again in the spring.

Learn how to improve the appearance of your fiberglass topsides by removing oxidation from gelcoat.

Shrink wrapping is a great way to protect your boat outdoors in the winter, but commercial shrink wrapping is very expensive. Learn to shrink wrap your own sailboat yourself and save a bundle!

Maintaining your sailboat often involves buying boat gear. Here are some tips for less expensive ways to get the gear you need.

The tachometer of a marine engine frequently fails, requiring an expensive replacement part and sometimes complicated installation. The Tiny-Tach tachometer is a less expensive replacement tach that installs flexibly and easily - but watch out for a possible downside. Read the review of the Tiny-Tach here.

On many aging sailboats the lifelines should be replaced to ensure they are strong and safe in case you have to grab one to stay on the boat. The Suncor lifeline kit makes it easy to replace old corroding lifelines on your own. Read the full review here.

Sailboat owners often have to repair or stitch up marine canvas, including sails, dodgers, and sail covers. This is often a slow, tedious task. Learn how to use the Speedy Stitcher to make sewing marine canvas easy.

Boaters often need or want to make their own gaskets for a boat's engine or other needs. Here's the easy process for how to do it yourself.

Save money by changing the oil of your boat's marine engine, using an inexpensive oil extractor. Works also for transmission fluid and other engine fluids. Here are the best models and how to use.