Boat Maintenance & Repair
The old joke is that a boat is a hole in the water into which you throw money—because boats generally need a lot of maintenance. Learn how to do routine maintenance on your own to save all that cash, including doing basic repairs.
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.
