Boat maintenance Archives - Safe Skipper Boating & Safety Afloat Apps for phones & tablets

Engine failure at sea – keeping the boat safe

by Simon Jollands | Boat Maintenance, Preparation, Yacht ownership

If the engine stops when you are underway, or your have to shut it down when a warning buzzer sounds, you also need to make sure the boat remains safe. This is no problem if you’re in open water with no dangers nearby, at least for the short term. However, this is not...

Engine failure at sea – common causes and how to avoid them

by Simon Jollands | Boat Maintenance, Preparation, Yacht ownership

Providing they are regularly serviced and maintained, modern marine diesel engines tend to be very reliable. However, they are by no means infallible and a large percentage of lifeboat rescues are to leisure vessels with engine failure. Fortunately, a handful of...

Boat interior varnishing

by Simon Jollands | Boat Maintenance, Preparation, Yacht ownership

Boat interiors on the whole are pretty resilient but over time bulkheads, doors, the cabin sole and surfaces become scuffed, stained and suffer general wear and tear due to the marine environment. In an ideal world, the best location to undertake such a project is...

Boat gas system maintenance

by Simon Jollands | Boat Maintenance, Preparation, Yacht ownership

There are correct types of hose for marine plumbing, sewerage, exhaust, cooling and gas and all hoses should be checked regularly for wear and deterioration. Hose clips should also be checked for corrosion. Nowhere is this more important than with the gas system, so...

Marine toilets – care and maintenance

by Simon Jollands | Boat Maintenance, Preparation, Yacht ownership

There are a number of different types of marine toilet, or heads. They fall into one of three categories – manual, electric and vacuum, the most common being the manual, hand pumped type. These have double acting piston-pumps which both discharge the waste and flush...