3 Common Boat Repairs That You Can Do Yourself

Owning a boat is fulfilling because you have complete control of going to the areas in the surrounding water bodies. But just like any other vehicle, it also comes with its own problems.

Since not many have experience handling the same issues, you may find yourself in a tight spot with no one to turn to. However, we want to share a few quick tips with you that you could use at some point. Simply, load your boat onto a boat transporter, take it into the garage and try one of those tips.

1. Its motor stopped running.

There’s nothing more common than facing this challenge, where the outboard motor won’t start no matter what you do. As a result, you might find yourself panicking and thinking that your lovely boat is gone. Thankfully, there’s a quick fix to this issue. All you have to do is to take the time to check the boat’s safety features since this could hinder the efficiency of the ship when not correctly used.

In general, you’ll find a kill switch in the boat either in the form of a clip or lanyard and attached to the boat’s driver end. When the connection of the kill switch is interrupted, you could expect that your boat wouldn’t start running. Due to its magnetic connection, you have to make sure to reattach the kill switch to get the gears working in a neutral position. Usually, this meant placing them in the mid-point of the gear shift between the reverse and forward.

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2. It has leaks

We’re not sure if you feel the same thing, but nothing’s more frustrating than entertaining the possibility that your boat has leaked! This poses a lot of trouble for boat owners because it couldn’t only ruin the water bodies with the leaking oils, but it also costs you too much money since we all know that boat oils aren’t cheap in the first place. So to confirm if there are leaks on your boat, immediately try to locate the areas that could be damaged.

Start by taking your boat on the land before using a garden hose to fill it up. In no time, we’ll be sure you’ll be able to find the source of leaks. Once this takes place, you have to guarantee that the boat is free from dust, oil, dirt, or grease. Depending on the product you’ll use, you might have to wipe the boat to ensure that it’s dry. Else, your product application wouldn’t remedy the problem. Make sure that you cut the tip of the cartridge before fitting the nozzle on its size and finally insert it into the caulking gun. Begin applying the product to the leak areas and finish using a cloth to smooth it out or even a soapy solution earlier before skinning occurs.

3. Dings are everywhere

Let’s be honest that boats can’t stay pristine forever, so expect that somewhere along the road, you would find yourself fixing dings on its gel coat. In resolving this problem, you must first clean the damaged areas by degreasing them with a robust cleaning solution like Mr. Clean. Don’t forget to rinse them thoroughly and apply some dewaxing agent to eliminate wax residues that could mix the resins during the repair process.

Usually, you could avail this product in the marine chandlery. If you don’t have access to this, then using acetone as an alternative would work, too. After this step, you could move on to reactivating the gel coat through the application of thin brushstrokes of styrene before using the gel coat repair kit in the mixture. Sand as needed, then wipe the surface with acetone before adding a coat or two of a marine wax you trust.

Typically, it would help if you got an expert to check your boat’s condition. But it could be pretty costly, so sticking with a DIY solution for minor issues would save you a few hundred bucks. If you want to update your boat then check out this list of Gifts For Boaters That Will Make a Big Splash.