The Essential Boat Maintenance Guide

A comprehensive and accessible guide to maintaining your sailboat or cruiser.

It doesn' t take a university education in naval architecture to understand the components of a boat. But it is important to have that basic knowledge before undertaking repair and maintenance work. A poor repair job can create weaknesses that could place the boat and her crew in danger.The Essential Boat Maintenance Guide is the ideal reference to ensure that such problems don' t arise. It details the various repair and maintenance jobs that crop up with every boat after every summer season, and describes how these jobs must be tackled so the boat is as sound and seaworthy as the day she was built. Covering the make-up of both sail and motor boats, this book is packed with detailed instructions, tips and hints that reduce the cost and effort of maintenance work. It is a must for every boat owner who wants to keep their boat well maintained and in shipshape condition.

Essential Boat Maintenance provides a wealth of maintenance expertise that any owner of a yacht, powerboat, or dinghy will need to keep it safe and seaworthy. It is a complete user-friendly guide for tackling jobs on board with step-by-step instructions, tips, and explanations to suit whatever your level of skill. Contents include: Interior refurbishment Fiberglass and wood repair Hull maintenance and fittings Deck leaks and cracks Painting and varnishing work Plumbing and gas leaks Battery, lights, and wiring defects Engine and fuel system overhaul Emergency repairs at sea Spar and rigging overhaul Sail care and winches Powerboat engine maintenance Dinghy and trailer repair Hauling out and winterization Beautifully illustrated including explanatory diagrams and clear photographic detail of how to carry out specialized tasks, Essential Boat Maintenance will tell you everything you need to know about short-term troubleshooting and long-term boat care.

A do-it-yourself guide to metal boat repair and maintenance. Topic covered include metal boat corrosion, metal preparation, interior rust, painting, extending the life of a steel boat, ultra-sonic metal thickness gauge use, changing hull plate and alternative methods of repairing metal boats. ..."--Back cover.

The definitive guide from the world's best-known sailboat maintenance expert Don Casey’s Complete Illustrated Sailboat Maintenance Manual combines six core volumes into a single, utterly dependable resource that answers every frequent question, explains every major system, and helps you keep your boat and its components shipshape. More than 2,500 clear and detailed illustrations guide you step by step through every procedure. Casey’s technical virtuosity, his user-friendly explanations, and Peter Compton's diesel engine expertise make even the more complicated repairs and improvements easy to understand. This must-have guide saves you time, money, and grief as you learn the fastest, easiest, most effective ways to: Evaluate the condition of your boat or one you’re about to purchase Repair structural damage to your fiberglass sailboat Improve or repair your sailboat’s electrical system Troubleshoot, maintain, and repair your boat’s diesel engine Put a professional-looking finish on your boat’s hull, deck, spars, wood, and trim Make and repair sails, sail covers, dodgers, awnings, sailbags, and bimini tops

This manual takes both novice and experienced boatowner through minor to major repairs of electrical systems, engines, electronics, steering systems, generators, pumps, cookers, spars and rigging. When it was first published in 1990, the Boatowner's Mechanical & Electrical Manual broke new ground. It was hailed as the first truly DIY manual for boatowners and has sold in its thousands ever since. There have been significant changes in boat systems since then, particularly electrical systems, and this fourth edition has been fully updated to reflect these developments and expand its predecessor's worldwide popularity. 'Probably the best technical reference and troubleshooting book in the world' Yachting Monthly 'It deserves to come standard with every boat' Yachting World

Boats require constant care. Any boater who doesn't know the difference between a silicone-modified alkyd enamel and a one-part urethane needs this book for its invaluable advice on: * How to save money with generic substitues * Product recommendations for every job * Keeping weekly, monthly, and seasonal maintenance schedules

From the writers of Britain's biggest selling boating magazine, comes 136 pages of practical know-how to help you maintain and improve your boat. The wide range of subjects covers everything you need to know from starting the season to laying-up - including woodwork, electrics, electronics, painting and sealing, sails, rig and deck gear, and much more! Following a sell-out first edition, this essential boat owner's bible builds on the original, updating the best chapters while adding 10 new features to make this the most comprehensive practical publication yet. Whether you're looking to repair your gelcoat, service your seacocks or apply antifouling, this is the guide for you.