Looking after a boat is hard work. They require both preventive and remedial maintenance, and this can add up, both money wise and time wise. If you can do some of the work yourself then that certainly helps. In fact it’s important to know some basic maintenance as things will no doubt go wrong when there’s no one around to help. Here we cover some of the technical elements we have addressed onboard our boat and hope that they may be of help to others. But please, please, proceed with caution! If you have any concerns or doubts please consult a marine professional, these articles are purely for guidance only.
Most sources online, including Yamaha, recommend changing the oil on a 4 stroke outboard every 100 hours, unless the outboard is new in which case it will need an oil change after the first 20 hours. We’ll admit that it has been around 2 years since the oil was last… Read More »Changing the Oil on our Yamaha F6CMHS 6hp Outboard
We recently undertook a coolant change on our marine Diesel engine and at the time we noticed that the plastic threaded tap/petcock on the coolant drain cock assembly had sheared in half. The end knob had disappeared (no doubt into the depths of the bilges!) whilst the other half remained… Read More »Replacing the Coolant Drain Cock on a Yanmar 3GM30 Engine
It’s been 5 years since we last did a coolant change on our Yanmar engine, so it was probably overdue. Coolant helps to keep the engine cool and prevent overheating plus it contains additives which aids the prevention of internal corrosion. First up we needed to remove the existing coolant.… Read More »Changing the Coolant on our Yanmar 3GM30F Engine
Another form of preventative maintenance we like to undertake each year is replacing the fuel filters on our Diesel engine. A quick Google search will throw up a variety of answers as too how often one should carry out this task, however the main consensus seems to be between 200… Read More »Changing the Fuel Filters on our Yanmar 3GM30F Diesel Engine
Both the impeller and its drive belt are critical parts of a marine Diesel engine and should be inspected regularly for signs of wear and tear. A failure in either would cause the engine to overheat. There is quite a bit of conflicting information online as to the lifespan of… Read More »Changing the Impeller and Belts on our Yanmar Diesel Engine
Our washboard and lazy sailor seats were in need of a bit of a spruce up. We didn’t want to varnish these as we like the feel and look of natural wood but both had started to show their age a bit, so it was time to give them a… Read More »Applying Teak Oil to our Washboard and Lazy Sailor Seats
Over time your diesel engine oil will deteriorate and lose its lubrication and protection properties. This could lead to problems including wear and tear on moving parts, seizing of cylinders and premature engine failure. To prevent this it is recommended to change your engine oil at regular intervals. Our engine… Read More »How to Change the Oil and Filter on a Yanmar 3GM30F Diesel Engine
Before the start of each sailing season we like to give our winches a nice service to ensure they are running smoothly, after all they endure some heavy loads, and are expensive to replace, so it pays to look after them! Here’s our step by step guide to how we… Read More »How to Service a Lewmar Winch
Being a short handed crew (there’s normally just the two of us) sometimes picking up a mooring buoy can be a little challenging. Even if the mooring buoy has a pick up line you don’t always know what you may pull up! One method we have adopted is the lassoing… Read More »Lassoing a Mooring Buoy
We purchased a carpet remnant from the Ebay Outlet Store of Designer Carpet , a pair of Titanium Coated Tradesman Shears from Amazon and set to work with our measurement tape. The only work space big enough on board to do this was our bed! So we removed the mattress… Read More »DIY Boat Carpets!