Tip of the Month

Got a few drink-holder-sized holes in your steering console that need patching? Or a spot where an antiquated plotter used to be that needs filling in?

A few generalized tips on docking safely, whether you’re short-handed or single-handed.

Power is the biggie when running an inlet—precisely controlled power. The trick is to precisely fit speed and steering to the constantly changing conditions once inside the pass—going not too fast nor too slow.

If you allow air to enter the supply line of an engine it will promptly airlock the engine and summarily shut it down. Here are the steps to get things going again.

Before departing any dock any time there are a few things you ought to get into the habit of doing...

If caught in unavoidably bad weather, get creative.

No matter how well designed an anchoring system is, if the basics are ignored, it won’t do you any good. Here are a few tips to help make your anchor stick.

When you need a serial or model number from the back of a fixed-mount electronic unit and you can’t see behind it, use your mobile phone to take a picture.

How to make a battery carrier for your boat out of a laundry soap bucket.

Refilling my batteries tends to be a tough job because they are hard to get at

It also makes manhandling heavy parts a one-person job.

Garmin’s Tip of the Month, Feb 2012: Add about one pound of baking soda to each and place them around the inside of your boat for the winter...

A tip on installing an impeller in hard-to-reach places.

Carry frequently used maintenance part numbers, to-do lists, and shopping lists with you on your smartphone. Use any number of available free apps (try TurboList for the Droid and Easy Note for the iPhone) that will allow you to keep everything in either simple or categorized form. Or go a step further and use your smartphone calendar

When you’re winterizing your freshwater system and want to prevent messy spurts and sprays that occur when you’ve finished running antifreeze through the lines to the sinks, and the tank and pump are almost dry, cut the bottom out of a few

When installing a new water-pump impeller with a keyway it’s often difficult to insert the new impeller into the pump while lining up the keyway slots on the shaft and the impeller. Cut a piece of wooden square stock the size of the  

Even well-made splices in wiring can wick up moisture, especially if they are in a boat’s bilge. Wicking, of course, can cause corrosion, prematurely ruin a splice, and cause electrical issues. To prevent this sort of thing, I suggest adding a drop or two of oil to a splice before you crimp, heat-shrink, or otherwise seal it. The

When working in tight spaces with a cordless drill and stainless steel fasteners, here’s a helpful trick. If you can’t hold the fastener with one hand and the drill with the other, use masking tape to secure the fastener’s head to the driver bit so you can proceed single-handedly. Pull the tape off before sinking

Splash-proof your smartphone with a (61/2" x 3 1/4") Ziploc snack bag. You can manipulate its touchscreen through the plastic and speak and hear clearly as well. This is not 100-percent waterproof, of course, but if you've ever bent over a livewell and watched your phone drop out of your shirt pocketwell, maybe you'll keep

To loosen a sticking oil filter that you can’t get to unscrew with a standard filter wrench; simply attach a hose clamp around the filter’s base, close and tighten it, and, after positioning a flat-head screwdriver sideways against the screw housing of the clamp, gently tap it with a hammer. I’ve had success with this method on more than one