Diagnosing Your Boat: DIY or professional help?

Whether you’re new to boating or have years of experience, it can still be difficult to know whether you should outsource for professional help or consider doing it yourself. That’s why we’ve partnered with Yachting Monthly to bring you a video series on how to perform boat maintenance yourself from industry experts or simply understand how to diagnose the problem so you know what the issue is and can consult professional help.

Engine won't start? Discover how to troubleshoot your marine diesel electrics

Tried to start your engine and nothing happens? You may find you’ve conducted all your pre-departure checks but your engine still won’t start. There’s two probable causes for this: electrical or fuel issues. Diagnose where the problem is with our visual guide to troubleshooting your marine diesel electrics below.

How to check and change a marine diesel water impeller

Unsure where to begin with checking your marine diesel water impeller? Your first key step once starting your engine is to make sure your raw water cooling system is working properly, this is evidenced by the water coming out of the side through a rubber hose. But what if you don’t see any water? Our video guide shows you what your next steps should be to fixing the issue yourself!

How to troubleshoot your marine diesel fuel system

Before you do anything else, it’s always good practice to check fuel levels. Looking at the gauge isn’t always a good indicator as they have been known to be faulty, therefore it’s important to check the tank too. Once you’ve confirmed your vessel does have an adequate amount of fuel, next you’ll look to the fuel shut off valve to check it hasn’t accidentally been closed. Now, for the deep dive into troubleshooting your marine fuel system; follow along with our video below.

Hopefully you were able to get an insight into the best ways of troubleshooting your vessel without the need of professional help. Of course, it depends on whether or not the problem is a fairly straight forward fix and that you’re confident enough to give DIY a go. Every case is different, but understanding the mechanics of your boat puts you in a better position to know when you’ll need professional help.

Since 2019, we’ve been collecting your feedback from our boat safety quiz to better understand how well boat owners know their stuff. To make things a little easier we’ve created a helpful visual guide you can always refer back to when it comes to boat safety essentials.

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