The Ultimate Guide to Boat Parts for Beginners
The Ultimate Guide to Boat Parts for Beginners
Knowing your boat parts basics will help you feel more confident from the start of your new adventures in boating. Knowing where to get the best boat parts at the lowest prices is easy: Bakes Marine has the biggest selections of boat and marine parts and accessories.
Boat's Bow and Stern
Your Boat Parts 101 begins with the front and back of your boat. The bow is the front of the boat, and the stern is the back. Once you know that, you can determine what's port and what's starboard.
Port is the left side of the boat when you're facing the bow, or the front of the boat.
Starboard is the right side of the boat when you're facing the bow.
ABCs of Boat Parts
If we begin with the letter A, we're talking anchors. This heavy piece of metal is used to secure your boat in the water by attaching (sinking) to the water's bottom via a sturdy rope or chain that connects from the ring on the anchor to the boat.
A bilge pump is designed to discharge the water at the bottom of your boat's hull (the bilge). You can buy a manual bilge pump or an automatic bilge pump. Many boats have more than one bilge pump.
The boat's cabin is the enclosed area, in which you'll often find the galley, or kitchen.
Boat cleats are metal fittings that hold your lines to your boat. At Bakes Online, see our collection of Malibu Boats brand stainless steel boat cleats.
A deck is the boat's surface. Those all-important drain plugs, besides their obvious use, are also how boaters drain fluids from their boats before storage. Bakes Marine carries a large selection of drain plug options for a variety of models. We have Indmar drain plugs for boats and Mercruiser engine drain petcoc plugs for boats.
Fenders, usually made of rubber or plastic, protect your boat from the dock. They hang from your boat to create cushioning between the boat's hull and the dock. A flybridge is the boat's steering station (above the cabin).
Boat Hatches and Hulls
The hatch leads to the cabin, and the helm is where you'll find the boat's steering and engine controls. Boaters steer their vessels from the helm. The hull is the body of the boat, including the deck, bottom and sides.
Inboard engines sits inside boat hulls (versus outboard motors with propellers). At Bakes, we carry the largest inventory of specialty inboard parts in the world. Save on our Walters 1.46 Standard Inboard V-drive unit used on Malibu's Indmar engines made between 1996 and 2006.
Propellers, sometimes called props are critical components to your boat's propulsion system.
Whether you're buying a new propeller, or purchasing another inexpensively priced boat part from Bakes Marine, always consult your boat owner's manual first to confirm compatibility.
If you have questions on the right parts for your boat, call or email our in-house boating parts experts.
If you need boat trailer parts, we have those, too. Find boat trailer safety chains and safety pins, replacement winch straps and more.
Our big selection of marine parts online includes a wide assortment of props, seal kits for shafts and other products to help your boat go faster. We have exterior navigation lights for boats, and interior boat lights.
