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Systems+Engines

Impeller Etiquette

by Peter Nielsen, Posted November 16, 2011
Get to grips with an often over-looked but vital part of an engine cooling system in this step by step procedure

Smart Regulators and Happy Engines

by Sail Staff, Posted August 16, 2011
A smart regulator can boost your alternator’s charging performance, which means you don’t need to run your engine as long to keep your batteries happy. Sterling Marine Power’s ProRegD digital alternator regulator can be tailored to your battery type—flooded, gel, or AGM—to ensure the most efficient four-step charging schedule. It assesses battery bank size, state of charge and current output, and

My Private War Against In-line Fuses

by Clark Beek, Posted May 11, 2011
As a marine electrician I’ve found that in-line fuse holders are the most common cause of problems I encounter with modern electronics equipment. Quality marine electronics are generally very reliable, as long as their electrical connections are sound and there is no voltage drop in the ship’s power supply. Unfortunately, all electronic devices come from the factory with in-line fuse holders on

Quality Impellers Increase Engine Efficiency

by Adam Cort, Posted April 12, 2011
High-quality, long-lasting impellers from JMP are manufactured from a mix of different rubbers and include a surface coating that decreases wear and tear for longer use.Tested by the U.S. Navy, the impellers help keep marine engines working at their highest efficiency, even in harsh operating conditions, by ensuring that their pumps are operating correctly.JMP offers flexible

Filter Your Fuel Off-line

by Chuck Husick, Posted June 15, 2010
It’s essentially true that if you give a marine diesel engine clean oil, clean air and clean fuel, it will run, if not forever, then certainly for longer than you are likely to own your boat. Using good-quality diesel oil and changing out the oil and oil filter at the manufacturer-recommended time intervals—typically every 200 hours—is a good first step. Similarly, if the air intake is correctly

Manual bilge pump

by Dick Everett, Posted August 19, 2009

Water power

by Nigel Calder, Posted August 17, 2009
My last two columns discussed the high cost of generating electricity with a diesel engine and the relatively short payback period for solar panels on liveaboard cruising boats. The problem with solar is that it requires a lot of surface area to produce significant amounts of power. This is relatively easy to find on catamarans, but not so on monohulls.Coincidentally, I received an email

Anti-siphon valves

by Dick Everett, Posted August 4, 2009

Fresh air below

by Warwick M. Tompkins, Posted August 4, 2009
Despite all the progress in sailing gear and equipment certain aspects of life at sea never change. Keeping water out, maintaining good boatspeed, preserving and conserving food stores, and carrying adequate spares for the inevitable failures that occur are all perennial priorities. Plus one more thing; having a good supply of fresh air below.Someone once observed that

Silence on the hook

by Nigel Calder, Posted August 3, 2009
As part of my hybrid-propulsion research I have been looking carefully at large-capacity Litihum-Ion batteries as a possible energy source on modern cruising sailboats. Lithium-ion batteries are common in cell phones and laptops, but they are rarely used in higher capacity applications. This may rapidly change, because the hybrid automotive and electric vehicle markets are in
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