Systems+Engines

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

Evolution of an Anchor Handling System

by Peter Nielsen, Posted February 20, 2013

Fifteen years of sailing around the English Channel, North Sea, Bay of Biscay and the Mediterranean taught me many things, not the least of which was the importance of good ground tackle and a means to handle it.

Ask Sail: Smoking Like a Hippie

by Nigel Calder, Posted February 25, 2013

"Can you give me some ideas on what might cause excessive white smoke in the exhaust of a 2-year-old Yanmar diesel?" Nigel Calder replies.

Ask Sail: Straight and True

by Don Casey, Posted December 2, 2012

Before I re-launch the boat should I also have the shop check and true the transmission output shaft to its flange? This is a lot more work, but I’m prepared to do it to get things lined up properly.

Upgrade: Installing a Bow Thruster

by Roger Marshall, Posted December 3, 2012

Installing a bow thruster is not an inexpensive upgrade, so it pays to do your homework before deciding on a type and make. The problem is that there are so many types of thrusters to choose from.

Installing a Fire Suppression System

by Mark Corke, Posted October 26, 2012

Of all the things that scare boat owners the most, sinking is probably at the top of the list. But fire is no less of a threat. Indeed, a fire, even if you manage to put it out, can easily lead to a sinking.

Hybrid Power Keeps Going

by Joseph Huberman, Posted March 20, 2006

The diesel-electric hybrid as an auxiliary power source for sailboats has moved from the laboratory into the water. Though still in early development, it has advantages including fuel efficiency, ease of handling, responsive motor control, low sound levels, immediate-use capability, and, on some systems, power regeneration.I have a Solomon Technologies motor and a Glacier

Wi-Fi for Sailors

by David W. Shaw, Posted May 8, 2009

The term Wi-Fi gets bandied about plenty these days. After all, you probably use it to obtain high-speed Internet access at work, in airports and hotels, or at home, and you’ve probably used it on your boat, likely with varying degrees of success. Built-in Wi-Fi hardware in laptops, or PC Wi-Fi-card adapters (802.11 cards), such as those from Linksys, work fine if you’re close

AIS for Sailors

by Peter Nielsen, Posted May 7, 2009

Any sailor who has made extended passages along coastlines or across oceans has had at least a few close callswith big ships whose course and intentions can be difficult to discern until the last minute. The introduction of AIS (Automatic Identification System) has taken a lot of the guesswork (not to mention terror) out of these close-quarters situations. For just a

Tank Math: Full or Empty?

by Steve Henkind, Posted February 21, 2008

In the "Know-How" section of the March issue, Steven J. Henkind wrote about how fuel gauges operate and how you can prevent fuel-gauge errors. Here's the mathematical formula he discussed in the story. You can also calculate the amount of fuel in a tank mathematically. For a rectangular tank, the calculation is easy: the overall volume of the tank = Length x Width x Height; if the