Engines
Know-how: Installing a New Auxiliary
If you dread your boat’s antics as you try reversing into your slip or have become used to choking on black smoke, it could be time to start thinking about replacing your engine. Granted, doing so can be more than a little daunting, not to mention expensive. However, bear in mind ...read more
DIY: Installing a New Flexible Coupling
Marine diesels are not quiet beasts, mine in particular. Its 30hp roar has long been a tiring necessity, emphasizing the quantity of energy being wasted in the form of heat and noise. I’ve long coveted the idea of a flexible coupling that might dampen the worst of the vibration, ...read more
Know how: Replacing the Auxiliary Power System
One of the most complex tasks undertaken during Passion’s refit was the complete replacement of her auxiliary power system—engine, V-drive and fuel tanks. I needed more horsepower, which drove the need for more fuel capacity and a larger V-drive to handle the higher engine ...read more
Boaters University's Marine Diesel Maintenance Course Series
Soundings magazine and Active Interest Media are launching the first in a series of online boating education courses. Beginning in July, Boaters University will launch its first course “Maintaining and Troubleshooting Marine Diesel Engines.” Early-bird registration is ...read more
How to Test and Replace your Fuel Gauge and Sending Unit
Is your fuel gauge inaccurate? Is it no longer working at all? This is a common problem on older boats, but is easy to fix. The first step is to determine whether the problem is with the gauge or the sending unit. The test for this is straightforward. First, check that the gauge ...read more
Hydrolock Headache
Dinner Key in Coconut Grove, Florida, is sometimes referred to as “The Hotel California”—a place where many cruisers check out but never leave. After almost two months, my wife, Tara, and I started to feel like regulars. We planned on spending the holidays there and had some ...read more
Filter Your Fuel Off-line
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 ...read more
Engine Room Efficiency
The fuel/oil filtration system installed aboard Brick House, our Valiant 40, is very easy to maintain. Part of the reason is that the boat was well sailed by several prior owners, with each one upgrading the systems. That meant there was not all that much for me to do. It also ...read more
Servicing Fuel Injectors on a Diesel Engine
Servicing fuel injectors on a diesel engine is something most any boat owner can accomplish with a few basic tools. The job is especially easy because it really just involves getting the injectors out and sending them to a diesel shop. Actually testing and rebuilding injectors ...read more
Surveyors Notebook: a Terminal Mess
This photograph is one of my all-time favorites. I surveyed the boat in question immediately after an electrician—and I use the term advisedly—had installed a battery charger. After checking the rest of the boat, I got to the battery compartment and was faced with the snake’s ...read more
In Hot Water
Isotemp’s new line of SPA water heaters are a cost-effective way to upgrade to the sensuous pleasures of hot and cold running water. Inside, they’re identical to the company’s Slim and Basic water heaters, but instead of the 304 stainless steel outer jacket of the other ranges, ...read more
Evolution of an Anchor Handling System
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. All of which left me somewhat surprised at the rudimentary ...read more
Fuel Consumption: Tug Vs. Cruiser
Elmore was built in Astoria, Oregon, in 1890. She saw duty in the Alaska gold rush and was converted to a tugboat in 1902. More recently, she has been lovingly restored by Dee and Sara Meek. She is 78 feet on deck and weighs 150 tons. Her current engine, a massive Atlas ...read more
Installing a Fire Suppression System
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. The first line of defense when it comes to preventing a fire on board ...read more
Know how: Diesel Injector Surgery
Servicing fuel injectors on a diesel engine is something most any boat owner can accomplish with a few basic tools. The job is especially easy because it really just involves getting the injectors out and sending them to a diesel shop. Actually testing and rebuilding injectors ...read more
Impeller Etiquette
A raw-water cooled engine is cooled by water drawn from outside the boat and circulated through its engine block and cylinder head. On a fresh-water cooled engine, the “raw” water is pumped through a heat exchanger, where it draws the heat from the fresh water/antifreeze mix ...read more
What, no copper?
When your antifouling paint arrives in plain-labelled cans marked “Experimental,” you’re going to get some suspicious looks from your boatyard neighbors. When I painted our 34ft project boat’s bottom with Interlux’s Pacifica Plus copper-free antifouling last spring, the product ...read more
Get Protected
I'll never forget the time I epoxied my wristwatch to my arm and shirt cuff. Oh, how I laughed—not. Then there was the time I neglected to clean resin off my hands before it kicked, and spent the next week walking around with flakes of it peeling off my skin like something out ...read more
Installing a Water Heater
When replacing the pressure water system on our project boat, we thought it would be fun to install a water heater. But where to put it? Like most early ’70s boats, our Norlin 34 lacks interior volume compared to modern boats. The need for the heater to be mounted below the ...read more
Bilge Pump Renewal
Before I laid the boat up, I had to replace a bilge pump that had mysteriously stopped working. This was a secondary pump, serving to keep the water out of a poorly drained part of the hull forward of the mast step. It was a good opportunity for a quick photo tutorial on ...read more
Fresh air below Page 2
The resulting inch-thick piece of PVC was machined to create a luff-slot and entry aperture with a rebate for welding on its inside edge. PVC can be welded, much as steel is welded, albeit at lower temperatures. A 45 degree rebate allows the welding to be effective and produces ...read more
Fresh air below
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 ...read more
Easy controls
The twin-lever engine control on our Norlin 34, Ostara, had been annoying me for as long as we’d had the boat. The detent was so worn that it was sometimes not possible to tell if you were in neutral or reverse gear. More than once I had been alerted by yells from the ...read more
The Price of Power Page 2
The ‘Throughput’ Cost Let’s put all these numbers together, assuming a 100 amp-hour, 12-volt battery. The lead-acid battery can be cycled through 30 percent of its capacity 1,000 times (this is being generous). At each cycle it delivers 30 amp-hours x 12 volts = 360 watt-hours ...read more
GPS system questions
The Government Accountability Office’s report last week on the parlous state of the Global Positioning Satellite system should set alarm bells ringing. When a body like the GAO warns that the GPS system is in crisis, all of us – not just sailors – need to take notice. GPS ...read more
Two speed propeller Page 2
The Denmark Test The point of our testing in Denmark was to see how some of these things played out in practice. We first ran the Bavaria 42 with a Gori propeller in both normal and overdrive modes, then hauled the boat, changed the Gori for a conventional fixed three-bladed ...read more
Two speed propeller
Black clouds bearing cold rain showers are racing across the sky. The VHF radio is broadcasting gale warnings. This is not the day to be testing propellers, but nevertheless we are headed out of a marina near Aarhus, in Denmark, on a Bavaria 42 equipped with a Gori three-bladed ...read more
Wi-Fi for Sailors
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 ...read more
AIS for Sailors
Any sailor who has made extended passages along coastlines or across oceans has had at least a few close calls with 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 ...read more
Outboard rebuild Page 2
Top tip: We put all nuts, bolts, screws, and washers into carefully labeled plastic cups for easy access during reassembly. Lower-unit disassembly ...read more
In hot water Page 2
Reader Tip: I was advised by the Whale engineers to install a non-return valve directly downstream of the water tank. Sometimes water can leak back from a pump via a poorly sealed connection or failed seal, and, by maintaining pressure in the hose, the check valve prevents ...read more