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Maintenance
Making a Better Bilge Float Switch : The Water Witch 101 is put to the test.
August 8, 2007 - 4:48pm — Dick Aarons- Maintenance
Traditional bilge pump float switches are inexpensive and are usually reliable when working in clean bilges under moderate operating conditions. However they can be troublesome in messy bilges where the float can hang up or pump large amounts of spilled oil overboard. Their lightweight mechanical construction also can cause trouble for boats operating in rough, jarring seas.
Drilled, Not Sitrred : The BoatBlender combines a drill and blender to make party favorites.
August 8, 2007 - 4:42pm — Brad Roberts- Maintenance
My kids love jokes, so here’s one for you. What do you get when you use a little ingenuity to cross a traditional Osterizer-like blender base, a plastic sport bottle, and a cordless drill? A BoatBlender of course!
Extending Battery Life : Battery Equaliser Is Put To The Test
June 15, 2007 - 3:50pm — Brad Roberts- Maintenance
- MAY 2007
For cruisers who like to spend more time swinging on the hook and less time plugged into shore, a long battery life is essential. However, the resulting charge-discharge cycle is hard even on deep-cycle batteries specifically designed for this purpose. Replacing your boat’s batteries every few years is a very costly exercise.
Battery Guardian
June 6, 2007 - 2:50pm — Brad Roberts- Maintenance
- SEPTEMBER 2006
Needing a boost for your dead car battery is one thing—needing a boost for a dead starting battery aboard your boat is quite another. Battery switches—if wired correctly—are one way to ensure that all the electronic gear on today’s boats doesn’t drain your battery. But they only work if you remember to switch them. Now, is one the house or was it two?
Are You Ready for E10? Understanding the Properties of Ethanol will Prevent Problems
May 8, 2007 - 8:50pm — Bob Stearns- Maintenance
- SEPTEMBER 2006
Those of us older boat owners who suffered through the fuel shortage of the early 1970s will probably remember gasohol. “Experts” told us that adding 10 to 15 percent ethanol to gasoline would free the U.S. from the yoke of importing vast quantities of foreign oil (sound familiar?) Not long after gasohol entered the market, horror stories about the damage ethanol could do to marine engines and fuel systems, especially outboards, circulated throughout the industry.
Half Time Show : Score Points with your Boat with a mid-season maintenance program
May 8, 2007 - 7:43pm — Peter Frederiksen- Maintenance
- SEPTEMBER 2006
The adage “summertime and the living is easy” certainly does not apply to your boat. If anything, compressing a couple of months of well-earned fun is sure to result in a boat that gets run hard and put away wet more than a few times.
Sinkers : What To Do When Your Boat Slips Into Neptune's Domain
May 7, 2007 - 7:50pm — Dick Aarons- Boat Handling
- Maintenance
- OCTOBER 2006
It’s an unfortunate fact of boating life that boats occasionally sink. While raging storms, navigational errors, structural failures and collision at sea account for some of these events, most powerboat sinkings, in my experience, occur right at the dock, on the mooring, or even while the boat sits on its trailer.
Blowing Your Own Horn : Diagnosing the early warning sign on your outboard pays dividends
May 2, 2007 - 2:39pm — christine- Maintenance
- Outboard
Anyone who has owned an outboard for more than a year or two has almost certainly heard this intrusively annoying sound at least once. It’s highly unpleasant blare is designed to wake the dead, but necessary for the health of the engine. The hot horn is part of a warning circuit that detects too much heat in the powerhead due to the partial or complete loss of cooling water. The other part of the circuit is designed to slow the engine down immediately, which it does by shutting down a cylinder. This insistent message cannot be ignored; one minute you’re happily zipping along; then the horn goes off and you’re immediately almost dead in the water. The good side of all this is that if the overheat circuit failed to do its job your outboard’s light aluminum powerhead would be cooked beyond repair in just a matter of a few minutes. So you learn to live with it.
When Does a Repower Project Make Sense? An expert evaluation on the repower process
April 25, 2007 - 4:31pm — Dick Aarons- Maintenance
If you are thinking about repowering your boat, think carefully. This is not to say you shouldn’t repower, just that you should spend the appropriate time and effort understanding the scope of the project. Time spent in this evaluation process can save you thousands (often tens of thousands) of dollars and a great deal of disappointment.
Twelve-Volt Basics : A review of battery switches, isolators and cables
April 25, 2007 - 3:49pm — Dick Aarons- How To
- Maintenance
Direct current electricity (DC) is the lifeblood of almost all recreational powerboats. Without it, our engines won’t start, our radios won’t talk, our navigation units won’t navigate, our lights won’t illuminate and, perhaps worst of all, our toilets won’t flush.
