The Speedseal kit includes the brass pump cover with slotted design (center), knurled thumb screws for tool-free removal, O-rings, and plastic impeller extraction tools (right) for quick maintenance access. (Photo/ Parts4Engines)

Make Impeller Changes Easy: Speedseal and Jabsco Puller

Here's a combination that will give you a decided advantage the next time you need to change a waterpump impeller. In difficult circumstances, the time saved could mean a lot.
Blotter test patterns reveal engine condition: clean oil shows defined rings, while coolant contamination shrinks the center circle by clogging pores. Fuel dilution may not create obvious visual changes—in some cases, smell is the primary indicator—making successive comparisons essential for spotting subtle shifts in engine health. See more detailed info about these tests at the end of the article. (Photo/ Drew Frye)

DIY Engine Oil Tests

Sailors obsess over the health of their engine; it is the heart of the boat (other than the rig, sails, and through-hulls). Failure is inconvenient, expensive, and even dangerous. And sailors love their maintenance, or so it seems. Anything that promises to ease the mind for a few dollars merits investigation.

Worship Your Universal M-Series Diesel With the Marinized Kubota Block

The Universal name resonates with many of us as one of the best sailboat engines available. Despite Universal Motor Corp. no longer being in...

Prop and Shaft Check

A vessels drive train is typically defined as the components between the engine transmission coupling and the bitter end of the propeller shaft. For traditional drive trains, this includes the propeller, shaft, cutless bearing and packing gland, although the list could also be expanded to encompass ancillary items such as the rudder, engine mounts, and engine bedworks. Heres a look at two major drive train components you should know and what to look for when inspecting each. Next month well look at the components inside the boat-stuffing box, shaft, and coupler.

Breaking Point: What Can Go Wrong With Your Yanmar?

If you want to know more about the little Yanmar chugging away in your sailboat, it helps to learn about this iconic engine maker’s...
Applying the soundproofing material. (Photo/ Marc Robic)

DIY Soundproofing for the Engine Compartment

As sailors, once we’ve cleared the outer markers of our club, marina or harbor, we look forward to raising our sails and we enjoy...

Rudder Mods for Low-speed Docking

Any sailor who has tried to wrestle a full-keel ketch with a barn-door rudder into a tight slip has probably wondered if they could...

Anti-Seize Coatings for Spars

If youve ever been humbled by a single impossibly stuck fastener, or plan on adding hardware to your spar, running gear, or deck, this report on anti-seize protectants is right up your alley.

Storing Diesel Fuel

When it comes to storing a gasoline powered vessel, you are generally better off keeping tanks full, adding a corrosion-inhibiting additive, and installing a...
Bilge hose connected to the air intake, sucking hot air from the alternator area. (Photo/ Bert Vermeer)

Alternator Overheat: A Surprising Solution for Older Boats

Over the years, and with two different small diesels working in the tight quarters of the engine compartment of our 1978 Islander Bahama 30,...

The Perfect Cruising Sailboat | Pacific Seacraft 40

Is the Pacific Seacraft 40 one of the best cruising sailboats ever built for a couple? In this Pacific Seacraft 40 review and sailboat...

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