Diesel Engines

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.

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

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.

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...

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...

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...

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.

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...

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

It was another spectacular summer day as we released the dock lines and once again escaped life ashore, the trusty diesel humming beneath our...