Electrical

I once heard of a sailor who prided himself on sailing “pure”—no motor, no electrical, just wood and canvas. How he could dock and...

I like to think and believe that for most sailors, keeping an eye on our environmental footprint is somewhat important. It certainly is for...

Battery power has come a long way, whether considering automobiles, power tools, lawn and garden equipment, or marine outboard motors. Cost parity between electric...

This article launches Practical Sailors long-term test of electrical wires, electrical connections, and corrosion inhibitors for electrical applications onboard sailboats. Ultimately, the goal of this ongoing project is to examine corrosion in wires and connectors in a marine environment. More concisely, it could be presented as a closer look at three common elements in marine wiring to answer some basic questions: What is the best wire to use on a sailboat? Is it tinned wire, automotive wire, or stranded machine tool wire? What are the best corrosion preventatives? Do you apply the anti-corrosion treatment to every connection and every crimp, or just certain types of connections? What are the longest-lasting connections? Which were most prone to electrolysis? We made observations during the six-month test period without disturbing the samples. At the end of the full one-year test period, we will unbolt all of the fittings from the terminal strips and look for corrosion under the fittings.

When summer comes, a dozen or more sparkling white lights will adorn every popular anchorage. Visible from miles away, they promise to provide good...

So, you’ve finally purchased that new (or new-to-you) boat of your dreams. Now is a great time to familiarize yourself with its systems—a good...

Running the wires for new electronics requires your best cursing vocabulary, lots of sweat, twisting body contortions, luck, and the occasional bandage. For tips on how to make this job easier, we turned to PS contributor Bill Bishop. A professional marine-electronics installer, Bishop has many ingenious ways to thread a wire from point A to point B.

Connecting two standard-size wires is pretty straightforward: Grab a ratchet crimper, adjust it to fit the crimp connector, strip the two wires to fit into the butt connector, slide the wires into the connector, and squeeze the crimper. The required materials are readily available: butt connectors for inline splices, ring connectors for terminal blocks, and a dab of anti-corrosive grease for the bolts and rings. Done right, these connections can survive some extremely tough conditions. In a recent test of anti-corrosion greases and connections, we demonstrated how these connections can last up to five years in the worst bilge conditions.

If only there was a good standardized 12-volt electrical connector. I’ve never had a boat without multiple connector failures, and most of them involved...

Somewhere around the third carburetor rebuild for our 3.3 hp four stroke dinghy outboard, I decided enough is enough. Four stroke outboards are supposed...