Watering Batteries

Our May 2015 report on absorbed glass mat (AGM) batteries got us thinking about wet cell-batteries. While it is easy to find distilled water...

Whats the Voltage for Charging Gel Cells?

I just received the latest Waypoints e-letter about gel batteries, where you state they must be charged at no more than about 14.1 volts....

Heart Replacement

Sixteen years ago, contributing writers Joe and Lee Minick equipped their Mason 43, Southern Cross, with a Heart Interface Freedom 20 charger/inverter and a...

Electrical Panel Upgrade

After several design iterations with both vendors, we settled on using Blue Sea Systems. Blue Sea Systems worked with us in designing the panel...

Imtra, Hella Dome Lights Shine

Cruising SolutionsCruising Solutions 6.5-inch dome light uses a 23-LED array with a triple emitter driver, mounted in a stainless-steel housing. Its 220-lumen rating delivered...

Marine Water Heater Test

Raritan 1706Raritans units are made in the U.S. (the only in our test), so finding hose barbs or other plumbing fixtures to fit the...

Mix of Water, Amps, and Heat Calls for Caution

It is surprising to see equipment with no moving parts carry such an array of safety warnings. But any time water and higher-voltage AC...

Installing Water Heaters

The physical installation of a water heater may seem pretty straightforward, but the devil is indeed in the details. It starts prior to purchase...

Construction Quality Draws Testers Attention

Holdover capacity was a measure of how well a water heater retained heat after it had been raised to 120 degrees. We simply allowed...

Updating Onboard Electronics with N2K

A sailboat is no place for unnecessary complexity, which was the direction we were headed on my Beneteau 39, Breeze Pleeze, when it came...

40-Footer Boat Tours – With Some Big Surprises! | Boat Tour

Join us at the Miami Boat Show as we get on four 40-footers for boat tours! A Beneteau 37.1, Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 410, Dufour...