Systems & Propulsion

The main drawback of thermoelectric coolers is power usage. This will likely be an issue during extended use or for boats with small battery banks and anemic charging systems. The 106-130 amp load, over a 24-hour period, is about twice as much demand as a built-in evaporative sytem and about three times the demand of the most efficient-and most expensive-installed systems. Also, thermoelectric units are limited in their ability to cool internal temperatures, usually to a maximum of about 40 degrees below the ambient temperature.

The best way to get all of the oil out of the engine (after a thorough warm-up) is to drain it from the plug at the bottom of the pan. In boats, however, its often tough or impossible to get at that plug. The optimum solution is to have an oil-change system permanently installed, with a hose from the oil sump to a bulkhead-mounted pump.

The light, easy-to-start Honda BF2 fends off challenges from 3 newcomers.

MARINE INSURANCE REDUXI have been reading with much interest your articles about marine insurance this year (April and May 2006).

It was mid-July 1990 on the Caicos Banks, a stretch of shallow, gin-clear water extending for about 70 miles east to west in the Turks and Caicos Islands. Along with a dozen other cruisers whod chosen to thumb our noses at hurricane season (ah, those were simpler times), we were pausing in Providenciales before heading south. …

Blue Sky regulator boosts output by 30 percent.

We have among us those who carry around thin, pocket-sized multimeters, so that they can probe this and trace that. Nerd alert! There are...

Last year we tested battery switches (PS June 2005) and a favorite was the Blue Sea Systems 9001e. The company recently introduced a new...

Zero Degrees is a bargain at $20; CIs Music Cooler delivers tunes to boot.

To put it mildly, the battery test on the previous pages presented a recharging nightmare. Ideally, what we needed was an intelligent multi-bank battery...