What’s Involved in Setting Up a Lithium Battery System?
Our 2004 Privilege 435 Confianza (Connie for short) came equipped with traditional lead-acid batteries—5 100ah for the house bank and 2 starter batteries. We...
Leaping Into Lithium
Your dock neighbor just switched out her old 12-volt lead-acid batteries for lithium-ion batteries. Should you? The lithium solution will be more expensive, but...
Reducing Engine Room Noise
Of all the health reporting that has been featured in the news recently, the theme of ambient noise is one that resonated strongly with...
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...
Do-it-yourself Electrical System Survey and Inspection
So, you’ve finally purchased that new (or new-to-you) boat of your dreams. As with any budding relationship, put this honeymoon period to good use...
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...
Using Heat to Bend PVC Pipe
Over the decades, marine equipment has gone through a dramatic transformation as plastics have steadily crept into our onboard lives. In this first in...
Powering Your Boat Through a Storm
Asailing auxiliary engine should never be fully relied upon to bash into a storm; they are not sized for that. In many boats, the...
Marine Diesel Repower Part 3: Sea Trial
This is the last of a three-part series describing the planning and installation of an inboard diesel engine in my previously engine-free Cape Dory...
Estimating Total Capacity in an Old Battery
Volt meters, ammeters, and bank monitors can all give you part of the story, but only a draw-down test, performed over 6-24 hours will...
The Great Loop – The Basics
Join us this week as we discuss taking a sailboat around North America's great boating adventure - The Great Loop. We discuss advice from...
