Solving Sulfation
Recently I dealt with a case of battery sulfation aboard a vessel equipped with a one-year-old, 700-amp-hour, 12V absorbed glass mat (AGM) battery bank. Charge sources included a 130-amp inverter/charger,… Read more »
Author: Steve D'Antonio
Editor’s Picks: The Best of IBEX and METS
When it comes to trade shows, the International BoatBuilders’ Exhibition & Conference (IBEX) and the Marine Equipment Trade Show (METS, in Amsterdam) are the pinnacles. There’s simply no other place… Read more »
Selecting Primary Fuel Filters
It’s the rare marine industry professional who hasn’t encountered a clogged primary diesel fuel filter, or had a customer who has dealt with one. It’s a fact of life if… Read more »
Deciphering the Ingress Protection Code
Several years ago I became aware of the American Boat & Yacht Council’s (ABYC’s) requirement for drip protection in Chapter A-31, “Battery Chargers and Inverters.” Section 31.5.5.2.1 states that chargers… Read more »
When Lightning Strikes: Following Standards Minimizes Boat Damage
Living and working on the Chesapeake Bay for the past two decades, I’ve learned many things about lightning, the most important of which is this: be skeptical of anyone who… Read more »
Contemporary Boats, Tasmanian Tradition at Denman Marine
In Tasmania’s bucolic D’Entre-cas-teaux Channel region, on a hill overlooking Kettering Harbour, Andrew Denman’s shop is in a spacious shed on a parcel of land adjacent to the home he… Read more »
Fighting the Smoke Detector Exception
You would be hard-pressed to find a home, school, workplace, plane, train, or ship that isn’t equipped with smoke detectors, yet these inexpensive life-saving alarms remain the exception rather than… Read more »
Don’t Close the Door on Side Access Ports
Fouling of diesel fuel tanks with asphaltene, water, and biological growth is a given, meaning that at some point in a vessel’s life, tank cleaning will be required. Having stuck… Read more »
Inspecting LP Gas Systems
When surveying vessels with LP systems, I routinely encounter LP tank lockers with vertical hatches. While they may be part of the vessel’s overall design, and thus not easily modified,… Read more »
The Hard Facts About Hardware Installations
The purpose of the core is to add rigidity to the otherwise flexible inner and outer FRP skins. When composite-core construction is done correctly, it’s an immensely strong, comparatively lightweight,… Read more »
