Ask Steve

July 2014 Steve: Good luck with your new venture. Always enjoyed your articles. I just returned from a trip on a 2 year old Viking 50 that...

Photo Essay: The Perils of an Unvented Loop Vented loops, also known as anti-siphon valves or siphon-breaks, have served mariners for many years.  Their mission...

After receiving the following letter from a consulting client a discussion on the subject of CO poisoning seemed in order.   Steve, After recalling reading something on...

Text and photos © 2021 Steve D'Antonio Marine Consulting, Inc. Photo Essay: Wire Design It’s a question that occasionally comes up among boat buyers or forum...

Photo Essay: Shore Power Over-Current Protection Over-current protection, or OCP, a subject I write about all too often (most recently here), only because it is...

Text and photos copyright © 2018 Steve D’Antonio Marine Consulting, Inc. Photo Essay: Check Valves Check valves are ubiquitous; they are used in everything from fuel systems...

Text and photos by Steve D'Antonio Copyright © 2017 Photo Essay: Direct-Bearing Terminals Shipboard electrical connections face a host of challenges, vibration, stress, extremes of temperature, and humidity or...

Text and photos copyright © SDMC, Inc. 2016 Ask Steve: June 2016 Steve, Thanks for the fire extinguisher comments.  Safety is a passion of mine and 18 months...

Text and photos © 2019 Steve D’Antonio Marine Consulting, Inc. Photo Essay: Field-Made Bus Bars Bus bars (it’s not spelled ‘buss’, the likely confusion arises from...

Photo Essay: Steering Gear Wear Steering gear falls into the category of a ‘key system’.  Without it you are not only dead in the water,...