Ask Steve

Text and photos by Steve D’Antonio Copyright © 2016 Photo Essay: Generator Wiring Today, generators are commonplace aboard cruising power and sailing vessels, providing near-limitless AC electricity for refrigeration,...

Text and photos © 2019 Steve D'Antonio Marine Consulting, Inc. From the Masthead Regular readers may have noticed that the format of the Marine Systems Excellence...

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 by Steve D’Antonio © 2019 Photo Essay: Shore Power, are Fuses OK? Over-current protection is among the most important features of any vessel’s electrical...

Photo Essay: Emergency Tiller Use During a recent vessel inspection, I asked the owner of the vessel if he’d ever tested the emergency manual tiller,...

Photo Essay: Lifeline Corrosion While plastic coated wire lifelines are a ubiquitous aspect of small boat safety, they aren’t without their shortcomings.  Long ago, while...

Please note, our first two questions are in regard to a previous Photo Essay. Steve, I agree with your advice for grounding electronic equipment, but no...

Text and photos by Steve D’Antonio Copyright © 2017 Photo Essay: Battery Lugs Reliably connecting batteries to their associated cables sounds easy.  In practice, however, it can be fraught...

Ask Steve: Electric Tea Kettles, Fire, and AC Electricity By Steve D'Antonio Photos by Steve D'Antonio   On boats with both a powerful inverter and a generator on...

Dear Steve: I recently looked at a new boat at a boat show.  I noticed something that caught my attention and I wondered if you...