Ask Steve

Text and photos by Steve D’Antonio Copyright © 2016 Photo Essay: The Hazards of Hose Clamps The opportunity for injury aboard any vessel, cruising, commercial, power or sail, is...

Text and photos by Steve D’Antonio Copyright © 2016 Photo Essay: (Too Many) Bilge Pump Installation Flaws On their own, common submersible electric bilge pumps have proven, for the...

Photo Essay: Stainless Washer in Current Path This is a phenomenon I encounter often, and while it’s anecdotal, occurrences seem to be on the rise. ...

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...

Text and photos © 2021 Steve D'Antonio Marine Consulting, Inc. Photo Essay: Full Throttle vs. Full Load Sea trials are an opportunity to identify problems...

Photo Essay: Closed Cooling System Hose Failure While both must be reliable and robust, hoses used for conveying coolant (often incorrectly referred to as anti-freeze)...

Copyright © 2016 Ask Steve: July 2016 Steve, I just bought an Ocean Alexander 42 Sedan with CAT 3208s in it.  They do not have air cleaner filters, just...

Text and photos by Steve D'Antonio Copyright © 2017 My Love/Hate Relationship with Bilge Pump Control Panels While it's often given short shrift, bilge pump design and installation is every...

Photo Essay: Wiring Lithium-Ion Battery Systems Fires aboard vessels equipped with lithium-ion batteries quickly capture the attention of the boat building and cruising communities, and...

Text and photos © 2020 Steve D'Antonio Marine From the Masthead In what now no doubt feels like a lifetime to many, a couple of weeks...