Ask Steve

The Q&A posed below is in reference to a previous post to the Marine Systems Excellence E-zine, The Good Samaritan at Sea, published April...

Text and photos © 2019 Steve D'Antonio Marine Consulting, Inc. Photo Essay: Refrigeration Maintenance While it’s all too easy to take it for granted, I never cease...

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...

Photo Essay: Battery Installation   It’s an all-too-common occurrence; while conducting an inspection I reach the area where batteries (often for starting but occasionally house as...

Text and photos © 2020 Steve D'Antonio Marine Consulting, Inc. Photo Essay: Tools are Your Good Friends “Tools are your good friends”, those are the opening...

Photo Essay: Chafe It’s the bane of every seagoing vessel, taking its toll on everything from dock lines and wiring to sails and hoses.  Every...

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...

Hello Steve, We are in the planning stages for our next sail boat. It will be a new off-shore mono haul, 54-60 LOA (Oyster /...

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: Shaft Coupling Fasteners The average small vessel may have anywhere from hundreds to several thousand, fasteners aboard, used in everything from joinerwork to...