Ask Steve

Due to Steve’s travel schedule, the Photo Essay will be a month off. Please look for its return in April.  Ask Steve Steve, I have a question...

Text and photos copyright © SDMC, Inc. 2016 Photo Essay While it may be cliché, the first words that come to mind when I see this image...

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...

Hello Steve, Long-time fan, first time asking. I need to replace the clear fuel level indication hoses (sight gauges) on my 350 gallon diesel fuel...

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...

Photo Essay: Seacock Installation While it’s self-evident that seacocks play a vital role in a vessel’s watertight integrity, I continue to encounter improperly installed examples...

  Photo Essay: Plumbing Bonding Technique As I carry out inspections, one of the issues I frequently encounter involves bonding or grounding (there is a difference,...

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,...

Photo Essay     Life Cell, a Better Ditch Kit   Ditch bags are an invaluable accessory no blue water passagemaking vessel should be without.  They are also nothing...

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...