Ask Steve

Photo Essay: Through Deck Fittings Properly securing deck hardware can present a variety of challenges.  Cored composite decks represent perhaps the greatest challenge; the core...

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...

Photo Essay: The Perils of Double Grounding It is ubiquitous, various disparate onboard equipment, to which green bonding wires are attached.  While not necessarily providing...

Photo Essay: Avoiding Heat Shrink Butt Splice Woes Butt splices are ubiquitous, the average 50-foot vessel contains scores, perhaps even a hundred or more of...

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...

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...

Text and photos © 2021 Steve D'Antonio Marine Consulting, Inc. Photo Essay: Vented Loop Remote Drains Vented loops, sometimes called anti-siphon valves or siphon breaks, are...

From the Masthead Let me begin by apologizing to Marine Systems Excellence readers for our hiatus.  As most boat owners, and virtually anyone who is...

Photo Essay: Leakage Current It’s an insidious, and frequently misunderstood, phenomenon; AC power leaking into water, creating an electric field around the vessel.  Under the...

Photo Essay: Fixed Fire Extinguisher Manual Discharge Fixed engine room firefighting systems are an invaluable safety option for virtually every inboard powered vessel.  These familiar...