Synopses & Reviews
The boatowner's foremost troubleshooting guide, now better than ever If it's on a boat and it has screws, wires, or moving parts, it's covered in Boatowner's Mechanical and Electrical Manual. When you leave the dock with this book aboard, you have at your fingertips the best and most comprehensive advice on:
- Battery technologies
- 12- and 24-volt DC systems
- Corrosion, bonding, and lightning protection
- Generators, inverters, and battery chargers
- Electric motors and electric lights
- Marine electronics, antennas, and RFI
- Diesel engines
- Transmissions, shaft brakes, and propellers
- Refrigeration and air-conditioning
- Tanks, plumbing, and through-hulls
- Pumps and watermakers
- Steering, autopilots, and wind vanes
- Stoves and heaters
- Winches, windlasses, and bow thrusters
- Spars, rigging, and roller reefing
"If you had to choose a single book to help you assess and maintain your boat gear, this would be it."Practical Sailor
"A truly remarkable bible. . . . This book is the best of its kind."WoodenBoat
"A major achievement. . . . It would be hard to imagine anything going wrong on a boat that couldn't be figured out with this book."Sailing World
"The world's best technical reference and troubleshooting book."Sailing Inland and Offshore
"This manual will be of lasting interest to anyone who wants to know how their boat works, what has gone wrong when it doesn't, and how it could be fixed."Classic Boat
"Without becoming too complex, the book covers almost every imaginable mechanical or electrical matter in the marine environment."Work Boat World
"Calder lives what he writes, . . . [and] what he offers . . . is practical solutions to problems associated with increasingly complex marine systems. . . . [A] bargain for anyone in the construction and repair side of the boat business."Professional Boatbuilder
Synopsis
Regardless of your skill level, Boatowner's Mechanical and Electrical Manual makes boat maintenance and repair fast, fun and easy!
Nigel Calder delivers hundreds of tips and techniques for maintaining, troubleshooting and fixing every working part and system on your boatall clearly explained in step-by-step detail. You'll discover:
- How to make sure your boat's electrical system provides all the power you need
- Common and little-known tips for keeping your batteries and charging system safe and trouble-free
- Simple test procedures for grounding circuits on boats
- Best way to prevent galvanic corrosion on newly installed equipment
- Easy, reliable way to make sure your inverter can handle peak AC appliance load
- Often overlooked preventive maintenance for diesel engines
Boatowner's Mechanical and Electrical Manual shows you what to do right after start-up, while in use, and at regular intervals during the season to ensure years of trouble-free boating, including:
- Eight-point troubleshooting procedure for eliminating poor pickup
- How to replace a transmission output-shaft oil seal
- Five simple steps to stop the loss of transmission oil
- Tricks for keeping deck hardware fastened tight no matter how excessive the loads
- Seven safety tips for repairing masthead lights and other fixtures on top of the mast
- And much, much more
About the Author
Nigel Calder is the author of Marine Diesel Engines (1987, 1991) and Boatowner's Mechanical and Electrical Manual (1989, 1995), the success of which has made him the most sought-after marine how-to writer in the U.S. and U.K. He has published more than 800 magazine articles in SAIL, Cruising World, Ocean Navigator, Yachting World, etc., and lectures on cruising to sell-out crowds. He is also the author of The Cruising Guide to The Northwest Caribbean (IM, 1991) and Cuba: A Cruising Guide (Imray, 1996). He will be testing his newest ideas with his family during a six-month cruise to the Caribbean and South America this winter.
Table of Contents
List of Troubleshooting Charts
List of Tables
Preface and Acknowledgments to the Third Edition
Preface and Acknowledgments to the Second Edition
Introduction
Chapter 1. Establishing a Balanced Battery-Powered Electrical System
Introduction
Batteries
Getting Down to Specifics
Putting the Pieces Together
Summary: A Balanced System
Chapter 2. Electrical Systems for Energy-Intensive Boats
Additional Energy Sources
Dual-Voltage DC Systems
Fuel Cells, Higher-Voltage DC Boats, and Electric Propulsion
Chapter 3. Maintaining and Troubleshooting a Battery-Powered Electrical System
Batteries
Alternators
Voltage Regulators
Diodes
Chapter 4. Understanding and Troubleshooting Electrical Circuits
Basic Concepts and Measurements
DC Circuits
AC Circuits
Proper Electrical Installations
Chapter 5. Corrosion, Bonding, Lightning Protection, and Grounding
Corrosion
Bonding and Cathodic Protection
Lightning Protection
Grounding
Chapter 6. Battery Chargers, Inverters, Wind and Water Generators, and Solar Panels
Battery Chargers
Inverters
Wind and Water Generators
Solar Panels
Chapter 7. AC Generators, DC Generators, Electric Motors (DC and AC), and Electric Lights
AC Generators
DC Generators
Electric Motors
Electric Lights
Chapter 8. Marine Electronics: Antennas and Radio Grounds, Electromagnetic and Radio Frequency Interference, and Saving Soaked Equipment
Marine Electronics
Antennas and Radio Grounds
Electromagnetic and Radio Frequency Interference
Saving Soaked Equipment
Chapter 9. Diesel Engines: Operation and Maintenance, Troubleshooting, and Winter Layup
Operation and Maintenance
Troubleshooting Part 1: Failure to Start
Troubleshooting Part 2: Operating Problems
Winter Layup and Recommissioning
Chapter 10. From Transmission to Propeller
Transmissions and Shaft Brakes
Connecting a Transmission to a Propeller Shaft
Shaft Seals
Struts, Bearings, and Propellers
Chapter 11. Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning
CFCs and the Ozone Hole
Balancing Refrigeration Needs with Boat Use
Air-Conditioning
Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning: Maintenance, Troubleshooting, and Repair
Charging and Topping-Off Procedures
Chapter 12. Tanks, Plumbing, Toilets, and Through-Hull Fittings
Tanks and Fittings
Plumbing
Marine Toilets (Heads)
Through-Hulls and Seacocks
Chapter 13. Pumps and Watermakers
Pumps
Pump Switches
Watermakers
Chapter 14. Steering Systems, Autopilots, and Wind Vanes
Steering Systems
Autopilots
Wind Vane Self-Steering
Chapter 15. Stoves, Cabin Heaters, Gas-Powered Water Heaters, and Lanterns
Gas
Alcohol, Kerosene, and Diesel Appliances
Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
Chapter 16. Blocks, Winches, Windlasses, and Bow Thrusters
Blocks
Winches
Windlasses
Bow Thrusters
Chapter 17. Spars, Standing Rigging, and Roller Reefing
Spars
Standing Rigging
Roller Reefing and Furling
Glossary
Appendix A: Checklist of Winterizing Procedures
Appendix B: Freeing Frozen Parts and Fasteners
Appendix C: Tools and Spare Parts
Appendix D: Useful Tables
Index