Make the engine suck its own antifreeze Issue 99 : Nov/Dec 2014 Up north, after pulling the boat out in the late fall, winterizing an engine is a mandatory and often unpleasant chore. Draining a raw-w...
A raw-water seacock that screams to be opened Issue 102 : May/Jun 2015 We all know the importance of opening the engine’s raw-water seacock before starting the engine and that forgetting to open it ca...
Outsourcing and insourcing assure the best results Issue 105 : Nov/Dec 2015 With just a few days left until landfall on our 2,800-mile passage from Mexico to the Marquesas, we noticed the steering fel...
A summer cruise survived a broken transmission cable Issue 107 : Mar/Apr 2016 While on our annual vacation cruise last summer, powering across Lake Ontario from Sacketts Harbor to Waupoos, we started ...
A self-basting engine no longer fouls the bilge Issue 109 : Jul/Aug 2016 Most new sailboats with an inboard engine have a molded pan in the engine space to contain oil and fuel spills so they don’t ge...
Stop fuel from frothing overboard at fill time Issue 109 : Jul/Aug 2016 I was lucky when I discovered my fuel tank was leaking. After all, it was early spring and Pelorus, my 1980 Paceship PY26, wasn’...
A critical conduit fails in old age Issue 109 : Jul/Aug 2016 Buried in the bottom of the hull, the stern tube is one of those invisible parts of a boat that rarely calls attention to itself. When it d...
Inexpensive pipe fittings beat the cost of custom Issue 111: Nov/Dec 2016 On a beautiful March weekend in the Pacific Northwest, my partner, Fiona, and I decided to go for a cruise aboard MonArk, our ...
The riddle of “overheating” engine Issue 115: July/Aug 2017 It was a beautiful summer’s day and we were heading out for a two-week cruise. Our first leg was 26 miles across the Strait of G...
Insurance against the 0-dark-thirty cartridge change Issue 115: July/Aug 2017 I well remember the first time I had to change a diesel fuel filter under duress. We were on our first trip away from the ...
The case for a well that encloses the tilted-up motor Issue 122: Sept/Oct 2018 Sailboat auxiliary engines, inboard and outboard, have their strong points and weak points, friends and foes. My experien...
In “Mounting the Outboard Inboard, Part 1,” September 2018, James Baldwin summarized the pluses and minuses of replacing an inboard engine with an outboard motor, and specifically the benefits of inst...
Here’s how to put a quick, easy stop to a free-spinning prop and shaft. Issue 130: Jan/Feb 2020 Under sail aboard Soggy Paws, our CSY 44, the flow of water past our hull makes our fixed-blade prop spi...
Adding a second engine switch in the cockpit made singlehanding safer and easier. Issue 141: Nov/Dec 2021 Reading Robb Lovell’s review of the Beneteau First 345 (September/ October 2019), I realized f...
Issue 143: March/April 2022 I am fortunate to sail my 1962, Carl Alberg-designed Pearson Electra, Sea Gypsy, out of Bluffton, in the heart of South Carolina’s low country. As a self-acknowledged natur...
A DIY diesel-to-electric repower required a lot of education but only a little engineering. Issue 143: March/April 2022 While motoring my 1968 Mason 40, NorthWind, out of the marina on a beautiful spr...
A dinghy foot pump comes to the rescue to clear a clogged saildrive water intake. Issue 144: May/June 2022 It was another spectacular summer day, and once again my wife, Carey, and I escaped life asho...
Creating an engine water bypass for easy winterization Issue 152: Sept/Oct 2023 Our 1978 Tartan 27-2, Dawn, has a singlecylinder Farymann engine that is direct-cooled by lake water. The engine has its...
Finding a sensible solution to an alternator’s persistent overheating problem Issue 154: Jan/Feb 2024 Over the years, and with two different small diesels working in the tight quarters of the engine c...
Stuffing boxes are an essential part of any boat (if you don’t have a sail drive). Positioned between the stern tube and the prop shaft, the stuffing box’s job is to stop water ingress while under pow...
Sailing with a diesel auxiliary, as well as engineless, led one couple to make a third choice: fully renewable electric propulsion. Issue 143: March/April 2022 As far as I can tell, my fiancée, Alison...
Fiddler’s Green had overheating problems from the very beginning of our ownership. We got used to checking the temp gauge for the Perkins M30 every 15 minutes or so while motoring, throttling down or ...
Cleaning a fouled diesel tank started with polishing some dirty fuel on the fly. Issue 134: Sept/Oct 2020 Aboard our 1984 Moody 47, diesel is the elixir of electricity, and electricity is what drives ...
Irascible and indomitable, the British Seagull was not for the faint of heart. Issue 134: Sept/Oct 2020 Long before the Energizer Bunny, there was the British Seagull outboard motor. Conceived in the ...
A repower in rural Alaska required precise planning and helpful hands. Issue 130: Jan/Feb 2020 Wide awake in my bunk, I stared at the ceiling without really seeing it. It was nearing 3 a.m., and my mi...
Install a day tank to ensure a clean fuel supply at the ready. Issue 129: Nov/Dec 2019 Few things give me the willies more than the thought of navigating an inlet, cut, or tricky channel when we’re ru...
Well-known marine author Don Casey described how to remove the old engine from your good old boat. Now it’s time for the final exciting step … Even though engine brochures generally provide all ...
What you need to know before removing the old engine. The engine and shaft must be in precise alignment. This is the only hard, fast rule for installing a new engine in an old boat. Everything else yo...
New engine or rebuild? And should you install it yourself? Chances are your boat is like a member of the family. You could no more dispose of it than sell your only child. But, inevitably, the day arr...
Tips on how to extract the old one and install the new one. In the September/October issue of Good Old Boat, we discussed the decisions to be made when the inevitable day comes that your power plant n...
