Roger Hellyar-Brook

The world’s most common big batteries are called flooded or wet cell, as they have enough liquid acid to cover the battery plates.

The size of battery-charging equipment has grown to keep pace with larger and more sophisticated batteries.

When we mix exhaust gases with an engine’s discharge water, we cool the water enough to use rubber and plastics in the exhaust system.

At the engine instrument panel, there are usually alarms for low oil pressure and high coolant temperature, often with monitoring gauges. Although there are new technologies, most gauge transmitters (typically called senders) work on an electrical principle of varying resistance.

Just as automobile technology is changing to match new environmental standards, so must our boats.

When building or repairing a substantial laminate, it helps to have pressure to compress the air from a stack or hold the core in place until a cure is reached. Frequently when doing hull and deck repairs, we have to work upside down, and applying pressure is difficult.

When a single-skin fiberglass boat has a hole or severe gouge, the damaged fibers have to be replaced with laminates that match as closely as possible the construction of the original.

Depending on the boating location, the chances of a lightning strike can vary immensely. Marine surveyors in Florida, for instance, have far more strikes to inspect than those in the Northeast, since thunderstorm activity is much higher in the South.

Amp-hours on board are measured just like kilowatt-hours in your home. How much current we consume and for how long are the factors that determine the overall capacity needed in a boat’s house bank of batteries. Starting batteries are easy to size since

Most engine manufacturers deliver the  electrical system so that the installer just has to hook up a cranking conductor and engine block ground cable.

If the size of a boat’s battery bank is  increased or the type of battery is changed, the engine alternator might have to be upgraded to a higher-amp model.