Transportation Repair & Maintenance
Marine Diesel Basics 1
Maintenance, Lay-up, Winter Protection, Tropical Storage, Spring Recommission
- Publisher
- Voyage Press
- Initial publish date
- May 2017
- Category
- Repair & Maintenance
-
Paperback / softback
- ISBN
- 9780981123325
- Publish Date
- May 2017
- List Price
- $15.99 USD
-
eBook
- ISBN
- 9780981123332
- Publish Date
- May 2017
- List Price
- $15.99 USD
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Where to buy it
Recommended Age, Grade, and Reading Levels
- Age: 16 to 18
- Grade: 11 to 12
Description
The aim of the Marine Diesel Basics series is to help all boaters become familiar and confident with their diesel system so that they can spend more time enjoying their vessel knowing the diesel system is reliable and robust.
These books are the first VISUAL guide to marine diesel systems on recreational boats, aimed to explain with clear, simple drawings and minimal text everything a boater needs to know to maintain, troubleshoot and understand all aspects of their system.
About the author
Contributor Notes
Dennison Berwick is a sailor, marine mechanic, writer and illustrator. He lives aboard his 36-foot Chevrier sloop Oceandrifter. He has sailed in Europe, the Great Lakes, the North Atlantic, sub-Arctic Labrador and the Andaman Sea in South-East Asia. Before taking up sailing, he walked across India and travelled solo in a small canoe in the Amazon rain forest for five years.
Excerpt: Marine Diesel Basics 1: Maintenance, Lay-up, Winter Protection, Tropical Storage, Spring Recommission (illustrated by Dennison Berwick)
Reliable and Robust The purpose of all work we do on our marine diesel engine and its ancillary components is to make the whole system reliable and robust – so that we can enjoy our boat for all the reasons we bought her. Simple, regular maintenance is the easiest, quickest and cheapest way to avoid problems and accelerated engine wear. Most expensive repairs start from a lack of basic maintenance or ignoring small warnings:
1. Trust yourself. Maintenance is not complicated; it just needs to be done!
2. Know your boat. Take full responsibility. Don’t assume that because something was installed by a previous owner or the boatbuilder that it’s correct or correctly installed. Some boatbuilders, as well as owners, have been known to cut corners.
3. Can you afford cheap? Quality components rarely fail suddenly (unless the boat hits something). Using quality parts and supplies, and doing the job right the first time, usually saves money in the long run as well as aggravation. Pay now or pay later.
4. Cultivate vigilance as a habit. Take heed of a warning that something is not right – a new sound, less water in the exhaust, a nut or washer under the engine. A keen eye goes a long way to being able to spot potential problems before they become trouble.
5. The “diesel engine” is a system. All the parts need to work together and to be in balance. Problems arise when they’re not. Neglecting any one area (perhaps because it’s too hard to reach) may well have effects that show up somewhere else.
Editorial Reviews
Although the title of this book includes the word “basics” it is a very, very comprehensive coverage of the subject. Even if you’re the type of boat owner who likes to call in the experts, this is an excellent book to have on board in case anything goes wrong. And if you like to be across everything on your boat that moves – and even some things that shouldn’t – then this is as good a guide as you’ll get. The book covers not just the engine itself, but all associated parts – the fuel system, lubrication, cooling, breathing, electrical and drive train. The author’s excellent illustrations (there are more than 300 of them) make understanding the text very easy. Every single step of regular maintenance, trouble- shooting, laying up and recommissioning are covered. I particularly liked the structure of this book. Each chapter starts with “Main Concerns”, which tells you what can go wrong and why. It is followed by a task list, with each step carefully explained and illustrated. Highly recommended.
Australian Sailing October-November issue, 2017