by Simon Jollands | Boat Maintenance, Preparation, Yacht ownership
While a boat is ashore, the most critical interior checks to carry out are those that concern the safety of the boat. This entails the integrity of all through-hull fittings and seacocks, the gas system and the electrical system. Critical checks Check all the...
by Simon Jollands | Boat Maintenance, Preparation, Yacht ownership
Most problems with marine electrical systems arise from four possible sources, a lack of maintenance, a poor standard of initial installation, insufficient battery capacity, or ineffective charging systems. Water ingress is a frequent issue – salt water can corrode...
by Simon Jollands | Boat Maintenance, Preparation, Yacht ownership
Boat batteries need to be kept properly charged, which means never allowing the batteries to discharge below 50 per cent of their total charge. As well as the batteries themselves, keeping a boat’s charging systems in good shape will also help to keep batteries...
by Simon Jollands | Boat Maintenance, Preparation, Yacht ownership
It is important for all boat skippers to have a basic knowledge of boat electrics and this includes understanding how batteries work. Under-sized battery banks are one of the key factors behind power failure at sea, as well as the premature failure of batteries. It’s...
by Simon Jollands | Boat Maintenance, Preparation, Yacht ownership
With the boat ashore, here are some recommendations for carrying out a boat owner electrics inspection. Safety is always paramount so remember to do the checks with the batteries off. Wearing a head torch helps, make notes as you go and only tackle a repair if you are...