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Diesel Engines

The engine mounts on my Perkins M20 diesel needed to be changed. Luckily, they are accessible so I was able to change them myself with a few basic tools and new parts. If your engine is less accessible, you'll need to ask a professional to change the mounts. (Photo/ Marc Robic)

How to Change Your Engine Mounts

It is always discomforting when you know, and actually feel, that something is not quite right. For a little while now, while navigating under...
Compression tester set up for testing. The hose is screwed into a glow plug hole after removing a glow plug. Note: This is a mock up to illustrate the tester placement, but this is a tester for a gasoline engine, not a diesel because it only goes up to 300 psi. A diesel tester would go up to 1000 psi. Also, ALL of the glow plugs should be removed, not just one. In addition, the hose is not actually screwed in because the fitting is the wrong size. (Photo/ Phil Decker)

How to Do an Engine Compression Test

An engine compression test is an important diagnostic test that any boat owner can do with equipment that costs about $50. You can also...

Diesel Performance Additives

We think of ourselves as sailors, but we all depend on reliable power to propel us in and out of harbor, through calms and...

What Oil Analysis Reveals About Your Engine

We've all heard that if you give a diesel good clean fuel, keep it cool, and stay on top of the oil changes, its...

Worship Your Universal M-Series Diesel With the Marinized Kubota Block

The Universal name resonates with many of us as one of the best sailboat engines available. Despite Universal Motor Corp. no longer being in...

What Your Boat and the Baltimore Super Container Ship May Have in Common

When the mega container ship Dali struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge at 1:28 am on Tuesday, March 26, the world saw a remote...

Reducing Engine Room Noise

Of all the health reporting that has been featured in the news recently, the theme of ambient noise is one that resonated strongly with...

Breaking Point: What Can Go Wrong With Your Yanmar?

If you want to know more about the little Yanmar chugging away in your sailboat, it helps to learn about this iconic engine maker’s...

Rudder Mods for Low-speed Docking

Any sailor who has tried to wrestle a full-keel ketch with a barn-door rudder into a tight slip has probably wondered if they could...

Marine Diesel Repower Part 3: Sea Trial

This is the last of a three-part series describing the planning and installation of an inboard diesel engine in my previously engine-free Cape Dory...

Abandon Ship! Coast Guard Rescue Beneteau 523 in the Atlantic

What would cause the captain and crew to abandon ship in the Atlantic ocean? There was no sailboat disaster here, but a coast guard...

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