Dexter, the service manager here at the Brewer Yard where my office is located, shot this photo my way yesterday illustrating a key point or two about basic boating safety. Good stuff to check this time of year. I mentioned a few weeks back the need to check the expiry dates on items in the first aid kit, checking fire extinguishers, and expiry dates on things like CO monitors are also key items. But let's not forget some of the basics here either. Check this one out:

Yup, that's someone's anchor chain and rode. About the only part of that mess that's worth saving might be the three strand rode, and I say that with some reservation; want to inspect the whole length before I make the final call on that count.

Remember, in many cases when you need an anchor, the situation might just be a marginal emergency. The last thing you want is for the whole thing to break away from the weight of your boat under extreme conditions. The anchor is much more than a mere convenience item. Make sure the entire assembly is in top notch condition on your boat. Oh, and make sure the bitter end of the rode is actually tied to the boat.

One of my most memorable mornings occured quietly sitting on my boat one early morning sipping coffee in the cockpit and watching a young couple pulling into the anchorage next to us to set their anchor. After all the yelling and screaming was done between this young couple the lady finally deployed the anchor and the rode was let out, and out and out and out............only to discover that it wasn't tied to the boat. I watched the whole incident and will never quite forget the look on the young lady's face as the tail of the rode slipped overboard and into the drink. Take two on the yelling and screaming began immediately. The good news? we were in only about 20 ft. of crystal clear caribbean water. Easy to find the whole thing. We got that pair squared away fairly easily.

So, the lesson for today is check this stuff out and next spring run through a few practice drills with your boat mate(s) to get the whole anchoring thing down. All the yelling and screaming is just not appreciated in an otherwise peaceful anchorage.

Back in November I reported that we had received a query from Eddie about possibly turning his new Marshall Sanderling into an electric drive. See here: http://www.edsboattips.com/construction-a-technical/245-electric-conversion-for-a-marshall-sanderling

Well, I heard from Eddie over the weekend and he's pulled the trigger on this project. We're talking brandy new boat with a Mastervolt electric drive system. Awesome! Eddie's system will be a little bit different from the Alerion Electric I reported on last year in that he is going with a 24 volt vs. 48 volt system and he won't have quite as much reserve capacity. But, his usage will be a bit different also.

So, check in often as we're going to follow this project start to finish. The photos below show the hull and deck set and the first steps of the drive installed.

Marshall Sanderling Hull and Deck in The Early Stages of Construction

Structural grid with shaft and drive in early stages of installation

Stay tuned. We're going to have step by step photos of this project as it evolves.

One of the things I always like to remind readers about is that the primary by-product of lousy electrical connections is heat. Enough heat, and things catch on fire. That's pretty easy for just about anybody to understand.

What's not so obvious to most people is that there are some relatively easy and inexpensive ways to see if too much heat is being generated. In the photo below I'm checking the quality of the main positive feed cable to the starter motor on a friend's outboard engine.

The infrared heat gun shown is one made by ExTech, but these guns are widely available today from a number of vendors. Radio Shack sells them. I've seen them for sale for as little as $29.95.

So, besides using them to check for engine cooling system problems or to see if your steaks on the grille are at the right temperature, these guns make a great tool for finding loose or not so obviously corroded electrical connections. The way I do this is to scan the cable in question using the red laser light on the gun. This way I can establish a median temperature in the cable in question. With the engine cranking in this example, I close in on the connection with the laser light. If I see a temperature rise of 25 degrees F or more, I am immediately suspicious of the quality of the connection. This is a simple technique that can help you find some elusive problems, and save you from burning your finger tips!

There's a good reason the gun above is also shown in Eds Tool Box.

Don Wilson, the "Tech Doctor"

I have had a chance to check out a press release that came in over the wires yesterday regarding our friends at XANTREX. Online training videos with their TECH Doctor, Don Wilson are now available to answer common questions about not just their products, but all things related to their products like types of electricity, battery info and the like. So, head over to: www.xantrex.com and click on the new "Tech Doctor" link. Don is going to walk you through some really excellent and easy to understand lessons about things you want to know about your boat's electrical system. Highly recommended.

Its hard to believe it but it has been two years since I first introduced a device known as an ELCI to you in a post linked here: http://www.edsboattips.com/maintenance-a-diy/21-introducing-the-elci 

Well, it's time for an update on this life saving device, especially since in a couple of weeks I'll be in attendance at the ABYC's annual "Standards Week" an the ELCI will most assuredly will be one of the many topics of conversation during the week.

First the bad news. The ABYC technical committee has had to allow yet another year of exemption for these units to be a required part of all new boat builds, most especially those attempting to get certified under the NMMA's program, which I have also discussed here several times.

The problem is that some boat builders have experienced unexplainable nuisance tripping of the ELCI device when keying a VHF radio and under certain inverter related circumstances, specifically switching from shore power to inverter AC power. To date, we cannot duplicate the problem at any kind of a 100% level, so there are many questions unanswered about this phenomena. So, the status is, if you have an inverter installed, you may wish to wait before jumping on board the ELCI band wagon, and as for the VHF, my gut feeling is that as long as the ELCI device is located at least six feet away from any part of your boat's VHF antenna or the coaxial cable that runs from the base of the antenna to your radio, you are not likely to experience nuisance trips.

Now the good news. One of my sponsors, Blue Sea Systems has been working on a kit that I hope will enable you or the electrician at your marina to easily retrofit your older boat to provide ELCI protection. They have also created a really nice brochure that explains in detail the why you need it and how to install it of ELCI's. The new box is shown here:

I'm encouraging everyone to contact Blue Sea using the hot button over in the upper left column here on the Eds Boat Tips website to get your brochure and look over the information provided within it. Upgrading your boat with ELCI protection for your shore power system is going to go a long way toward saving lives if you keep your boat in a marina and plugged into shore power all the time. Check it out.