Photo Essay: The Perils of an Unvented Loop Vented loops, also known as anti-siphon valves or siphon-breaks, have served mariners for many years. Their mission is a noble one, prevent a siphon from occurring, which could cause flooding and sinking. The siphon phenomenon is one that is sometimes difficult to visualize (drawing a diagram sometimes […]| Steve D'Antonio Marine Consulting
Photo Essay: Fan Belt Shedding Fan belts fulfill a vital role for engines; they transfer energy from the crankshaft pulley to other vital components and accessories, such as coolant circulation and raw water pumps, as well as alternators. If sized properly for the anticipated loads, and replaced […]| Steve D'Antonio Marine Consulting
Photo Essay: Lifeline Corrosion While plastic coated wire lifelines are a ubiquitous aspect of small boat safety, they aren’t without their shortcomings. Long ago, while a student aboard a sail training vessel, an experienced crew member gave me advice about lifelines that has stayed with me for 40 years, “The lifeline isn’t there to save […]| Steve D'Antonio Marine Consulting
Photo Essay: Plumbing Bonding Technique As I carry out inspections, one of the issues I frequently encounter involves bonding or grounding (there is a difference, but we’ll leave that for another column) of metallic fuel, water, and hydraulic plumbing components. Some of these components have built in fasteners that are designed to accept a […]| Steve D'Antonio Marine Consulting
Photo Essay: Fixed Fire Extinguisher Manual Discharge Fixed engine room firefighting systems are an invaluable safety option for virtually every inboard powered vessel. These familiar red bottles are capable of extinguishing fires without any input from a user, their temperature sensitive nozzles are designed to automatically discharge the clean agent most often at 175° Fahrenheit. […]| Steve D'Antonio Marine Consulting