Complete Guide To Gasoline Marine Engines [Spiral-bound]

JOHN FLEMING (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 15, 2000

After many years in the boating industry and writing countless articles for your favorite boating magazines, John Fleming has put his wealth of knowledge into his new book, The Complete Guide To Gasoline Marine Engines.

This book is not limited to the routine maintenance tasks or simple repairs that many engine books detail. These pages take the reader deep inside the engine by discussing the design, function and results of the entire "engine system". The book's design allows the reader to start with the basics and progress through each skill level until a thorough understanding of engines is achieved.

Although this book delves deeply into the technical aspects of engines, to more clearly relate the repair procedures, the information remains extremely easy to understand and follow throughout each phase.

You will not find another book that will explain gasoline marine engines as completely or easily as this book.

One fact is clear; when you complete this book you will know more about gasoline marine engines than you ever thought possible.

Illustrated

Editorial Reviews

From the Author

Marine engines are really rather simple devices, if we will only let them be so. Yes, there are some pretty complicated things going on in our engines, but even those need not be a mystery. This book will bring everything you ever wanted to know about the four-stroke marine engine down to an understandable level. The modern marine engine is an abstract type of contraption with two distinct faces. On the one hand, we have a basic engine that has not changed a great deal for many years. Many of the principles on which it operates are as old as Sir Isaac Newton. On the other hand, we have a set of electronic systems that are as new as today. The electronic systems on our engines have been both a blessing and a curse. They have allowed us to do some astonishing things with the engine, but they have also given us some headaches during their development. I view the engine at three levels. That very basic engine we have had for so many years is the first level. The electronic suite that serves the systems on that engine is the second level and the sometimes uneasy marriage between the two is the third level. On that first level, this book will detail the important mechanical parts of the engine. It will further tell you what the engine does and how it accomplishes those things. It will also describe some of the more important recent changes to engines. On the second level, it will describe the operation of electronic engine systems and explain in general terms the benefits electronic controls offer to the engine builder. It will not delve deeply into electronic circuitry because we cannot repair an electronic module at the shop level. We use a laptop computer to diagnose the problems when our electronics fail, but we are limited to replacement of the entire module as a remedy. A good general understanding of the function of that module is important, but if you are interested in electronics for their own sake you must look elsewhere. At the third level, we will consider the manner in which electronic engine systems fit into the overall operation of the engine. Instant and precise control of the ever-changing requirements of the engine is the forte of the electronics package. Please do not let the matter of electronics daunt you. Too many people have thrown up their hands and said, "I don't understand." Then they simply quit. There is a limited amount you must understand to deal with the engine. Each level will be addressed in separate sections and each section will have a gradually increasing degree of sophistication. You can read as far as you wish into any area or chapter of this book, then stop. You can pick up at another chapter and proceed. I hope you will read it all and be encouraged to look for other books on the subject.

About the Author

John Fleming has conducted a 60 year love affair with engines and never met one he did not like. There have been a few that were so exciting he remembers them like an old flame but they all serve a purpose and they are all a part of my memories. The first engine he built was a 1948 model, 4.2 horsepower, Champion outboard engine. He was 9 years old which made it monumental task. To see and hold the parts his father had described was fascinating. He held a United States Coast Guard, 500 ton masters ticket and has a total of more than 3,000 days at sea. John has run boats of many types and varieties in 44 States and 3 countries: crossed the Okefenokee in an airboat and canoe, ran the Everglades from Flamingo Park to Chokloskee Island and from Whitewater Bay to the head of the Little Shark River. For eight years he held a State of Florida Teachers Certificate to teach engine repair in the State. John and his wife have run delivery charters across the Gulf of Mexico from Brownsville, Texas to Key West, Florida and up the Atlantic Seaboard as far as Barnegat Bay. They have owned vessels which they have operated for dive charters, fishing charters and towing services. He has written more than 3,500 articles for magazines and newspapers.

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Product Details

• Spiral-bound: 176 pages
• Publisher: Bristol Fashion Publications, Inc.; 1st edition (February 15, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1892216302
• ISBN-13: 978-1892216304
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #878,400 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Complete?, October 26, 2001

By 

Thomas Keast "tkeaster" (singapore) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Complete Guide To Gasoline Marine Engines (Spiral-bound)

I purchased this book after I bought my first boat expecting to get some information from an experienced person. I have a lot of friends I can talk to about cars but, nobody to talk to about boats - especially a competition ski boat. I was hoping to get some incite into the workings of a boat, especially some suggestions regarding maintenance and the function of things I didn't have much experience about like a stuffing box or raw water pump or direct drive. I was dissapointed.

It's a great book to start out with, if you don't know how an engine works or the basic function of a boat. If you are looking for maintenance tips, performance suggestions, solutions to problems you are having or anything specific, look elsewhere. This book gives an overview of these areas but no real information that you can use to diagnose a problem. You couldn't even close down your boat for the winter from the information. It is not comprehensive.

"General Guide to Gasoline Marine Engines" should be the title.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars something different, July 2, 2003

By 

"asdaddyo" (cape coral, fl United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Complete Guide To Gasoline Marine Engines (Spiral-bound)

i ordered this book thinking that it would tell me how to work on gas enginges. i was surprised, it was not at all the type of book i was looking for. but i opened it up and started reading. i have worked on car engines in the past with a degree of success, and i like to think that i can keep any engine running if it fall into the older model catagory. John O'Connor has written a book that i will be happy to keep with my "how to manuals", because this one is a "why" manual. if you are a novice, or even a little more advanced, this book explains the dynamics of a gas engine to a degree that will surely enlighten any reader. don't look for this book to fix your engine, look to this book before you start and what you may encounter when you start to do any modifications. a very impressive little book, put together well and very detailed. thanks for the great reading.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Marine? where's the marine info?, October 21, 2006

By 

kimsalt "kimsalt" (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Complete Guide To Gasoline Marine Engines (Spiral-bound)

I am an engine builder, but had never built an engine for marine use so I wanted a book to tell me the finer points. There are specific needs, like cooling systems, gasket materials, etc that are very different in a marine engine. This book says NOTHING about marine engines at all. Its a book about how engines work, period. I wanted to see things like cam recommendations, gasket tech, wet and dry exhaust tech, but its literally just a book on how engines work in general. There is NO marine tech in this book at all except a brief chapter on how propellers work. Very disappointing.