Operators of commercial vessels have known and favored diesel engines for years. Now more and more pleasureboaters are choosing diesel power. Despite their apparent complexity, diesels are elegantly simple machines that can be given an almost-indefinite life span by painless preventive maintenance techniques and proper operation. In many cases, these methods differ sharply from ingrained automotive practices. In fact, some of these habits, ported over from the family passenger car, can be the death of a good marine diesel.
In Keep Your Marine Diesel Running, Richard Thiel has written a survival guide for the owners of all types and sizes of diesel-powered watercraft. Using the premise that the reader knows (and cares) little about engines of any kind--as long as they provide reliable service--Thiel gives a brief and painless overview of how diesel engines work, and outlines an easily followed program to dramatically extend the lives of marine engines. And if you should need repairs, Thiel tells you how to find and deal with a mechanic, how to read a bill, and how to tell if you're being taken care of or being taken for a ride.
Written specifically for the non-mechanic, Keep Your Marine Diesel Running is the complete survival guide for owners of diesel-powered boats of all types and sizes. Here is:
- How a Marine Diesel Works, including turbochargers, cooling, fuel, lubrication, and exhaust systems.
- How to Operate a Marine Diesel Engine to provide the longest, most troublefree life. Includes daily and periodic logs and checklists, and details proper operation from start-up to shutdown.
- How to Care for Your Diesel's oil, fuel, and cooling systems; how to do it yourself; how to choose and deal with a mechanic; how to do your own basic troubleshooting; and what tools and spare parts you should carry.
This is the book that should come with every marine diesel ever sold--but didn't. A marine diesel is a big investment. Follow the simple program presented here and you'll be able to keep it running troublefree for years to come.
"Simple, easy-to-use, and easy-to-understand advice . . . "--SAIL
"A good place to start your education."--American Sailor
"If you own a diesel, you owe it to yourself to buy Keep Your Marine Diesel Running."--The Ensign
