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Hi all, After five years of living on the water, during which I owned my first two boats (both Gradys), my family and I have now moved closer to our extended families, which is unfortunately pretty far from water. I sold my 272 just before we moved, and am now boatless for the foreseeable...

Hi everyone, Been a while since I posted here, but for the good reason of enjoying the boat lately. My starboard F225 has a slow oil leak at the rubber seal of one of the trim pistons. I initially misdiagnosed as a hydraulic steering leak, so the oil has now gotten quite low. It now trims...

Just curious ... Why is that when my car engine is running, it can power my car's air conditioning system, but my boat's outboards don't power my boat's air conditioning system? Is that true of most boats (and if so, why?), or just something peculiar about my boat?

Hi all, I've noticed that the sealant at the edges of my transom doesn't look so good. I'm wondering how worried I should be, and what I should do about it. Come to think of it, I don't even know how the transom is really built. I assume there is steel in there? Boat is a 1995, and the...

Hi everyone, I have an old bimini on my Sailfish—not sure how old! Zips into the back of the hardtop and goes all the way stern. When I bought the boat, it had a large tear, which the dealers patched up pretty well for me. I'm now finding some smaller tears here and there. I know it's...

I know, I know, I should get a degree in electrical engineering. Maybe Seasick will start an online Masterclass, and I can sign up ... My house battery was relocated by a previous owner. It now sits under the aft cabin. It powers my DC electronics (helm, cabin, etc.). It does NOT get...

Hi all, The dome light in my aft cabin hasn't worked since I bought the boat. Finally pulled it down last night and exposed the wires leading to it. My multimeter is reading 1.5V. I was expecting something closer to 12 or 0, and so I wonder what could lead to 1.5. Is 1.5V the kind of...

Hi all, Anyone heard of M Costa Marine? Received an email from them recently, claiming to be a Grady Dealer for the Caribbean, and that they were given my email address from Grady in the US, who sends out contacts of Grady owners in the area.

Hi all, My neighbor is having trouble with his 'otherboat'. His single Yamaha 150 will not start unless he selects 'both' on the selector switch. But this is true even with two new batteries (group 24 starters). I'm guessing it's an amperage issue, caused by some bad connections somewhere...

Hi all, I've read on this forum a little bit about sacrificial anodes, and have begun to wonder whether my trim tabs have them. My boat is in the water, so I'll need to dive in order to check. But then I learned that my boat has a galvanic isolator, which I understand prevents corrosion of...

My 272 is 23 years old, and the seacock I have in mind may be original. It's locked in the 'closed' position, and I'm scared of pulling too hard on the handle, lest I tear the whole thru-hull out of place. Any advice? WD-40? Or is a green-corroded seacock never going to unlock? I suppose...

Hi all, I’m reading one of Don Casey’s books on marine electronics. Early in the chapter, he says that 1.75V is ‘dead’ and ‘fully discharged’ for a single cell. He explains how amp-hours and reserve minutes are calculated with 1.75V as the lower limit. This would mean that a 6-cell 12V...

Hi all, I’m wondering how bilge pumps are normally wired. Do they typically draw from the house or from one of the starters? Of course I realize no one could tell me what’s going on on my own boat—I’m just wondering what’s typical/standard.

Hi all, Was just speaking with a parts rep at Pompano Beach Marine (one of largest Grady dealers in country, I believe). She tells me that deep-cycle batteries are rarely used on boats, since they can be hard on the charging systems, or even on the alternators from the outboards. She says...

Hi everyone, As I mentioned in another thread recently, I have discovered that my previous owner left wires running from the DC panel to the starter batteries at the stern, but also to a house battery that was placed under the aft cabin. This is nice, because it enables me to choose from...

Hi all, A newbie question: why are the negative terminals of my two starter batteries connected? I remember discovering this on my previous boat too. I am not trying to run them in parallel or in series. Is this required for when I set my either of my selector switches to “both”? Does it...

Hi all, Just wondering how to identify a dying starter battery. Will it begin to behave like a dying car battery—slower to start the engine, quicker to go dead, etc? Or will I find that it won't take a charge at all one day, out of the blue? Just wondering as I troubleshoot a charging issue...

Hi all, Best place to get new registration number stickers? Also, anyone know the NC laws of where they have to be placed? I'm interested in the least visible place that still follows the rules.

(Solved: Scroll down for solution.) Hi all, The answer to this question is probably "go trace your wires, Jonah". But still, I thought I'd ask. I recently returned from a four-week trip to find both starter batteries, and also my house battery, dead. Just before my trip, I discovered that...

Hi all, I have an electronics question today. When plugging my shore power line into my boat today, I was holding the cable in my right hand. I then touched the metal cap of the boat plug with my left hand, and felt a tingling sensation in my fingertips on both hands. I played around for a...