Articles

PT Boats

The design and development of the Patrol Torpedo boat program in WWII is a fascinating story. This piece digs into the nitty gritty of how the US boats were built.

Report Writing Guidelines

Thoughtful, substantive survey reports are more than an inventory of descriptors. This article muses on the elements that help transform formulaic drudgery into a meaningful technical discussion.

Moisture Meters

Moisture meters are a common tool for marine surveyors. However- do you know their operating principles as well as their limitations?

Metal Failure

Failed metal components are critical evidence in determining the what, how, why, and when of a very bad day out on the water. Can you read the failure road signs?

More on Meters

Most marine surveyors focus on using only non invasive capacitance type meter. This article discusses the idea of adding a “semi-destructive” method for testing core material.

Drive Failure

After learning the basics of metal failure, the next step is practical application of this theory in the field. What causes sterndrive and outboard gearcases to fail?

Stainless Steel

This article sorts through the various grades of stainless steel as well as the many modes of failure that we see in the marine environment.

Lithium Liabilities

In the relentless quest to make boating ever more complex for no concrete reason, we find ourselves faced with figuring out how to install lithium ion batteries while not burning the boat up.