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Beginners' book on Boat Engine Maintenance?


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The title says it all really. I'd like something that starts with the basics but also goes into a deeper, but not necessarily expert-level, of understanding. I'd like something general, rather than engine-specific, because I'm looking more for a guide rather than a manual. Unfortunately, sometimes I don't know what I don't know, so I can't really pinpoint specifics.

 

Any recommendations?

Edited by Thomas C King
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8 minutes ago, Thomas C King said:

The title says it all really. I'd like something that starts with the basics but also goes into a deeper, but not necessarily expert-level, of understanding. I'd like something general, rather than engine-specific, because I'm looking more for a guide rather than a manual. Unfortunately, sometimes I don't know what I don't know, so I can't really pinpoint specifics.

 

Any recommendations?

Try the course notes on www.tb-training.co.uk, plus a lot of other stuff - its free and you can download/print it all section by section. Not exactly maintenance because they were course notes and the actual maintenance bits were done on the courses.

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3 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said:

Try the course notes on www.tb-training.co.uk, plus a lot of other stuff - its free and you can download/print it all section by section. Not exactly maintenance because they were course notes and the actual maintenance bits were done on the courses.

Tonys notes are very good so well worth downloading. I did one of his courses many years ago and still refer to his notes.

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2 minutes ago, Richard T said:

Tonys notes are very good so well worth downloading. I did one of his courses many years ago and still refer to his notes.

Another vote for Tony's Course Notes. I have used them frequently (although I never did one of his courses) when  looking for advice about our share boat and  have found them extremely useful.

 

Howard

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20 minutes ago, Tracy D'arth said:

There is always RCR courses , based on Tony Brooks' course if you can stand the errors introduced by Stephanie Horton. Personally I would rather use a medium and a ouija board.

I think that RCR have now stopped doing the courses.

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1 minute ago, Thomas C King said:

Thanks all, I'll start with Tony's notes. And I might get that book, unless it's based off Tony's notes! (I was going to suggest self-publishing, but it seems someone got there first...)

I think there might be a fair degree of commonality, certainly some of the diagrams are mine (with permission). Perhaps @blackrose could compare and point out the differences. I suspect it will be photos and "how to change the oil" type sections.

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21 hours ago, David Mack said:

 

Even for a wide boat?

?

Buy the large print version for a wide beam engine. Buy two books for a catamaran.

Long ago, when dinosaurs roamed the earth, on the first year reading list for my materials science degree, one of the recommended books was the Ladybird Book of Engines.

Jen ?

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20 hours ago, Tony Brooks said:

I think there might be a fair degree of commonality, certainly some of the diagrams are mine (with permission). Perhaps @blackrose could compare and point out the differences. I suspect it will be photos and "how to change the oil" type sections.

 

I'm sure the content is very similar. It's probably just about whether one wants to look at the information on a computer screen for free and possibly print out a load of notes onto A4 sheets, or pay for a bound hardcover book. There's a certain tactile quality of a book that's nice to have, although once it's covered in greasy fingerprints maybe not quite as nice!

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On 25/07/2020 at 11:33, blackrose said:

 

I'm sure the content is very similar. It's probably just about whether one wants to look at the information on a computer screen for free and possibly print out a load of notes onto A4 sheets, or pay for a bound hardcover book. There's a certain tactile quality of a book that's nice to have, although once it's covered in greasy fingerprints maybe not quite as nice!

If the book is left on the boat, then a prospective buyer can see what has gone wrong on the engine in the past just by checking which pages are the most dog eared and oily fingerprinted. ?

Jen

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On 25/07/2020 at 11:32, Jen-in-Wellies said:

Long ago, when dinosaurs roamed the earth, on the first year reading list for my materials science degree, one of the recommended books was the Ladybird Book of Engines.

I tried that.  It was a bit beyond me.  Are you aware of anything simpler?

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4 hours ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

If the book is left on the boat, then a prospective buyer can see what has gone wrong on the engine in the past just by checking which pages are the most dog eared and oily fingerprinted. ?

Jen

One day in the distant past, I ended up with oily fingerprints on the laptop - not so good. I now prefer paper copies when working on the engine...

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8 hours ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

If the book is left on the boat, then a prospective buyer can see what has gone wrong on the engine in the past just by checking which pages are the most dog eared and oily fingerprinted. ?

Jen

Or they might be able to see whether the engine has been regularly serviced using the same method.

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4 hours ago, magpie patrick said:

One day in the distant past, I ended up with oily fingerprints on the laptop - not so good. I now prefer paper copies when working on the engine...

Don't put it on the bed and pick it up with oily hands.

 

Having got oil on the duvet cover I've been banned from doing oil changes.

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