Nigel Calder, Author at BoatHowTo

Marine Diesel Engines: Flexible Shaft Couplings and the Grounding Question

Nigel Calder — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 04:44:39 +0000

This is a question that comes up more often than you might expect, and it touches on two things that matter enormously on a boat: corrosion protection and electrical grounding. The question is a simple one on the surface — if I install a synthetic flexible coupling between my transmission and my propeller shaft, have […]

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Is Your Galvanic Isolator Actually Fail Safe? Here’s What You Need to Check

Nigel Calder — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 04:44:33 +0000

One of the questions I get asked fairly often concerns galvanic isolators — those small but important devices that sit in the safety grounding connection between your boat and the shore power system. Specifically, people want to know whether their galvanic isolator is fail safe. It is a question worth taking seriously, because the answer […]

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Understanding Marine Corrosion Protection: Are Your Zinc Anodes Working Correctly?

Nigel Calder — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 04:44:28 +0000

A question that comes up with surprising regularity among sailors is whether their sacrificial anodes are doing their job correctly — and whether the rate at which those anodes are being consumed is normal. It is a question worth taking seriously, because the answer tells you a great deal about what is actually happening beneath […]

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Why Positive Side Switching Is Required on Boats — And Why the Automotive Comparison Doesn’t Hold

Nigel Calder — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 04:44:21 +0000

A question came in recently that I suspect many people have wondered about, particularly those who have spent time working on cars before turning their attention to boats. In the automotive world, some manufacturers place switches on the negative side of a circuit — after the load — as a way of reducing arcing and […]

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Marine Diesel Engines: Why Aluminium Anodes on an Aluminium Sail Drive?

Nigel Calder — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 04:44:14 +0000

It is one of those questions that sounds almost contradictory the first time you hear it. Why would you protect an aluminium sail drive leg with an aluminium anode? Isn't the whole point of a sacrificial anode that it corrodes instead of your boat? The answer comes down to metallurgy, galvanic chemistry, and a few […]

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Interview by Sailing Zingaro

Nigel Calder — Sat, 28 Feb 2026 09:48:54 +0000

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Marine Photovoltaic – Advances in Onboard Solar

Nigel Calder — Tue, 19 Sep 2023 09:05:11 +0000

Refinements in solar power technology offer significant opportunities for marine applications, and some risks as well. BoatHowTo expert Nigel Calder delves deep into today's solar cell technology with recent developments and possible pitfalls. An earlier version of this article was initially published in Professional BoatBuilder Magazine. For a decade or so, in the technically, financially, […]

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Dock Talk with Nigel Calder & Jeff Cote – 2nd Edition

Nigel Calder — Tue, 19 Sep 2023 08:52:18 +0000

Nigel Calder and Jeff Cote got back together for another round of expert talk on marine electrical systems. Here are the other parts of the series: Nigel Calder and Jeff Cote got back together for another round of expert talk on marine electrical systems. Here are the other parts of the series:

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Understanding Marine Electrics: How to Recover Lost Capacity in a Sulfated Battery

Nigel Calder — Sat, 08 Apr 2023 20:36:23 +0000

If you have a lead-acid battery that seems to be discharging faster than it used to and recharging faster than it used to, it may be sulfated. In fact, it probably is sulfated! This is a common issue with batteries that are not regularly fully recharged, which is also a common situation with boat batteries. […]

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Understanding Marine Electrics: The Challenges of Using Fuel Cells on Boats

Nigel Calder — Sat, 08 Apr 2023 14:10:10 +0000

With the growing interest in renewable energy and new ways to store energy, fuel cells seem like an interesting option. However, having been on the fringes of three well-funded marine fuel cell projects that never made it to commercial viability, I know only too well the challenges to optimizing fuel cell installations in boats.Hydrogen Storage […]

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