GEARHEAD
conflicts, unreliability, or excessive
maintenance costs. Avoiding such
problems could be as simple as
ensuring that the vacuum pump
that’s been installed for the sanitation
system doesn’t impede access to a
seacock or washdown pump. Taking
this approach may require a bit
more forethought on the part of the
designer or installer and perhaps
added labor; however, the investment
will pay dividends.
Simply put, inadequate forethought
can lead to inability to reach an
important piece of gear. In other
cases, the problem is more insidious.
Installation of a large bank of AGM
batteries with a standard, off-the-
shelf engine alternator and a small,
dockside maintenance battery
charger will lead to batteries that are
incorrectly charged and chronically
under charged, resulting in their
premature and costly demise, along
with the user’s deep dissatisfaction.
Follow Installation Instructions
The second aspect of successfully
implementing ICECTOK involves
installing gear in the very strictest
accordance with manufacturers’
installation instructions. I’m simply
amazed at the number of times
I review a vessel or individual
installation and note in my report:
“The (fill in the blank) inverter/
watermaker/engine/generator/
exhaust system is not installed in
accordance with the manufacturer’s
guidelines and is in danger of (fill
in the blank) failing/collapsing/
catching fire/electrocuting crew.
See page XX of the manual,
available at www.ABCXYZ123.com/
installationmanual for the necessary
corrective action.”
The good news is the solution to
this problem is relatively easy and
cruisers need not settle for less in
the process. Nay, you should expect
more of those designing, building,
and working on your boat. They
need to adhere to a not-so-tall
order; do their homework to ensure
complex systems are properly laid
out, well-integrated, and installed
in accordance with manufacturers’
guidelines. That’s it.
