13 Boat Upgrades That Are WORTH IT (And 5 That KILL Your Diesel)

A retired marine surveyor walks through thirteen boat upgrades that actually earn their money on a cruising boat or trawler, and five popular upgrades that quietly kill a good marine diesel. On the worth-it side: L E D lighting, a real battery monitor and shunt, a Class B A I S transceiver, a second fuel filter and fuel polishing, a dripless shaft seal, solar with a proper controller, a lithium iron phosphate house bank, oversized ground tackle and all chain rode, a below deck autopilot, a bow thruster for an aging crew, a diesel cabin heater, a watermaker, and a high water bilge alarm with a backup pump. Each one comes with a real dated price and the exact thing a surveyor looks for when the next buyer walks the boat. On the kill side, counted down to the worst: running the engine soft and wet stacking it, over propping for fuel economy, chasing horsepower out of an old naturally aspirated diesel, bolting on an oversized alternator, and the number one killer, wiring a big lithium bank straight to the stock alternator with no external regulator. The theme for the shopper and the owner alike is simple: the upgrade is rarely the problem. The shortcut is. Buyer protection, resale value, and engine longevity from a man who spent thirty five years crawling bilges.