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→Safety in Design Avoids Disasters
A temperature sensor and indicator that fails to zero is better than one that fails to ‘overheated’. If the water temperature gauge on your engine fails and drops to zero, it won’t take long to figure out that everything seems normal and that you have time to figure things out. If it fails in the other direction, you might be panicked into shutting down the engine. Maybe you skimped on the size of the house bank, and this happened just as the alternators were going to kick in. Now you have an engine shut down and dangerously low batteries. Next…well you get the picture.
You can reduce the probability of an [[DisasterAvoidance|operational disaster]] by analysing a dependency tree. Systems that are mutually dependent on a common subsystem are easy to identify so, in particular, look for systems that interact in unexpected ways.
Many boats supplement diesel propulsion with propane in the galley. Propane is much cleaner than diesel, and easier to cook with. It's also more explosive. While diesel will burn, it will not explode. Diesel flashes at 100-160 °F, depending on the grade, while propane flashes at -156 °F. (An alternative is to use AC if you have enough electrical power.)