Using AI to identify problems

Can AI Fix Your Engine? A Lesson from the Solent

I’ve been reading a lot of sailing forums about using AI onboard. One tip really stood out. A contributor had downloaded all his yacht manuals, uploaded them into a bot, and could then ask questions about any issue he was facing. Instead of flicking through PDFs in a rolling cabin, he simply asked AI and was getting great results.

Brilliant - I thought!

During our UK circumnavigation we’d experienced a worrying banging noise from our Volvo Penta, so I decided to try it myself. Finding a PDF of the engine manual was easy. I uploaded it into Copilot and began asking questions.

The answers were remarkably good. Clear. Structured. Instant. It filtered through the manual, identified the likely cause and suggested practical solutions. The second solution was what had happened - a screw had worked loose, allowing the engine to shift slightly on its mount. We moored up, found the missing screw, tightened everything back down, and the problem was solved.

Impressive.

A couple of weeks later, I was racing a Hallberg-Rassy in the Solent. We’d moored in Yarmouth overnight. The next morning we started the engine, engaged gear… and had no propulsion.

Time to test AI again.

Within seconds it suggested:

• Likely gearbox issue – prop not engaging

• Sheared shaft coupling

• Rope around the prop

All sensible. All logical.

I also dropped the problem into our instructors’ WhatsApp group. The chief instructor replied almost immediately:

“I bet the prop has fallen off.”

I assumed she was joking. She wasn’t. Apparently, this is surprisingly common on well-used school boats due to students over revving and being heavy handed on the throttle.

Sea Start, the sailing RAC equivalent, came to the rescue and placed a camera under the hull. My Chief instructor was right ... the prop was lying four meters under the yacht on the sea bed.

The Lesson?

AI is excellent at:

• Searching manuals

• Explaining systems

• Offering structured possibilities

• Providing calm, logical troubleshooting steps

But it doesn’t yet have 20 years of instinct built from watching props fall off training yachts in the Solent.

AI is an enthusiastic intern.Experienced sailors are the seasoned skipper.

It’s a powerful tool — but not the boss.

And when your engine revs and the boat doesn’t move, sometimes you need wisdom, not just data.