Peter certainly captured the spirit of my post! Let me expand and reiterate a little. "If it ain't broke . . . " was indeed a turn of phrase and does not represent my modus operandi. (I probably should never have written that!) As someone with more than a few miles offshore over 20 years in the U.S. Navy and 30-some aboard my own yachts and OPBs, I believe strongly in and practice preventive maintenance. I also believe in carrying spares and tools appropriate for the passage and having the skills to use them. But let me reiterate my original post where I tried to stress that we have an engine with a track record of NEVER using oil: "My rule is to never shut down a well running main engine at sea just to check oil. As far as I am concerned, the downside of interrupting the heartbeat of a running engine at sea and not being able to re-start it is far outweighs the upside of making sure the oil is right up to the top mark on the dipstick. If the engine loses enough oil to pose a danger to itself, the oil pressure will drop, the alarm will sound, and THEN we'll shut down. In nearly 800 hours of engine time, our Lugger main engine has never consumed as much as a quart of oil so I am comfortable with the risk of not checking oil for days at a time, and reiterate that I consider shutting down an engine that shows no signs of oil loss problems simply to make sure the oil is right up to the top mark is not for me." I stick with that! When engine oil is lost, it has to go somewhere, and where it goes may become obvious to an observant skipper. If I see a serious oil leak in the engine room or notice an oil sheen in the exhaust, then I'll have a good reason to shut down the engine and check the oil level--and won't hesitate to do so. If there's no evidence of an oil leak of consequence, however, I'll stick with my original approach. And Ibll admit that the alarm, though proven reliable in 800 hours, may fail. But Ibll take that risk. All that said, I must say that the dialog here on this subject has gotten me thinking more seriously of installing a Murphy gauge. Larry Briggs, cruising aboard Chartwell in the far Pacific, put it very well in an offline e-mail to me: bSince the ' 60's I have used Murphy gauges on the oil sumps to keep track of the oil. What could be simpler than a Murphy gauge connected to the oil pan via a high quality hose and with a valve on the oil pan?b We intend to take this boat to the Mediterranean next spring and spend several years there, and so we have a good many offshore miles ahead. Ibm thinking a Murphy gauge for the main engine is beginning to sound like a good investment! Thanks to everyone for your input. --Milt Baker, MY Bluewater, Hamilton, Bermuda