First couple of trips in a 21EC... Motor question

[BattleBorn]

Good morning everyone!

I recently purchased a 21EC and named it Knot So Fast. We love the boat! Will be posting some awesome pictures in the Emerald Green waters of the Gulf of Mexico here shortly. All of the systems on the boat worked great! The fridge was cold, the AC worked (as well as it can in the Florida heat), bow thruster and motor all worked great to UNTIL... The motor began to sputter and randomly kill itself.

It wasn't an electric problem, there was plenty of gas and we weren't in shallow water or anything. So after talking to the group and the previous owner it was suggested that I put some Diesel stabilizer in the gas tank because the boat had sat unused for quite some time prior to my purchasing it. In addition it was suggested that I change the primary and secondary fuel filters to make sure they weren't clogged. I did all of that and took the boat out again and had a couple of days with no issies.

Then after running the motor most of a day, it begun to stutter again. It seems like the motor isn't getting sufficient fuel almost like its choking. It hasn't been bad enough to kill the motor, it just drops in RPM really low for a second or two and then, thankfully, climbs back up without me touching the throttle at all. I checked all fluids, made sure the gas tank was actually full, electrics are good and filters have been changed. The only other thing I can think of is maybe the fuel filter needs to be replaced but I figured I'd ask just in case anyone else had seen this issue before. Thanks in advance for the help!!!

 

[Capt’nKarl]

Congratulations on your new boat! We recently sold our 21 with the Yanmar 3YM30 diesel engine. What year is the boat and what engine type and hours? You mentioned the fuel had been in the tank quite some time. Diesel will go bad and things can grow in the diesel fuel. You might want to consider emptying the tank and get fresh fuel. You may even want to get the tank cleaned (or polished as they say) to get rid of any contamination. Additionally if there was a lot of sludge in the tank you can easily clog new fuel filters. Clean fuel and clear air are required for these engines to operate. If it sounds like the engine is not getting fuel then that is likely the cause. I’d start by siphoning the old fuel out, putting in fresh fuel, I always added some SeaFoam in the fuel, and then look at the fuel filters again to see if there’s an issue. Maybe we’ll see you on the water! Cheers.

 

[BattleBorn]

Thanks Capt'nKarl!

So its a 2015 with the Penta engine in it with about 160 hrs on it. I like the idea of siphoning out the tank. That's easy enough and I could re-fill it with fresh gas. I'll definitely do this before we go out next time.

PS.. Are you in the area?? We'd love to get a group together that live in the Pensacola Destin area to do a trip somewhere together.

 

[Capt’nKarl]

We’re practically neighbors. We keep our R-23 at our home on Garçon Point. One of favorite spots to anchor out for a couple of weeks is Big Sabine in Santa Rosa sound. Once the weather cools down we’re planning a trip to Destin, Panama City and then Apalachicola. See ya on the water!

 

[BattleBorn]

Thats awesome! We keep our 21EC at home in Navarre. Usually go into the water at the Navarre beach slip and either go East to Crab island or West to Sand island. Haven't explored too much further than that at this point. We should link up one of these weekends when you're out on the water. Do you by any chance have a mechanic you go to in the area? That's the one thing I haven't been able to track down since I picked up Knot So Fast.

 

[Pilotnavigator]

You guys keep talking about gas, I hope you really mean diesel! Sound like water in the fuel, was there water in the bottom of the primary filter?

 

[bob daily]

Check the pick up tube in the fuel tank, numerous reports of them having screens installed and becoming fouled. Bob

 

[BattleBorn]

Thanks Pilotnav. I keep saying gas but I mean diesel. I spent about an hour thinking back to make sure I put in diesel instead of gas but I for sure did! Just have to get used to saying it :lol: .

Thanks Bob! I'm going to check it when I siphon out the diesel. I'll post an update when I get there.

 

[iggy]

It sounds like you need to polish the fuel. Do to the fact that the engine was running again after you changed the filters.

 

[BattleBorn]

Iggy,

You mean polish the fuel tank?

 

[TylerFromEverett]

Iggy,

You mean polish the fuel tank?

Polishing fuel is basically running it through filters remove water and bio growth. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_polishing


With a 21 (I have a 21 too) it’s probably least expensive to dispose of old fuel and put in fresh fuel. I know the pickup tube in the fuel tank can clog. There’s a little screen on the end that gets gunked up. If it were me, is pump out and dispose of the old fuel, pull the pickup tube and check for clogs, clean the tank if it’s slushy and fill with fresh fuel and see if that makes it better.

 

[ohioan55]

Good luck with your new boat.

 

[palle]

Check the pick up tube in the fuel tank, numerous reports of them having screens installed and becoming fouled. Bob

The Screen on my pick up tube (C26) was fouled creating all sorts of engine stops or reduced RPMs. Finally figured it out and removed the screen. No problems since.