never put off to tomorrow

[Capt’nKarl]

Got out on our 21 EC for the first time this season. It was the perfect weekend for an overnighter. Had the good sense to go over the belts and hoses and give the engine a good onceover before putting in the water. Everything looked and sounded fine. As I was loading supplies I looked at the new water flow device I'd recently bought to install sitting on my work bench and said something like " not today, lets go play". We launched as usual and motored through Pensacola Bay, the Big Lagoon and finally stopped at our secret spot around 2ish. I was very pleased to get 6.5 knots at 2500 RPM with full fuel, water and a weekend of supplies on board. We settled in for the night and slept like babies in the cool weather here. We woke up in sunshine and more beautiful weather and just watched the dolphin play. We decided to pull anchor around 10 and make our way back to the east. The diesel sprang to life with barely a rotation and within a second or two the sight and sound of water coming out of the exhaust made me smile. With the anchor stowed the first mate took her out of the small cove and into Wolf Bay. Fortunately we were only running about 1600 RPM when I noticed a slightly different sound coming from the engine. By the time I turned around to open the engine cover the high temperature alarm was screaming. I immediately shut the engine down and opened the cover. There before my very eyes was the torn apart water pump belt. We were not in a crowded place so I dropped the anchor to get a better look while secretly kicking myself in the arse. I carry all the spares and within an hour had the belt replaced. Only suffered a little blood loss getting to that water pump nut under the pump, you know the one. The good news is I don't think any damage was done as nothing seemed to be harmed. After changing the belt the engine started easily and water poured out the exhaust. There were no noticeable changes in speed, RPM or power. However, that voice kept going off in my head saying had I had the flow device attached the belt would have still broken but I would've had an IMMEDIATE alarm to shut down the engine. So, GUESS WHAT I'M DOING TODAY?

Cheers to water flow meters!!

Capt Karl

 

[SGIDAVE]

Hello Capt Karl

How old was the failed belt? Or, how many hours where on it?

Dave

 

[Capt’nKarl]

Dave,
The belt was about 2 years old with maybe 150 hrs on it. I remember changing both belts shortly after buying the boat. I run the belt a little on the loose side to minimize putting excessive strain on the water pump bearings and I think this causes extra wear on the belt but a belt is less than a pump. Had I paid more attention to the wear and tear as compared to the new belt it was obvious it was on its last leg. There was a lot of belt dust inside the belt cover as well. Duh! I should have noticed that! Good ole hindsight. Hopefully won't happen again. A lot less frustration working at home on the trailer than in the water.
Cheers,

Karl