Primary propulsion failures

[Newtugnut]

PRIMARY PROPULSION FAILURES SINCE 1981
'Jersey Cream' Sunstar 28 (23 yrs)

Symptoms - Engine exhaust blowing white smoke almost steam like, engine feels warm, overheat alarm

Problem- Raw Water coolant filter inlet plug. Tiny piece of sea weed caught on Inlet side of raw water filter

Solution - remove sea weed , change to larger filter with bigger orfices

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Symptoms - Engine won't run at normal rpm stalls, engine just sounds 'weak'

Problem - bad load of fuel

Solution - change py and sy fuel filters

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Symptoms- Engine running erratically rpm running up and down

Problem - air leak

Solution - Looked all over and realized RACOR not tightened down

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Symptoms - engine suddenly stops

Problem - Rope on prop

Solution - Friend in sailing club who was a diver dove down and freed rope

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Symptoms - Boat shaking like crazy , only happens sometimes at certain slow to moderate speeds

Problem - cavation

Solution - Back off throttle to neutral let boat speed slow down and put into gear again

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Symptoms - Engine blowing black smoke and over heat alarm came on

Problem - After inspection, water inlet etc thermostat defective

Solution - change out thermostat
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'Kindred Spirit' Catalina 36 (7years)

Symptoms - Engine runs okay for a few minutes then bogs down and shuts down, wait a few minutes and start up again same thing happens

Problem - overfilled fuel tank fuel ran up the vent line

Solution - limp into dock ran engine for a while with fuel cap off to burn off some fuel (checked vent line its straight with no dips)

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Symptoms - Engine blowing black smoke seems to be running hot problem, overtemp alarm

Problem - stuck thermostat

Solution - changed out later at the dock

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Symptoms - While pulling in dinghy underway to check on something line swept into prop. Engine stopped. this is even with floating poly line !

Problem - line on prop

Solution - got towed in by another club member dove on boat at dock removed rope
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'Blue Horizons' R31 nothing yet! Touch wood

LESSONS LEARNED
most problems relate to poor/non existent coolant or fuel flow - this is consistent with prevailing wisdom in the literature for a diesel engine

Be prepared to change fuel filters in the field and check vent/fuel/coolant lines/filters, consider thermostat change outs every 4 years

Check fan belt, fresh water coolant level (after engine cold), raw water strainer back flush with air from your lungs (yes this is eay to do) with a spare piece of hose lots of bubbles will be produced outside the hull, indicating the passage is clear

Following that

raw water impeller, thermostat and finally fresh water impeller all in that order

Unless you are mechanically inclined document all wrench sizes parts for each job. Do your own engine maintenance and/or at least a
Partial dry run (to cover each potential issue) just short of changing out the offending part.

Have a mask, snorkle on board with a cheap shorty wet suit - test drive this gear diving in a safe comfortable anchorage seeing how easy/or not it is to dive on the thru hulls, look at prop, thrusters - also a good time to determine weight belt weight needed for neutral buoyancy. Use caution diving in marinas . In some rare cases the water is hot , people have been electrocuted.

That's enough!

 

[Newtugnut]

Sorry forgot the intro to this note. It was prompted by a gen set cooling failure we had on the Desolation Sound Trip. Got us think about all the other failures over the years, lessons learned etc

 

[PhilR]

What the hell am I doing owning a boat!!!

 

[steveandtina]

GREAT INSIGHTS NEWBIE,,WOW A 31!! NO ENTRY LEVEL RANGER FOR YOU--- SEE YOU AT THE RONDVUE STEVEANDTINA,, :lol:

 

[Gin]

I'm kinda with PhilR -- what the hell are we doing owning a boat!!!

Agree -- great post!

- Gini

 

[knotflying]

I would say boats are the most hostile environment for electrical and mechanical parts. You have to be prepared to deal with problems on a regular basis and be proactive with maintenance.