I got the bill today and was pleased to see it was about what I expected, it’s not cheap, but a lot cheaper than it would have been in Europe or America. The discount I negotiated for the osmosis covered the cost of repairs, and left some change to pay towards the bow thruster.
Tomorrow (Saturday) we should launch.
I spent the day checking on odd bits and pieces, the last seacock, which needed to be checked, was seized. I was sure I had checked this before, but that was 3 months ago. Anyway, it’s the cone type and was easy to fix, and should be good for a while.
I decided I would check the engine instrument panel to see if I could fix the temp gauge, I suspect it’s a wiring problem as the panel is cracked and allowing water in behind, however, things went quite wrong for me. I started by cleaning all the spade connectors behind the panel and checking for loose wires, the last time I tried the main starter switch it was a bit flakey; like a car, it has many positions before the actually engine start bit happens, also it goes backwards as well. On my old Volvo engine, or is it on the Beta engine, you go backwards (Anti Clockwise) to put the pre-heaters on. anyway I thought I could try both ways quickly, as the worst that would happen would be the engine would try to turn over and I could stop it and try the other positions. So on turning it to pre-heat, or so I thought, I heard a clunk from the engine, thinking that it had tried to start, I was startled to hear water gushing out the exhaust, a closer listen revealed the quiet purring of the engine as it ran. Shit, that’s a big problem, I don’t remember how to stop it, there isn’t a stop knob to be seen, fortunately it’s in neutral, so no passing workers hands will be chopped off by the prop, but if I don’t stop it quickly, the engine will suffer badly without cooling water.
So into the engine compartment, apparently, it’s possible to remove a stack of junk from the engine box cover, undo the clips, remove the companionway steps and heave the big box cover out of the way in 3 seconds, when there’s a will! I quickly found the little lever by the throttle that stops the engine, and could start breathing again.
The problem now is that the impeller, a little pump that draws in the sea water to cool the engine has been running dry, and may have started to break apart. I wouldn’t know if this was true or not until shortly after launch when the engine would start overheating, and not having yet fixed the temp gauge I wouldn’t be able to tell, until the engine seized up. Nothing for it but to extract the impeller and check for damage. Actually it’s a job I planned to do anyway at some point, so it just meant a late dinner while I dug out the manual and worked out where the pump was. The impeller didn’t look good at first, but turned out to be fine, I replaced it anyway, and hoped I have done it right, because they can be a bit temperamental on the Volvos, I had an awful time with the Volvo on Stardust.
After that, I headed off into town and tried a new Malaysian restaurant which did a very tasty honey basted chicken
Not sure if I will get away tomorrow, but if I do, it’s a 1 or 2 hour trip to the marina, where if they have wifi, I will update the blog, otherwise, it’s going to be a short post if any.
Here’s a little vid on the maxi-prop, it feathers itself and changes pitch for forward and reverse.
Paul C
Best of luck if you launch Paul. I know you have a checklist 😉
Wow, that was scary with the engine starting. I’m surprised you hadn’t thought out plan B first. You probably needed me there and the you would have said: ” so what’s your plan if the engine starts?”
Thanks Tim, you were very much in my thoughts as the impeller was running with no water, I was asking myself, “So how much have you actually learnt since your first impeller experience in Nidri Paul”. I really didn’t think there was any chance the engine could start, suppose it’s shows the engine is in good nick.
Just waiting for the money wire to complete, but hoping they will let me go based on the emails from the xfer company, showing the funds are on the way.
Just working through the list now, the trip is about as difficult as going from Nidri to Vhlio, going aground is the biggest risk as there’s loads of shallows here.
Talk soon.