Tuesday 7th May, 2013 - Mostly OK

Living in the UK at anchor with a dog and a toddler - what can possibly go wrong?!
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Jeff
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Tuesday 7th May, 2013 - Mostly OK

Post by Jeff »

Was intending to do a long blog post today, with some photos and info about all the work I've done to the boat over the winter, but I've sat down in front of my computer for the first time in well over a week and my inbox is bursting... and we have an engine concern - again.

We're all fine and the weather so far has been glorious so it's been a pretty relaxed re-introduction into boat life for us. Nina is completely unfazed by any of it and is loving all the things to wave at from the wheelhouse. Lunar didn't bat an eyelid and knew exactly what was going on as soon as we put on her lifejacket.

All nine of the seacocks I replaced are fine. Two hoses were seeping where they connected so I removed and reseated them - they're now fine also.

Initially the engine fired up flawlessly, instantly, which was great. We motored slowly down from Totnes to Dittisham without incident, and had a lovely couple of days there.

Then we motored down to anchor off Dartmouth - engine seemed to take half a second longer than normal to fire up.

Wind was forecast so the following day we moved onto a pontoon - again, slightly slow engine start.

2 days later when we moved back to the anchorage, the engine took about 3 seconds (instead of 1) to fire up, and then seemed to be stuggling for about 10 seconds before settling to normal.

Similar this AM moving back to the pontoon again in preparation for the mini storm forecast in the next 48 hours.

My gut feeling is that there's a tiny air leak in the fuel system, which lets in a teeny amount of air over time when the engine's not running, and which clears out as soon as we're up and running.

We've got the new Racor Duplex fuel filter installed now with a lot of extra piping and connections so it could be almost anywhere! Any suggestions of how to locate microscopic fuel system air leaks? I'm thinking of removing the pipe from the tank and putting some diesel into it much higher up than the tank, so there's a 'head' of fuel, and then carefully inspecting all connections. Diesel molecules are absolutely tiny so perhaps if air can get in under suction, diesel can get out the same way, under pressure... maybe.

Any better suggestions? :?
Last edited by Jeff on Tue May 07, 2013 12:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Discus
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Post by Discus »

Yes, you have an air leak. Nip up all your new connections, rebleed the system, dry off all the fuel connections and dust them lightly with talc. Any fuel seeping out should show up on the talc - but the leak might be too slight to notice. Run engine in gear on pontoon for a while to make sure there isn't a small air bubble in the system from when you rebuilt it. Shut down engine, leave to cool and then try restarting to see if the problem has shifted. All obvious stuff but rinse and repeat until the leak is found! Good luck!

Rob
Jeff
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Post by Jeff »

Thanks Rob. I re-bled, tightened everything up a touch, started no problem. It does however slightly change note from time to time with a minascule change in revs, and I can't recall if it always did that or not. Perhaps it's just caused by the non smooth blowing out of cooling water in the exhaust... I ran it for about 30 mins, sometimes under some load... and I went to start it this AM from cold and it fired up no problem. So perhaps I've fixed it.

Watch this space.

Meanwhile, application of a large quantity of CT1 (which I am totally in love with) around the panes of our sunroof seems to have totally solved its dripping problem.

For the time being, we have a completely dry ship, with a working engine.

It won't last :(

:)
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Post by Discus »

Did it last? :?:
Jeff
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Post by Jeff »

All well ATM. Anchored in peaceful waters. And we have one of our four sails installed! Involved a solo mast climb with prussic loops which was cool. More sails going on tomorrow hopefully.

How's your boat coming along?
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Post by Discus »

What the devil are Prussic loops? Sounds like piles! Still chipping away with the new boat. Hoping to launch before the end of the month but its all going a bit slowly for no real reason. Have an autopilot to install and other bits and pieces to do. Weather seems to be holding up the exterior work and I think I may be moving the goalposts a bit. Bet the boat will look a bit different with the sails on - cutter ketch?

Rob
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Post by Jeff »

Prussic loops are knots used for climbing up ropes when you can't find your ascenders as they're in a locker somewhere - but goodness knows where!

I used the "French Prussic' version of the knot. It's my favourite.

Ah, I spelt it wrong. It's 'prusik'. Here's a link:

http://www.animatedknots.com/klemheist/

Two of those on the rope you want to climb. Attach yourself to one of them, and put the other below, for a foot. Stand up on the lower one, sliding up the one you're attached to as high as you can. Sit down. Slide up the lower one. Etc.

Yep ours is a cutter rigged ketch. I got the jib on this morning, single handed. That was fun in the unforecast breeze that kicked in! Think we'll just put the main on and try sailing like that for a bit before bending on the staysail as well. I want to find out how much difference it makes so need to try things out without it first. Also I don't really understand how it works yet. It's roller furled, but not roller reefed, so it's either ON or OFF. Plenty of time to fiddle with that later.

--

Why don't you focus only on the jobs that will actually stop you from launching and do the rest once afloat. The autopilot could be done after launch at least? Come on in, the water's lovely!!! :D
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