maintenance

the sailboat maintenance log

It has to be easy to use, easy to maintain, searchable, and can quickly get to the type of activity you want to review. The answer is a spreadsheet!

Reality Check maintenance log
- Excel spreadsheet
- Activities listed in descending date order
- Entry can be associated with one or more types of activities
- Quickly select type of activity to review

the diesel manuals...

Universal M25 Marine Diesel owners manual, parts manual, tech manual and Service Bulletins - PDF's on the Resources page

Universal diesel heat exchanger and overheating...

How come we can't motor as fast as those guys? Sure we're a sailboat - we shouldn't be concerned about motoring. But when you're heading to or from Catalina Island dead into the wind or no wind or tired of 12 hours in the sun, yes you do want to be a motorboat for awhile - and we couldn't run the diesel at cruising spec (2400 rpm's) without overheating - so what's that mean? ...more

the waterlift muffler...

Understanding the waterlift muffler (PDF)

exhaust system maintenance notes

Exhaust hose deteriorated at transom

What's that black stuff in the bilge? Definitely NOT oil, the material settled to the bottom in little flakes...we've had black sludgy stuff in the bilge in past years, and a topic on a forum described exactly the same crud in the bilge we had...
On Reality Check the culprit was a leaky exhaust hose at the transom, and the fix was replacing the entire hose. Although the exhaust riser was suspect, it's in great shape on Reality Check.
Here's the copy of the topic from the forum about black water in bilge... more

Exhaust riser failure is quite a topic, here's an informative article all about it... more

Reality Check improvement projects

Next project - fresh water flush for the Diesel
- Flushing the salt water out of the salt water pump and heat exchanger is a great idea, and that's next on the improvement list for Reality Check
Building a new exhaust riser
Changing the Oberdorfer 202 M15 sea water pump impeller
Checking the exhaust mixing elbow, replacing hoses and vented loop
Breather hose to air intake redesign
Engine compartment insulation / soundproofing
Time to replace batteries?
Leaky Jabsco 18590 macerator, plumbing fix with PVC ball valve
Heat exchanger upgrade
Fresh water flush for the head
Bimini for the boat

Autohelm 6000 Linear drive Type 1 sticking problem

Linear drive type 1 attachment to radial drive wheel

You're steering away and the wheel feels like it is stuck - what's that? It's the linear drive pushrod sticking. The autohelm 6000 type 1 linear drive is a self contained unit with no user-serviceable parts.

Autohelm 6000 Linear drive type 1 mounting photos

The autohelm and corresponding linear drive are part of the original equipment on 1984 Reality Check, the autopilot works great but the ram feels like it catches on something occasionally when manually steering. A tug on the wheel brings it over. The pushrod (ram) is attached to the radial drive wheel - if it seizes up the pushrod can be "quickly" detached from the mounting bracket. I have a life-size picture of that

--> What does Raymarine customer support say about it? Send the linear drive in to be diagnosed. Maybe next year...