|
|
|
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 manual...
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?
Universal M-25 Diesel engine with 2" heat exchanger
Universal M-25 Diesel engine with 3" heat exchanger
The 3" heat exchanger made a HUGE difference.
AND...an undersized hose from the salt water pump to heat exchanger was
replaced. That would have made a huge difference supplying cooling sea water to
the 2" heat exchanger
Overheating issue resolved
From 1992 to July 2009 the top issue had been the diesel running hot. I'd had
the heat exchanger replaced, rebuilt or acid washed, had the thermostat
replaced, hoses replaced, salt water pump serviced, and sea strainer cleaned.
After heat exchanger maintenance the engine would run ok for hours but we still
had to watch the temperature to ensure it didn't go over 180. We didn't ever
open it up full throttle or it would overheat for sure.
I ran across the "heat exchanger undersized" service bulletin reference in a
forum, had our diesel go-to guy install the upgrade, and yup, issue that plagued
us for years was solved.
But wait, there's more... sure enough we are overpropped, not a bad thing
though. On a sea trial after the heat exchanger upgrade we're motoring at 7
knots full throttle with no sails up, and RPM's 2800 max - not 3000 as per spec.
Beautiful prop-wash and the boat sitting low in the water up to the port name.
Wow. Never saw that before.
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
And if an overhaul is ever needed, a nifty post with pictures on the Catalina 36
forum on exhaust system overhaul...
more
Exhaust riser failure is quite a topic, here's an informative article all about
it...
more
Reality Check improvement projects
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...
Anchor Locker pinhole leaks
Anchor Locker before photos
forums for sailing and on maintenance
sailboatowners.com
sailboat boat
projects and upgrades - how to's on pbase - interesting projects on a
Catalina 36 and Universal M-25
Diesel engine forum
Catalina 36 forum archive
Diesel engine tips
cruisersforum.com
|
|
|
|
|
