Bukh dv36 what to look out for?

[TNLI]

On my 1979 DV36 the hand-start 'option' just involves buying a crank handle (and perhaps a gym membership!). Bukh spares being what they are, the crank handle was about £100 last time I looked, but it's simple enough that someone with engineering skills and equipment could make their own.) On my engine the handle can go in either at the forward end of the engine (top side port), or the aft end, roughly above the gearbox, to suit your installation. A shaft runs between the two ends, and if I recall correctly is connected to the engine by a chain.

I'm not sure that hand-start shaft is now standard, and it, or some substitute, may now be an optional extra.

Ahh! great post, as I could not understand why the plans of a Bukh 2 cylinder turbo diesel show something sticking out over the gearbox. It's a second start handle location!

 

[penfold]

Aluminium is incredible in terms of how good a thermal conductor it is, so I plan to fit an internal heat transfer system, which might be based on a set of aluminium pipes and plates. Not keen on fitting an outside cooler plate because I'm planning to cover the entire hull below the waterline with very high grade genuine epoxy with about half a dozen layers of fine glass cloth, not the junk polyester or commercial floor epoxy that most boat builders use.

Why not have a coolant tank welded to the hull(or bolted to a welded flange) like a narrowboat? Better heat transfer.

 

[TNLI]

Why not have a coolant tank welded to the hull(or bolted to a welded flange) like a narrowboat? Better heat transfer.

Thanks for the reply, and the lifeboat I'm building is based on the hull of an offshore ships lifeboat, (Around 1965), that was converted to a river or coastal motorboat using chipboard panels and cheap Polyester glass job for surface protection. It was abandoned due to a serious engine failure, (Glow plug pin failure, that smashed a cylinder crown), before it sank. That type of hull consists of 2 halfs riveted together. The quality of the aluminium used is far better than that used for most aluminium hulls, BUT it is rather thin, so welding a plate to it would very tricky, and expensive. The only way to attach a plate, is to through bolt it, with an adhesive that sticks to metals. The only one available that has proven published test results for both Al and stainless steel, is Sabatack 750XL, (In white, black or Mahogany). Most canal boats have flat sides and hull panels, but alas my boat does not, so an off the shelf stainless or alloy cooler panel will not work. Early days at present, but it will have to be a made to measure pair of cooler panels.

Note: The picture of my crew was taken from where the old engine, (BMC 1500), was located. The birds are sitting on top of the emergency tools and other gear box which is bolted to the engine support frame. The main coffin berth is just just behind them, and should be roll over or pitchpole proof. There is a survivors cabin emergency access hatch at the foot of the coffin berth, and the 2 fuel tanks are located under the central rescue deck, on either side of the main cabin coffin berth.
The survivors cabin has ports that can only be opened from the outside for very good reasons, and my design has 2 main watertight bulkheads, 2 central bulkheads and a fairly watertight engine bay, with 7 bilge pumps and one 240v emergency pump . If the 2 fuel tank side lockers are stuffed full of cheap lifejackets, the design should be accepted as unsinkable, even if all of the watertight bulkheads fail due to pounding on the rocks. Even with the boat flooded, she should be self righting, I hope!

 

[TNLI]

One swift update is that I've now decided the engine I'm planning to buy, will be the more powerful DV36. It might be the wrong move in fuel economy terms, but it is still in current production , so no long terms risks of lack of parts, combined with the fact I might need to tow another boat in rough conditions one day. Hand start, cooling plate or plates on the inside of the alloy hull, but I'm going to give the radiator idea a miss, as it should be possible to heat the aft cabin using a small 240v fan heater when the generator in the forward cabin is running. I've already fitted a diesel burner heater in the forward survivors cabin, but don't want to rely on just one heat source. Oddly enough a clued up friend pointed out that it makes more sense to install a third set of small NiCads or even LiFe batteries to power a few heat pads or electric blankets. I don't like gas or petrol vapur explosions, so the galley plan includes one old classic Primus paraffin stove and one born again Origo 1500 alcohol stove, along with a small microwave oven. You can get paraffin anywhere in the world, and although I love using an Origo, it can be mission impossible to obtain industrial alcohol in many countries.

 

[Lucy&Paul]

Matthew,
I think we have the exact same issue with ours. Once you had replaced the oil pipe and overhauled pump did you have any further issues?

Our gearbox / shaft appears also to be seized and I am unsure if connected.

Thanks in advance,
Lucy

"Rawwater pump leaking saltwater onto steel oil cooler pipe,corroded right through - Found oil in bilge and eventually found the problem hiding behind pipework and raw water pump. With hindseight the rawater pulp had probably been leaking."

 

[TNLI]

Matthew,
I think we have the exact same issue with ours. Once you had replaced the oil pipe and overhauled pump did you have any further issues?

Our gearbox / shaft appears also to be seized and I am unsure if connected.

Thanks in advance,
Lucy

"Rawwater pump leaking saltwater onto steel oil cooler pipe,corroded right through - Found oil in bilge and eventually found the problem hiding behind pipework and raw water pump. With hindseight the rawater pulp had probably been leaking."

It seems that the seawater pumps of any marine diesel can cause trouble, which is why I like keel cooling. I gave up on the Bukh 36 due to weight concerns, (Engine not mine), ordered a Bukh 24, but when that was not ready and a few old friends claimed it would not be a big enough donkey to tow anything, I finished up buying an old BMC 1500, which was the same as the original donkey, but the new one has a PRM hydraulic box. Keel cooled so no raw water pump.