Nauti Fox
Well-Known Member
Leaving Cuxton in the early morning, as we are on a drying berth and had to anchor at Stangate Creek for a couple of hours to await the incoming tide
The weather was cold and misty, the radar and AIS proving very handy tools.
By the time we got to the Barrier it was still a bit gloomy but the viz was a whole lot better.
We contacted Limehouse when we were passing Greenwich and were told to report outside, as soon as we arrived they swung the road bridge ( I hadn't known it was a road bridge) and had the lock ready. Its not the easiest entry but not bad with a little care, especially as you have to pass a restaurant (one of Gordan Ramseys) as you enter with lots of people watching.
The staff were very helpful and gave us a welcome pack with with a map of shops and restaurants and an electricity card, I found it all rather efficient and far better than the usual wait and scramble getting into St Kats.
The marina was secure although not as grand as St Kats but we enjoyed our stay. With a wider locking out window we were able to leave at 06.00 on Friday morning, I understand that if you are only staying overnight you can lock in and tie up to the public access moorings for free.
Here's a couple of pics from when we left.
Just after this I noticed the port engine temp was way up and the bloody alarm hadn't gone off! I shut the engine down and stopped and reversed the boat, restarted the engine and the temp didn't drop so decided to shut it down and carry on as Cheryl didn't want to steer in the dark while I was in amongst the engines. It would also be a bugger to pick up a mooring on one engine.
We'd reached the QE2 bridge before it had got light so I left Cheryl to steer with instructions to alter the revs on the engine if she needed any help and set to work to find the problem.
I started by closing the seacock, removing the strainer cover and opening it, good flow so no problem there, next stop remove the impellor backing plate and remove the impellor, all okay again, (but replaced it just in case it had been damaged) so I restarted the engine and loosened the raw water intercooler hose, it promptly sprayed me with freezing cold water, so yep, all alright there then.
The temp was still not right though so shut it down again.
Time to check the fresh water cooling so after leaving it for a while I gently cracked open a hose that joins near the thermostat, nothing, go and check the header tank (which is accessed by a filler cap outside on the deck) and sure enough it was very low, start to fill it with fresh water and it started to flow from the hose. Fill it to a reasonable level, start the engine and all is tickety boo, hurrah!
It must have got a blocked seawater inlet when we left Limehouse and as it got hot spat a lot of coolant out, which goes to the bilge. When I stopped the blockage must have been dislodged, but the fresh water cooling system then airlocked.
The rest of the trip was uneventful, thank goodness, but I'm annoyed at not seeing the temp rise earlier and of course need to fix the overtemp alarm which sounds a buzzer, although you can't check this on startup.
I'm glad I've got cast iron lumps as I'm not sure alloy would have come away unscathed.
The weather was cold and misty, the radar and AIS proving very handy tools.
By the time we got to the Barrier it was still a bit gloomy but the viz was a whole lot better.
We contacted Limehouse when we were passing Greenwich and were told to report outside, as soon as we arrived they swung the road bridge ( I hadn't known it was a road bridge) and had the lock ready. Its not the easiest entry but not bad with a little care, especially as you have to pass a restaurant (one of Gordan Ramseys) as you enter with lots of people watching.
The staff were very helpful and gave us a welcome pack with with a map of shops and restaurants and an electricity card, I found it all rather efficient and far better than the usual wait and scramble getting into St Kats.
The marina was secure although not as grand as St Kats but we enjoyed our stay. With a wider locking out window we were able to leave at 06.00 on Friday morning, I understand that if you are only staying overnight you can lock in and tie up to the public access moorings for free.
Here's a couple of pics from when we left.
Just after this I noticed the port engine temp was way up and the bloody alarm hadn't gone off! I shut the engine down and stopped and reversed the boat, restarted the engine and the temp didn't drop so decided to shut it down and carry on as Cheryl didn't want to steer in the dark while I was in amongst the engines. It would also be a bugger to pick up a mooring on one engine.
We'd reached the QE2 bridge before it had got light so I left Cheryl to steer with instructions to alter the revs on the engine if she needed any help and set to work to find the problem.
I started by closing the seacock, removing the strainer cover and opening it, good flow so no problem there, next stop remove the impellor backing plate and remove the impellor, all okay again, (but replaced it just in case it had been damaged) so I restarted the engine and loosened the raw water intercooler hose, it promptly sprayed me with freezing cold water, so yep, all alright there then.
The temp was still not right though so shut it down again.
Time to check the fresh water cooling so after leaving it for a while I gently cracked open a hose that joins near the thermostat, nothing, go and check the header tank (which is accessed by a filler cap outside on the deck) and sure enough it was very low, start to fill it with fresh water and it started to flow from the hose. Fill it to a reasonable level, start the engine and all is tickety boo, hurrah!
It must have got a blocked seawater inlet when we left Limehouse and as it got hot spat a lot of coolant out, which goes to the bilge. When I stopped the blockage must have been dislodged, but the fresh water cooling system then airlocked.
The rest of the trip was uneventful, thank goodness, but I'm annoyed at not seeing the temp rise earlier and of course need to fix the overtemp alarm which sounds a buzzer, although you can't check this on startup.
I'm glad I've got cast iron lumps as I'm not sure alloy would have come away unscathed.
