alant
Well-Known Member
Easily done, if you have the luxury of time (on a per diem contract) & even then those checks are no guarantee.
A Question Of Seamanship. February YM
- Thread starter Uricanejack
- Start date
Easily done, if you have the luxury of time (on a per diem contract) & even then those checks are no guarantee.
LadyInBed
Well-Known Member
Back on topic . .
I would scratch head and try and work out why WG and Solar haven't kept the batteries up.
If batteries on 12v banks have failed, reconfigure batteries from 24v bank!
Last option, drag the Mains Gen out.
I would scratch head and try and work out why WG and Solar haven't kept the batteries up.
If batteries on 12v banks have failed, reconfigure batteries from 24v bank!
Last option, drag the Mains Gen out.
dom
Well-Known Member
Agreed: in fact I don't think my suggested checks would have spotted any of the problems you had! I mean if one thinks about it, hardly a week goes by without a professionally maintained and commercially regulated ship suffering a major engine failure, ballast problem, or whatever
Uricanejack
Well-Known Member
I suppose its a bit of a drift. getting into check about how the batteries went flat wasn't the original question rather how to deal with the problem once it arose.
Not being a delivery dude. I wont make special claims. My own boat might sit a while between outings. and I did my own delivery.
You check things prior to departure. All you know is they worked when you checked them.
You check its all ok and a few hours later something unexpected happens.
Happens on Plans, Trains, Automobiles, Ships and Boats.
In this story batteries.
Depending upon your batteries, how much faith you have in them, and how much power you are using. you might start your engine every so often and run for a while.
Not being a delivery dude. I wont make special claims. My own boat might sit a while between outings. and I did my own delivery.
You check things prior to departure. All you know is they worked when you checked them.
You check its all ok and a few hours later something unexpected happens.
Happens on Plans, Trains, Automobiles, Ships and Boats.
In this story batteries.
Depending upon your batteries, how much faith you have in them, and how much power you are using. you might start your engine every so often and run for a while.
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NormanS
Well-Known Member
If you are preparing to take a strange boat , which has been lying for several years, would you trust the battery capacity? How difficult would it be to go out and buy a battery "just in case"?
Similarly with fuel that has been lying for years, would you trust it? It has to be thoroughly checked either by bottom drain, or sampling the bottom of the tank from above. Carry lots of filters.
All standing and running rigging has to be checked. Condition of sails has to be checked. Basically with an unknown boat, particularly one which has been lying for some years, everything is suspect until properly checked. Otherwise you don't set out. Delivery trips are notorious for trouble, but some things are pretty obvious.
Similarly with fuel that has been lying for years, would you trust it? It has to be thoroughly checked either by bottom drain, or sampling the bottom of the tank from above. Carry lots of filters.
All standing and running rigging has to be checked. Condition of sails has to be checked. Basically with an unknown boat, particularly one which has been lying for some years, everything is suspect until properly checked. Otherwise you don't set out. Delivery trips are notorious for trouble, but some things are pretty obvious.
alant
Well-Known Member
How much time do you want to factor in?
capnsensible
Well-Known Member
I reckon a day is normally enough unless you find problems. State of growth underwater can cause delays too.
NormanS
Well-Known Member
Enough to ensure that you have battery power, fuel that is not full of jelly, sails that don't fall apart. Need I go on?
capnsensible
Well-Known Member
You missed checking underwater.
Lyndsey Doyle
N/A
Good afternoon, a most interesting thread. Prepping for delivery is so variable, according to the distance and season, as well as the state of the boat..
A slight digression but hopefully of interest: there's a book of memoirs called "All Weather Yachtsman", written by one Peter Haward, about his experiences delivering always leaking, and often totally fecked, small wooden craft after WW2.
Some of his tales will make your blood run cold
it's on Amazon
atb LD
A slight digression but hopefully of interest: there's a book of memoirs called "All Weather Yachtsman", written by one Peter Haward, about his experiences delivering always leaking, and often totally fecked, small wooden craft after WW2.
Some of his tales will make your blood run cold
it's on Amazonatb LD
sailaboutvic
Well-Known Member
I think I got the answer , remover the fan belt , make a small slot in the crank pulley , wrap a 10 mm rope around the pulls , lastly give it a good pull .
That use to work on my lawn mower very well .
That use to work on my lawn mower very well .
dunedin
Well-Known Member
The French singlehanded racer's trick was to attach a rope to the engine pulley wheel, up out through the hatch and attach to the boom ............. then crash gybe the mainsail with as much force as possible. Apparently it worked
RichardS
N/A
But I'll bet your lawnmower was air-cooled Vic?
Try that on a watercooled engine and you are entering a world of pain.
(just in case anyone thinks you are being serious
)Richard
vyv_cox
Well-Known Member
But I'll bet your lawnmower was air-cooled Vic?
Try that on a watercooled engine and you are entering a world of pain.
(just in case anyone thinks you are being serious
Richard
Vic's lawnmower was presumably a single cylinder, petrol fuelled engine with a compression ratio of 7:1 or maybe less. Whereas my diesel engine has three cylinders with a compression ratio of something like 20:1. It's quite difficult to bar a good engine over with a lever of 30 cm or more, never mind a pulley wheel with a radius of about 5 cm. It is possible, but not by me, to start a Bukh DV20 by first getting it turning quickly with a starting handle while decompressed, then closing the decompressors. A Bukh has a big heavy flywheel that helps to keep the momentum up but I never got mine past the first compression stroke. I have read of people claiming to start the single cylinder DV10 manually but I have never seen it.
Bru
Well-Known Member
I've started a Lister SR2 by hand by dropping one compression level at a time at the right moment (getting the timing right was critical)
I've nearly broken my wrist trying to start a Lister HA2, a much bigger engine, by hand!
These were both old fashioned relatively low compression air cooled "industrial" diesels. The reason, IMO, they don't fit hand start to modern marine diesels is 'cos it would be impossible to start the engine with the thing!
I've nearly broken my wrist trying to start a Lister HA2, a much bigger engine, by hand!
These were both old fashioned relatively low compression air cooled "industrial" diesels. The reason, IMO, they don't fit hand start to modern marine diesels is 'cos it would be impossible to start the engine with the thing!
pvb
Well-Known Member
One of my old Westerlys had a hand-start on its engine (MD11C maybe?). I tried it several times, but as soon as I put the decompression lever down it just stopped dead. I think it was another of Volvo's little jokes...
fisherman
Well-Known Member
My petrol/TVO Kelvin 12/14 poppet started when I turned the flywheel while I was painting it.
http://www.sky-net.org.uk/kelvin/petrol/poppet/12hp/index.html
http://www.sky-net.org.uk/kelvin/petrol/poppet/12hp/index.html
RichardS
N/A
All that is undoubtedly true ..... but it was Vic's recommendation to remove the fan belt before starting the engine that attracted my attention as, if by some miracle the engine did start, it would be a short-lived triumph!
Richard
alant
Well-Known Member
Poignard
Well-Known Member
Until I fitted a second battery the year before last I frequently started my BUKH DV10 with the handle. There wouldn't be much point in manufacturing an engine with a starting handle that couldn't be used.
