Apha 1 leg.

[BlueJasper]

Here goes, my first posting! My question concerns the speedo and any help would be greatly appreciated as I only got my first boat in October.

The speedo has stopped working and although it is a new boat the dealer has said it would need to be lifted to establish why it is not working. I've checked the back of the speedo and all appears O.K, I have also traced the feed back to the leg. The question is does it need to be lifted to find the fault or is there something simple that I can check myself?

Am I correct in thinking it is indeed fed by the leg?

In addition are these Alpha 1 legs any good or just basic and cheap? The engine is a Mercruiser 5ltr V8 (220hp) with a carb. The boat is a Bayliner 245. (it was going to be a jet-ski uintil the wife got involved!

 

[DepSol]

What kind of speedo is it? Is it fitted to the back of the boat/the transom or is it a paddle wheel type underneath the middle of the boat?

Possible problems are weed/algae or the pitot tube has become kinked.

Dom

 

[BlueJasper]

I'm afriad I don't know, all I have been able to establish is that a flexible tube runs from the the back of the leg (inside engine compartment) to the speedo. I was also told that it doesn't have a paddle wheel.

Phil.

 

[DepSol]

You then have to check the pitot tube hasnt become kinked or is broken, then check the bit at the transom hasnt become fouledgive it a quick brush then get some one to lift the tab with a boat hook or broom whilst you watch the gauge.

These items are cheap and easy to fit and you can get them from asap supplies on the web if its broken.

Best of luck

 

[philmayfield]

Disconnect the tube from the back of the speedo and blow down it.

Phil

 

[BlueJasper]

Thanks chaps I will give it a try. The only thing that I'm still unsure about is when I looked I thought the tube went into the leg not the transom. Is it possible that the leg drives the speedo or am I just mistaken.

Cheers

Phil.

 

[jhr]

The tube goes into the leg. If you look at it when she's out of the water, you will see a small "v" shaped notch on the leading edge of the leg, which is the inlet leading to the tube. Water rushes in, pushes up the tube et voila - in theory at least: the speedo on my Alpha 1 equipped boat has never worked!

Giving it a blow from above sounds like a good scheme, but I wouldn't do it from the leg because (a) whatever is blocking it will just get blown further up the tube and (b) God knows what's been sloshed on the leg............

 

[BlueJasper]

And now I understand.

Many thanks

Phil.

 

[davedpc]

Sometimes the small pilot hole can be blocked by antifoul.

 

[spannerman]

From your description you have the water inlet in the leg, on older models the flexi tube goes onto a nipple above the cavitation plate and could have come off, on later models it has a quick release bayonet connector which also can come loose, they should be secured with a tie wrap around the hose (earlier) bayonet connector (later) type, As the others say check the inlet isn't blocked, you can try blowing up the hose while someone looks at the speed to see if it moves.
Regarding your other question, Alpha legs are pretty reliable and have been round for a long time, the main thing is service as per schedule and keep the gearshift microswitch ( on the starboard riser) correctly adjusted, if in doubt use a dealer for this but make sure they know what they are doing as I have come across lots of mechanics that don't know how to set up the micro switch correctly.

 

[BlueJasper]

Many thanks, that has put my mind as rest re the Alpha leg. Now all I need to do is find some tax free petrol!

Phil

 

[itsonlymoney]

See PM......