engine start problem after heeling a lot

[ste7ve]

I have a Nauticat 321 with a Yanmar 40hp engine with 400 hours use. Normally the engine starts immediately. However I have had a few instances where we have been sailing upwind in strong conditions (F6/7) for a time with the boat well heeled over and after which it is difficult to start the engine. It needs to be cranked over a fair bit before it reluctantly comes to life. Afterwards no problem until the next time. It's all a bit panicky at the time because like at this weekend it happened on Saturday night when we took the sails in and wanted to motor into Portsmouth.
Is this problem likely to be because water is getting up the exhaust outlet when heeled over?

 

[Gunfleet]

Is the tank full? My boat is capable of gulping froth if I let the fuel level drop too low when motor-sailing, leading to the problem you describe.

 

[webcraft]

Most engines have a maximum recommended angle of heel for continued operation . . . for the Beta for example it is 20 degrees.

If you exceed this continuously the oil pump might struggle to drag enough slippy stuff out of the sump, and I expect other unpleasant things can happen.

I expect it's more likely to be froth or possibly muck in the fuel stirred up by the motion however.

- Nick

 

[Birdseye]

depends what you mean by "difficult to start". If the engine refuses to turn over then it is possible that water has got into the cylinders. If the engine will happily turn but not fire, then its more likely that air is getting into the fuel system somehow. That said, you would need air at the pump itself to prevent starting - down at the bottom of the fuel supply pipe at the tank might cause the engine to stop when it shouldnt but I cant see it stopping the engine from starting.

 

[William_H]

Perhaps you need a header tank 10 litres or so to feed the engine with another electric pump to feed the header to ensure supply when and after heeling. Make sure the header tank is tall and not wide and always full. Aerobatic aeroplanes use this system successfully.
olewilll