Finally splashed!!!!

[sogood]

Yes, at last, after a false start last weekend when all my ducks, including the tide were perfectly aligned. But on my way home from work last Saturday I got a call to turn around and rescue some stranded travellers, which meant working through the weekend. But this Sunday, today, was looking hopeful. So, a few phone calls later and I was set to go.

Getting the boat out of the rather restrictive confines of my front yard went off without a hitch, as did the actual launch, about three miles from my home. The slip at my "local" harbour was too small to launch from so the next location just up the bay was the slip of choice.


Of course there were issues, which only became apparent when the boat was in the water. Running under load was different to running on muffs on the hard and despite running the boat for 30 minutes at home before setting off, it decided to act up a bit once in the water.

I kept it hooked up to the trailer and allowed it to idle, up to normal operating temperature, but the belts/alternator screeched when the revs were brought up to any great degree. This never happened on the hard.


And it was inclined to tick over a little bit rough and wanted to bog when I raised the revs. So I let it idle at about 800 rpms which caused the screeching belts to quieten down. Then, it occurred to me that it might be the alternator screeching, despite the fact that I had the alternator off during the refurb and it spun quietly back then. Who knows?


So, I was left with the choice of tying her up at my temporary launch site with a lot of attendant problems, or to make out for my "home" base, about 5 miles up the bay. Off we went, at full throttle, as anything less and she stalled, but at that we were just "pottering" along. The thinking was, that at least if I got it onto my mooring, it would be easily accessible, nearer to home, and so, fixable.


Along the way, it cut out a few times and was a little reluctant to start. When it did, it tended to die once I stuck it in gear it would tend to cut out again. But I persisted and got going and nursed it along. After another such stalling episode, I noticed that rubber from one of the belts was being turned into a fine dust and was being sucked into the carb. The flame arrestor was totally clogged up and the air horn/throat on the carb was coated in a black rubbery film. After cleaning this off we got going again, but not for long. Did I mention the anchor? We laid anchor a few times during our unscheduled stops, and at one point after I got her running, my assistant retrieved the anchor rope, minus the anchor! It currently resides at the bottom of Kenmare bay.


So now the batteries are tired and unwilling to provide enough "oomph" to start a reluctant engine and we are drifting aimlessly. At that point I saw a neighbour of mine heading back up the bay in his utterly dependable, diesel powered "Misty". Thank you God, or Robert, as he is known. A quick phone call and tow ensued. Upon arrival at Kenmare harbour, he tied up alongside and guided me onto my mooring. A deft flick of the wrist with a boat hook and I was all moored up. So, a happy outcome, just about!


Tomorrow morning I'll head down to the harbour, row out in my little punt and take the alternator off. I will also take the carb off and bring it home for an overhaul. Fortunately, I had the foresight to bring my toolbox and various spares along! I may also bring along my spare carb, (yes, I have one) and do a swap while I'm at it.


So, despite the setbacks, engine failure, drifting and being rescued and towed home, the big story is that she's on her mooring, at home in Kenmare where she belongs. And I think she looks good, and very happy to be where she belongs. And here's the photographic evidence!!


Updates and lots of pictures of happy fishing trips will follow.

 

[benjenbav]

Looks great. Sounds like a bit of an adventure!

 

[Seastoke]

looks good ,but don't you have a back up engine

 

[sogood]

looks good ,but don't you have a back up engine

That's under serious consideration. A little update. I went down to the boat today and pulled the alternator, carb and water pump pulley off and took them home for a better look see. While I had the belts off, I spun the water pump and power steering pump, using a thin screwdriver as a stethoscope and both spun freely and noise free. Likewise the alternator.

The alternator belt was seriously worn down, reduced to about half its' original width and closer examination of the pulley showed that the groove that housed the belt was somewhat out of alignment. The pulley is made up in three grooves, although only two are used. The third, rearmost groove is a sort of separate section, whereas the first two grooves appear to be all one piece. The gap between the two "sections" wasn't consistent and measurements confirmed this. So the alternator belt pulley wasn't running true and was, in effect, oscillating. It's no wonder it wore the belt away and screeched, although this never happened during all the running on muffs.
I tried to bed it together better to reduce or even up the inconsistency but to no avail, so a replacement pulley is on the way.

I'm still cleaning up the cab but gave the alternator a good going over and cleaned it up, blowing out all the rubber it inherited from the belt.

Just as an aside, when searching for the replacement pulley, I came across the same part, described as a harmonic balancer pulley. What exactly is this and would my pulley being out of line have been such a major issue? So, we're getting there and thanks for the kind words.

 

[AndieMac]

If that were me, I would have asked your friendly neighbour to tow you back to the trailer and get it sorted ashore rather than leaving her on the mooring.
You didn't mention what motor is in it, your reference to the reliable diesel in old mates boat could imply this is a petrol inboard?
I would definitely be thinking about an auxiliary outboard as back up, 10 - 15 HP by the look of the boat

 

[sogood]

The time involved in getting back to the slip and loading the boat without power would have meant that my neighbour might have ran out of water at our "home" harbour. It's easily accessible on its mooring and only 5 minutes from home. This was only day one, I'm getting it sorted and the back up motor is on the cards. I already have the bracket!

 

[luptonj]

Given you didn't have these problems on the trailer you may be better off in the water anyhow.
If she doesn't run smooth after cleaning the carb and flame arrestor I'd say try changing the fuel filter, some crap may have been stirred up when at an angle on the slip that wouldn't have happened on the trailer.
I guess you have a temperature gauge but might still be worth checking it's working correctly, without the hose pressure from the muffs you may not have enough water flow through the engine.

Nice looking boat, and a lovely location to keep it.

 

[sogood]

Thanks and I agree. It seems that a boat is a different animal when it's actually in the water, as opposed to being on the hard. I suspected a fuel starvation issue as being behind my problems and after stripping the carb down, I found the float sticking down, as was the accelerator pump. The arm on the throttle was travelling over half way before meeting the plunger. So at full throttle it was only idling and cutting out when I tried to engage gear.

This has all been sorted including a good clean up of the white chalky deposit left behind after my last water in fuel episode. I replaced the plunger which now pumps really well and adjusted and reset the float.

I think my problem was due to the only periodical running of the engine when on the hard, at idle on the muffs. At least now I can set things up under load. New water pump pulley is on the way, but I won't get back to the boat until next Tuesday at the soonest as I'll be away working until then, but updates will follow. And yes, it is a beautiful spot, especially with all this fine weather.