Fresh water engine - not winterised

[Simon__]

I viewed a boat recently which, when we turned the engine on, fresh water started pouring out of the top of it. The boat hadn't been used in 18 months and I suspect the engine had not been winterised (did not appear to be any antifreeze). Pretty confident I'm going to leave this one as it's beyond my skill set to repair but what damage could have been caused by this? Along with the water breaching the engine there is also a substantial pool at the base of the engine (although the engine is suspended above it), I'd assume this freezing and thawing could add further problems too?

This aside the boat is somewhat of a 'bargain' but I think I'd rather pay a bit more for peace of mind..

 

[Biggles Wader]

If the engine is faulty, which seems to be the case, budget for a replacement and bid accordingly. If it is a trivial fault, which it probably isn't, the vendor would have fixed it. You don't say what boat it is, but with a duff engine it is probably worthless.

 

[RichardS]

I assume that the boat is being stored out of the water? We would need to know what type of engine cooling it is (raw water which has been flushed with fresh water or fresh water indirect cooling) but, in general, damage caused by freezing will reveal itself when the ice melts which might be where the water below the engine has come from. You would need to be more specific about exactly where the water was coming from on the engine although I would normally expect water to come from the side of the block if a core plug had been pushed out.

A fresh-water cooled engine would normally have antifreeze in it permanently so it seems very odd if it was laid up with no antifreeze. If that really is the case then the previous owner must be a screw loose and I would worry about the rest of the boat as well as the engine. :ambivalence:

The open water below the engine would not normally be a problem even if it was freezing and thawing.

Richard

 

[Plum]

I viewed a boat recently which, when we turned the engine on, fresh water started pouring out of the top of it. The boat hadn't been used in 18 months and I suspect the engine had not been winterised (did not appear to be any antifreeze). Pretty confident I'm going to leave this one as it's beyond my skill set to repair but what damage could have been caused by this? Along with the water breaching the engine there is also a substantial pool at the base of the engine (although the engine is suspended above it), I'd assume this freezing and thawing could add further problems too?

This aside the boat is somewhat of a 'bargain' but I think I'd rather pay a bit more for peace of mind..

Doesn't say much for the care the owner may have taken on all aspects of the boat. If you are up for a big project and the price reflects this and the risks involved then ok.

Www.solocoastalsailing.co.uk

 

[Simon__]

At the time the broker was not aware of the issue but he has since fed this back to the vendor who is employing a marine mechanic to replace the gasket. The engine is an indirect / heat exchanging engine and is currently in the water. The issue appears to have stemmed from a "nylon nut" being used rather than a bronze one. However the whole unit is now being replaced (not being too mechanical I can't be sure what I'm saying is making sense, but hope it is..).

It is a good point regarding the lack of maintenance reflecting poorly on the boat. I need to weigh up whether the price reflects the risk, keenness of the vendor to shift before marina fees are due, or whether I'm just being stupid.

 

[RichardS]

If the boat stays in the water over winter then there is much less risk of freezing so that's probably not going to be a problem. It sounds as if it was the heat exchanger leaking and a new gasket/O-ring will presumably fix that, although I'm not sure which nut needs to be bronze rather than Nyloc but if it's one inside the coolant system and the system has no antifreeze in it then a steel nyloc would be a liability.

I suppose that the bigger question is whether the previous owner has used plain water in the cooling system, perhaps because he thinks that he doesn't need antifreeze, which might have some validity, but doesn't realise that it's the anti-corrosion properties which are often the most important.

Can you ask him why he didn't use antifreeze as that will give an indication as to his mindset and also indicate what problems might arise in the future because of this error and therefore how much discount you should be seeking.

Richard