Home to Portsmouth - with a few minor problems

[Chris_Robb]

Following Easters delayed trip to deliver my new Oceanlord to Portsmouth from Ipswich due to starter motor problems, we did the journey in 2 hops, Ipswich to Eastbourne - started at 6 am and arrived 9 pm (103 NM), and then to Portsmouth on Sunday - arriving at 5pm. Motored all the way accept fo 15 minutes sailing when wind got up - sails like a dream

Arriving to huge welcome in Portsmouth

The crew

Not a bad voyage considering this was our first outing with her since purchase, however there are a number of faults which some of you may be able to help on.

1. ST 7000 (93 vintage) Autopilot reboots randomly, and occaisionaly peeps and adds or subtracts 5 degrees from course - we thought it was to do with the interfacing of the GPS because when it was turned off it didn't do it - until it did. So any ideas? perhaps low voltage on old wiring?

2. Locking gear lever in reverse to stop prop spinning under sail resulted in a jamed gearbox - release by starting engine in reverse. (Volvo 2003T) Can you leave it in gear to stop the prop turning?

3. Engine start batteries - crap - 15 hours of motoring and would not start the engine. Voltages at engine batteries under way never rose above 13.2 V - so should I fit and Adverc or Sterling smart regulator? Original owner always had shore power and a 4 KVA generator - so probably never noticed.

4. Anchor chain is joined at 25Mtrs to another length with shackle, total 50 meters - can they be joined safely with 2 part link joiners?

Not too bad a list really..... Now just to find a new name for her, so change of name in process from Mary Penelope to Carina (on Part1).

 

[Twister_Ken]

New battery I suspect, unless alternator/wiring is US.

 

[TiggerToo]

FWIIW:

2) I think Volvo recommend leaving the gear in neutral: this lets the propeller spin. Every so often you need to turn the engine on to lubricate. I did not find this very satisfying - if nothing else the hum and vibration of the turning propeller was disturbing. In the end we cured it by getting a Kiwiprop - excellent piece of kit that takes care of the problem, as well as many others!

3) Had the same problem last year. It turned out not to be the batteries' fault but the alternator that was "cooked". We had ours reconditioned and now works like new.


Enjoy your new boat!

 

[Phoenix of Hamble]

Autopilot.... suggest as a starter that you redo compass deviation.....

Press Stby key for 1 secs.... and then motor in slow circle, below 2kts, with circle taking over 3mins.... display will flash alternatively heading and deviation..... use + and - keys to correct heading to agree with compass..... then press stdby for 1 sec after completing entire circling procedure to store new settings.....

Certainly helped mine to hold a more stable course....

Also, check whether you have a rudder reference transducer, and look at gain and trim settings..... hold stdby for 5 secs to access these settings, 'auto' cycles through them and '+/-' changes them.... read the manual for optimum settings.... but could well be things like a loose/broken ruder transducer or gain set too high...

Is the input to the autopilot via nmea or via seatalk?...... if the latter, check the connections... as they have been known to come loose.... I think that ST50 input overrides NMEA so if you have both, then check the integrity of both, as your symptoms might be one dropping out, and the other picking up.... etc etc

finally, mechanical.... is there any evidence of slippage in the drive.... and have you washed it out with fresh water... they can get salted up...

 

[Chris_Robb]

thanks for those ideas - I will start running through these points next weekend. The most worrying part was the intermittant rebooting, we saw a screen ST7000 come up each time it hiccuped, and we lost the rudder response back to 1 each time.

 

[Stemar]

It's possible that all the problems apart from the prop/gearbox issue are related. Low voltage due to a tired alternator/dodgy battery/loose or tired "fan" belt could cause the problems with the autopilot.

I'd Check all the connections first, then change the fan belt. If that doesn't make any diifference, I'd swap batteries for a known good'un and lastly I'd get the alternator tested by an autoelectrician. Don't go to your friendly local Volvo dealer unless you're feeling particulaly wealthy!

IMHO, advercs and the like are a waste of money for most people. A voltage sensitive relay to switch the domestic batteries into the charging circuit once your starter battery has got to a reasonable state of charge is a helluva lot cheaper and perfectly adequate for most folk. PM me if you need a circuit diagram, but my home PC is dead and I'm off work for the rest of the week, so don't expect a quick response!

 

[fireball]

There is a chap in Westbourne that does alternator repair/alterations. We've used him to sort out 3 alternators - good, quick and cheap (one was for replacement bearings - cost was still sub £50!)

 

[rwoofer]

Thought 2) was a known "feature" of volvo gearboxes. Everyone I've spoken to has the same problem to a greater or lesser degree.

 

[Jonny_H]

Congrats on the successful delivery - she looks a beauty. We delivered our new pride and joy over Easter from Hamble to Fleetwood. We have a small list of teething problems ranging from the 'needs attention' issue of the domestic batteries not charging off the engine, to the 'inconvenient' the sink in the forward heads needs a one way valve fitting in the drain to stop the shower pump filling the sink with waster water!!

Still, it's nice to have them on the water and near home!

Happy sailing (and fixing!)

Jonny

 

[xstucker]

I agree with the other posts regarding the Autopilot going off-line. If the voltage is low when the ram has to draw a significant amount, then this can momentarily pull the power down and the AP resets. In all Raymarine APs, there is function that reduces the response when voltage is low (as you would expect). It can be annoying though, and you should check the response whenever you turn it on after leaving it for a while. We had the same problem last week with our S1G after 20 hours of sailing on autopilot, with occasional Radar. A Volvo place like Motortech at Clarence Yard will check the battery/alternator for about £35 and tell you if you have problems.

 

[Goldie]

Welcome to Wicor!

I think you're moored on the opposite side of the channel to us, pop over and say hi sometime. White ketch, first mooring by the green pile.

 

[Bav34]

That's spooky Chris. Don't know you but remember your boat charging up behind us on Sunday as you approached the Swashway. You must have been going at least 7+ knots ! From memory you stopped just inside and started talking to people on a blue hulled boat? I can actually see my boat in your picture /forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif.

Happy sailing.

Steve

 

[Chris_Robb]

Hi - will be down to do some work on her on Saturday - like replacing engine batteries!

Pop over to us as well -

 

[Chris_Robb]

Hi - the blue hulled boat took the pictures and deposited SWIMBO on board. were we breaking the speed limit??? Yell next time you see us!

 

[Goldie]

Might not be Saturday, but we'll try and say hello sometime over the weekend. I don't know where you're planning to source batteries, but I found www.batteries4leisure.co.uk to be excellent and by arrangement with the yard, you could probably have them delivered direct. See you weekend.

 

[Chris_Robb]

Hope to be down both days - so knock us up!

 

[chubby]

Another welcome to Wicor, we are Dabchick, another Ketch, on one of the deep water swinging moorings near the jetty, (no 3), look forward to seeing you out, John

 

[asj1]

I used batteries for leisure to source new start and house batteries. The start battery is now u/s after a year - so I wouldn't recommend them !

 

[Goldie]

The batteries I bought were identical to the ones I priced at Barden whose premises are very close to where I work. For AGMs, Barden wanted about £178 each whilst I paid £103 each (delivered). If it was a 'named' battery, it's a bit harsh to blame the retailer alone if it fails!

 

[tcm]

another vote for new batteries, autopilots and so on hate low voltage. Replace, then re-inspect electronix which i bet will be much improved...