Important engine checks

pvb said:
Not a very good illustration, I'm afraid. Saying "I've worn them everyday I've been on a boat" would seem to indicate that you have little ability to assess real risks. There are lots of days when it's quite safe to go out on a boat without wearing a lifejacket (unless perhaps you have issues with balance or stability). It worries me when I see people in flat calm conditions going out of the marina wearing lifejackets - I can only think that they have zero idea of what constitutes a risk.
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Have you ever had a stroke? I had one. I was driving. I drove for over a mile after/during the stroke. Why? Because my brain was in neutral. I had no internal commands to change anything so I just carried on until I clumped the edge of the kerb of the central refuge (because I had lost my sight in the right eye). The language of SWMBO jolted me enough sense to stop. How I did stop? I don't know I was then paralysed on the right side. How did I get one? Just simply because unknown I started to suffer atrial fibrillation (heart misfire!). Was there any warning? No. Will another one happen? Who knows but the medication prevents clots (cut my hand and you will see the proof - eek). Had I balance issues before the stroke? No. Do I now wear an LJ when I am on board? Yes. If only for the convenience for the RNLI finding me more easily.
 
sailaboutvic said:
I can understand Captnsensible doing the check every time is starts up .
has an RYA instructor taken clients out on courses ,
I can see by keeping up that routine every time he doesn't forget to do it when his teaching plus it give the students something to do each morning .

.
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Well Vic, yes I do it for a living. But engine checks arent just to give students something to do. Its easy preventative maintenance. I do it on any boat Im on.

Long trips? Even more important to keep your engine healthy. You really dont want simple engine problems in the middle of an ocean. Or entering a tidal harbour at the end of a passage.

If the engine has been running for hours, a quick look now and then does no harm. If you are on a passage for weeks, need a bit of engine, its common sense to do a couple of basic checks.

Or you can trust to blind faith and keep your fingers crossed..........
 
capnsensible said:
Well Vic, yes I do it for a living. But engine checks arent just to give students something to do. Its easy preventative maintenance. I do it on any boat Im on.

Long trips? Even more important to keep your engine healthy. You really dont want simple engine problems in the middle of an ocean. Or entering a tidal harbour at the end of a passage.

If the engine has been running for hours, a quick look now and then does no harm. If you are on a passage for weeks, need a bit of engine, its common sense to do a couple of basic checks.

Or you can trust to blind faith and keep your fingers crossed..........
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It isn't trust to blind faith and keep fingers crossed,
it's more that I keep my boat as well as engine maintain,
It's part of owning a boat .

When we on a 24 or at times 50 hours passages which we known to do quite a lot ,
as one ocean crossing is one too many for me , sitting watching the sea and sky for days on end just ain't my thing .
I would expect if I run the engine so X amount of hours that at the end of that passage it would start again and run , if it doesn't it's be some thing that even if I checked it 10 times on the way would probably not shown up .
It won't be because it's short of oil of the cooler or that a belt broke .
More lightly a fuel problem or something inside the engine it self or gear box .

By the way I did some years as a freelance instructor with a very well known sailing school in east Anglia moons back ,
So please don't think I having a go because your an RYA instructor.
I use to check the engine twice before each trip .
Once as soon as I was allocated a boat before the student arrive to make sure all was well it give me the chance remove the speed log and close all sea cock also get any thing repaired before anyone arrived .
Then again once everyone was on board to let the, have the experience of doing engine check , sea cock and replacing the log .
But then I didn't know who used the boat last or when it was check last ,
on my own boat I have full knowledge of both .

Has I said , go for it if You're happier doing that , but there no need .
I just surprise so many here say they do it or say their do it to keep in the crowed .
 
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A1Sailor said:
You can't be too careful. I always check the fuel, oil and water levels before driving to the shops and also before driving back. It's about owning a car.:encouragement:
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sailaboutvic said:
Ah yes , but you not said that the nearest shops are 500 miles away :)
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Ah yes, but I haven't managed to find out how to check the fuel, oil and water levels on my car either.:p
I can check the windscreen wash bottle and amount of "fuel" in the battery though.
I'm tempted to go into KwikFit and ask for a quote for an oil change and exhaust system replacement.;)
Soul3E600.jpg
 
A1Sailor said:
Ah yes, but I haven't managed to find out how to check the fuel, oil and water levels on my car either.:p
I can check the windscreen wash bottle and amount of "fuel" in the battery though.
I'm tempted to go into KwikFit and ask for a quote for an oil change and exhaust system replacement.;)
Soul3E600.jpg
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Admit it, you bought it for its looks...
 
A1Sailor said:
Ah yes, but I haven't managed to find out how to check the fuel, oil and water levels on my car either.:p
I can check the windscreen wash bottle and amount of "fuel" in the battery though.
I'm tempted to go into KwikFit and ask for a quote for an oil change and exhaust system replacement.;)
Soul3E600.jpg
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They sold you a car with only half a number plate , hope you got a good discount.
 
capnsensible said:
Anyone who cannot be arsed to do basic checks is either scared of engines, lazy or doesnt want to admit they dont know what they are doing..........
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Anyone who feels the need to check these little things obviously doesn't trust their engine, and should either relax or learn to maintain it better.
 
capnsensible said:
As Ive said before, you can pull over to the side of the road in a car.
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If my car engine fails on the motorway I am likely to get a Mondeo up my chuff in five seconds which, when it hits me, will push me into the path of a crazed Lithuanian HGV driver on amphetamines driving an overloaded lorry with poorly maintained brakes. If my boat engine fails I'll go from "a bit faster than walking speed" to "bobbing about" in a minute or so.

Of course there are places where a boat engine failure could be much worse, but so could a rope round the prop, and of course we all have a Plan B before getting into a vulnerable situation like that. Haven't we?
 
O check the outlet for water, gauge for oil pressure and monitor temperature frequently. Lazy to monitor engine room. Is it the correct way? I do not know but I can tell if the gauges are not normal. For the belt difficult to see it is behind panels.
Thanks for the tips.
 
capnsensible said:
Nice try, Popeye! ;)
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As I wrote, I check my forty- and fifty-year old car engines much more often than I check my ten-year old one. My boat has a one-year old Nanni with 101 hours on it. An initial problem with leaking coolant (I check at that stage) is no more and Nanni define "leisure use" as "up to 5,000 hours per year". No, I am not going to check it every day.
 
JumbleDuck said:
As I wrote, I check my forty- and fifty-year old car engines much more often than I check my ten-year old one. My boat has a one-year old Nanni with 101 hours on it. An initial problem with leaking coolant (I check at that stage) is no more and Nanni define "leisure use" as "up to 5,000 hours per year". No, I am not going to check it every day.
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Well that defines a result. You know about engines, you are not scared of them, so that simply means you are lazy.

Q.E.D. :)
 
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