Interesting discovery on the Azimut

[Spare Thyme]

Still in my first year of ownership, so still discovering new things, this may be of interest to other Azimut 39 owners. In one of the rear lockers there are 2 pull handles, on reading the instruction manual these are apparently to pull in case of fire, one discharges the rather large fire extinguisher into the engine room, the other “closes engine room flaps”. I removed the rather large extinguisher for a service and noticed the cable to the second flap pull handle was loose. Nothing in the manual re what to do or if it’s pulled how you re set it, so time to find out. After much time looking into the air vents I was no wiser, so decided to remove the starboard side settee backrest, simple job 4 screws and off it came to reveal a removable panel, removed this to reveal another removable panel remove this and found the shutter, it had fallen and the flap was closed, simple job to reset. The same arrangement was on the port side, this had also fallen. Question, I can see the purpose of the flaps, but are they standard in all large boats?, photos, below




Other discoveries…
Changing the belts on the port engine is a pain, until you remove the armour plated belt guard
Changing the belts on the starboard engine are impossible, the engine hatch doesn’t open to the starboard side of the starboard engine all you have is a tiny hole at the bottom of an under seat cushion of that’s until you discover the whole starboard settee swings out on a hinge once you remove the facia and undo the securing screws, accesses is a breeze then. Nothing in the manual re this little trick.

The CAT standard alternator is a 50A unit, not the best when you have 220Ah of cranking battery and 400Ah of domestic, CAT price for the 105A alternator is ££££££, pull the CAT label off and it’s a standard Prestolite sealed brush unit. Just so happens you can get an identical 5” frame marine rated (sealed brushes) and 105Amps direct from Prestolite UK, for £180 each, it also has a voltage adjuster on the back, neat. Existing alternator wire is more than capable of the extra amps so quick win there.
The 3126 engine has heated inlet mainfolds, for some reason Azimut never connected them up, probably due to the 50A alternator. All the sensors and timers are installed, just that the solenoid isn’t connected (wire taped up), not sure if it’s just my Azimut that’s like that, but connect them up and boy does that help cold weather starting, and stops lots of smoke at cold start up.

Some cracking days on the water over the past few weeks

 

[Divemaster1]

Very nice to hear about positive learnings..... and I am sure the other AZ owners in here appreciate the update...

We did not manage to pick up the DD parts on Friday, so time not spent on the boat ... picking up the parts tomorrow lunch-time, so a mixture of assembly of one-by-one cylinder will start this week-end..

 

[rafiki_]

John, many thanks for all this. Your findings are gems. The Azi is like unwrapping an onion, another interesting layer below. I will investigate all of these on Rafiki.

 

[RogerRat]

John, many thanks for all this. Your findings are gems. The Azi is like unwrapping an onion, another interesting layer below. I will investigate all of these on Rafiki.

Agreed,

Thanks for sharing John.

I had found the drop flaps for choking air supply to the engine room behind the saloon seats on mine as well. I wasn't aware of the alternator being over labelled tho, a good find.:encouragement:

Enjoy your boat and summer.

RR.

 

[rafiki_]

John, is your Azi an Evo? On my 39, the fire extinguisher system is triggered by hand from a switch in the port locker in the cockpit, not in the saloon.
I found the panel for the stbd engine access, and it needs the settee to be moved. I guess this means that you can't have the main hatch open at the same time as the stbd engine hatch?

 

[Spare Thyme]

Paul, not the Evo, yes my pull handles are in the cockpit, the access to reset the flaps is in the saloon. You can get basic access to the stb engine by going in via the cupboard under the settee, unfortunately you can't reach very much, while you have the cushions off you will see the front "kick" panel on the settee can be removed by taking the screws out, once off all you have to do is remove the screws inside the storage space, some to the back, the front and about 4 to the floor and the whole settee unit swings round, you still only have the hatch in the floor, its a bit bigger but the real advantage is you can lie down on the floor and reach everything. You can also get in the hole and sit on the water heater once you remove the Airsep filter. I have come to the conclusion "quick access" eg a broken belt etc is not one of the strong points of this design. With the guard removed from the port engine belts are easy ish, but worth changing for new every year while snug up in the marina and have a chance you will not be faced being in the open water with a broken belt.

My big extinguisher (the manual 12kg one in the back) is a bit down on pressure, I took it to a local service centre and as all the labels are in Italian they didn't want to know, any names of people who can service these would be greatly appreciated. The fit is a bit special so bar a major mod the only solution is a service.

Have a look at your inlet manifold heaters, see if they are like mine and not connected, there are 3 big cables connected to them, the front and back are -ve and the centre one is +ve, if you hook a meter up and turn the engine ignition on from cold you should get voltage for 30 seconds, the timer then goes of and cycles on and off until the engine warms up. when they are working you know, they pull about 100 amps and you can see it on the volt meters. I had to correct my wiring to get them to work, however I started up last weekend a tried without using them, no problem so I guess unless its really cold you probably don't need them. I managed to get the wiring schematic from the nice people at Finning if you need it let me know and I can send it.

This weekend I need to put my hand to a bit of decking repair, some previous owner had the rear swim platform decked with teak, the problem I had was if I was a little eager on getting on the plane the box that holds the swim ladder got flushed with the wake and for some reason I had water entering the rear compartment where the rudder shafts are, I couldn't work out why. After a bit of surgery I managed to get under the decking and lift the lid, it should be secured with 6 screws but these weren't there, and you could see through the screw holes into the back of the boat. I have now corrected the issue but have some strips of decking to replace, I'll let Alf be the judge of my carpentry skills.

Although the vac u flush system works flawlessly, I did have a slight pong inside the boat, I considered changing the hoses but after looking at them I came to the conclusion that would be a major major job, I tried a neat trick that seems to have worked, pop along to Lidl and purchased a couple of bottles of cheap biological washing liquid, flush the system direct to the holding tank a few times from both heads, then swing the valve and flush direct to the sea a few times so all the discharge hoses are full of the washing liquid, and leave it for a few weeks. Now all trace of smell seems to have gone, for a grand sum of £3.46.

I will let you know how the wood work goes over the weekend

 

[rafiki_]

Although the vac u flush system works flawlessly, I did have a slight pong inside the boat, I considered changing the hoses but after looking at them I came to the conclusion that would be a major major job, I tried a neat trick that seems to have worked, pop along to Lidl and purchased a couple of bottles of cheap biological washing liquid, flush the system direct to the holding tank a few times from both heads, then swing the valve and flush direct to the sea a few times so all the discharge hoses are full of the washing liquid, and leave it for a few weeks. Now all trace of smell seems to have gone, for a grand sum of £3.46.

I will let you know how the wood work goes over the weekend

John, I have some "bombs" that when flushed into the vacuflush system, do a great job of cleaning everything up. I use them about every 3 months, available from Lee Sanitation, Clean n Green holding tank cleanser. A bit of a pong when first discharged, but currently have no unnecessary smells. I only use the Sealand paper too, as I really don't fancy the arm down the loo trick.

We changed the impellers and engine anodes. Access was a bit of a bitch, as the pumps had to come off to change the impellers. Also found the port pump was leaking. Now refurbished and back on. I don't think these have been off for several years. We found 10 of the anodes, the kit coming with 12. The service book said 11, including one on the exhaust elbow that we couldn't find. The old ones were a mix of OK ish to gone. One snapped off, so had to be drilled out of the cap. The coolant filler cap for the stbd engine is also in a crazy place, and therefore not surprisingly needs a top up. I will make a funnel and hose kit.
Good luck with your carpentry. My bathing platform is teaked too, but I don't think is leaking water into the lazerette. I cleaned and brightened the teak last weekend, but it really needs a sanding to get it really up to scratch. That is a job for the end of the season.
Engine starting has not been a problem for my Snazi to date, but I guess it hasn't been really cold when I start it, so will probably not try the manifold heaters. However the guy who refurbished the water pump does recommended regular running, to stop the mechanical seal from taking a set over a period of time, so next winter I will start every 4 to 6 weeks, and run up to temp. The Sherwood pump appears to me to be from the Ministry for carp design, with the impeller applying a huge offset torque to a longish shaft with narrow bearing spread. Not good in my book.

Anyway, we are nearly done on the servicing, just the coolant top up.

 

[Divemaster1]

............ I'll let Alf be the judge of my carpentry skills..............

I'm heading up tomorrow and more than happy to be judge, but don't invite me on board when I have my black coveralls on ..... and if you hear swearing from down below in the boat next door... that may be me trying to remove piston and liners..

 

[RogerRat]

Good luck with your carpentry.

My bathing platform is teaked too, but I don't think is leaking water into the lazerette. I cleaned and brightened the teak last weekend, but it really needs a sanding to get it really up to scratch. That is a job for the end of the season.

Oops, take care here, unless your teak has been replaced, you'll only have a thin veneer over ply.

Any sanding could go straight through and/or seriously reduce lifespan. Replacing teak is an expensive job.:ambivalence:

RR

 

[Spare Thyme]

Roger, No probs, original teak is the real deal, 8mm thick. New bit inserted now and just a bit of final fettling required. New teak is darker a tad but I think it should weather down. I will grab some photos and post but currently at the boat so a bit limited on IT stuff

 

[RogerRat]

Roger, No probs, original teak is the real deal, 8mm thick. New bit inserted now and just a bit of final fettling required. New teak is darker a tad but I think it should weather down. I will grab some photos and post but currently at the boat so a bit limited on IT stuff

Cool, glad to hear it, mine too now, but there's not much need for sanding these days, good gentle cleaning with 'Wessex' will keep the colour nice and uniform without excess ware.

In my reply above tho, I was replying to Rafiki. If his teak is original then he will need to take care and/or advice.

RR

 

[rafiki_]

Oops, take care here, unless your teak has been replaced, you'll only have a thin veneer over ply.

Any sanding could go straight through and/or seriously reduce lifespan. Replacing teak is an expensive job.:ambivalence:

RR

Roger, my teak is not laminate. The boat was a UK supply, and it guess the teak was fitted here, as it does not look like the teak on the Med supplied boats. It looks like the rain has attacked the wood on the bathing platform, as there are some valleys in it. There are a few scratches on the cockpit teak where folk have used metal chairs in the past.

 

[RogerRat]

Roger, my teak is not laminate. The boat was a UK supply, and it guess the teak was fitted here, as it does not look like the teak on the Med supplied boats. It looks like the rain has attacked the wood on the bathing platform, as there are some valleys in it. There are a few scratches on the cockpit teak where folk have used metal chairs in the past.

Cool, I understand what you mean, just take it easy with the sander tho.

Metal chairs a no no. :disgust:

RR