Maintenance madness

[boatone]

Hardly a day goes by without a post on this forum about the difficulties experienced in reaching maintenance parts due to poor access to engine areas.
Isnt it about time we had some sort of concerted attempt to persuade boatbuilders, and possibly also engine manufacturers, that its high time they paid more attention to this aspect of design?

I am currently struggling with battery problems caused by inaccesibility resulting in infrequent electrolyte level checks - so bad that the batteries are knackered. I seriously question whether the last full service even bothered to check them. Other serious issues frequently arise in relation to drive belt and alternator adjustments and particularly water pump impellers as well as fuel and oil filters.

Given the difficulty experienced in some of these areas when tied up to the pontoon I shudder to think what it would be like needing to do so in an emergency.

Perhaps the mags would like to pick up on this issue as a major campaign.....I certainly think its up there with safety and red diesel as a major topic well overdue for an airing.

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[kindredspirit]

I tend to agree with you.

Poor accessibility whether on the engine manufacturers' part or the boat designers part leads to poor maintenance, leads to breakdowns, leads to safety issues.

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[Andrew_Fanner]

Might be worth adding in experiences from those who have re-engined. My diesel lump is rather bigger than the old petrol straight six and access isn't easy. The dip stick is particularly irritating to get at, being under a locker and a hole in the base of the locker has been vetoed by SWMBO as the locker holds crocks she doesn't want engine oil to get near. As a result dipstick gets bent, but at least it is springy, and goes down the tube which is about 8" from the underside of the deck.

Fuel filter is an arm's length reach and access to the oil filter, heat exchanger and alternator involve crawling into the hold and dismantling an access panel, which also give access to the bilge alarm float switch, again best if you have arms like an orang utan.

So its not just original design, sometimes its subsequent bad planning or excess enthusiasm! How many forumites can get to all regular service points without tools and with decent amounts of space, light and air?

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[Pendana]

I find I can generally reach everything, but I have to throw an old douvet on top of the engines so I can lay on them while arms and head dangle below to reach. Oil coolers are the next to get some attention which should be a challenge as they are tucked beneath the heat exchangers.

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[Dave_Snelson]

Yes I agree, and I am equally concerned re emergency maintenance. For most boats you have to become a thalidomide pygmy to work on one!

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[Andrew_Fanner]

Or a Citroen engineer from the 1970s/1980s, skilled in working on the Visa/GS/CX models. You know, the chaps with two extra universal joints between elbow and wrist, magnetic fingers 9" long with the strength of molegrips and eyeballs that can be removed and run as remote cameras...



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[boatone]

Might be interesting to conduct a small poll re how easy folks think it would be to conduct emergency procedures if caught with problem at sea (assuming spares on board):
Changing raw water impeller
Replacing/tightening alternator belt
Changing fuel filters
Bleeding fuel system

....that'll do for starters........should we take it further and identify the good boats and the bad boats?


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[duncan]

Good l list for the 'fix it and get going' end of things if you include the water pump for those with indirect coooling, but, as indicated in the initial title there would be a different list for maintenance which would include (my suggestions) access to oil filter, batteries (including removal), steering gear and raw water strainer and of course a fuel tank drain!!!!

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[longjohnsilver]

Good boats for most ease of access are mostly single engined, can carry out all the procedures you list with no difficulty. I would guess only on larger twin engined boats does it get easier where there's more space.

If mine was twin engined it would be a pig to work on.

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[duncan]

i think it's the odd design madness that can apply to any size although there are craft on teh obvious 'cross over points' as you suggest - ie 'larger' single engined craft tend to be better than average whilst 'smaller' twin configurations are likely to be poor.

as an example on my 6.6m o/b craft yo had to remove the inboard fuel tank to get the battery out where it had been tucked up by the transom!

some of the worst must be those where the manuufacturer decides to add additional/ change engine options from those around which the instalation was origionally designed.

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[tico]

Interesting!!!! Access for maintenance etc was one of the important items when considering re-engining. Now the fuel filters are easy to get to rather than one hidden between 2 engines on the transom. Batteries are easily reached , pump covers & impellors no problem and oil filters and belts no hassle. Bloody sight easier than original V**vo / F'line installation.
Only slight difficulty is the air filters, but i'm working on that.

Personally, if i was buying a new boat, I wd visit the factory during build and if I saw a bad bit of installation, wd ask (nay Insist) on it being rectified at that stage before delivery.

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[Mike21]

Probably why you see so many boats with smal children on board/forums/images/icons/smile.gif

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