Planning Centaur engine compartment, hints / tips required.

[rogerball0]

Having almost got done painting out the engine compartment of my Centaur i'm ready to fit my Sole Mini 29, i plan to get the steel rails that it will sit on fitted tuesday and then its time, working from the aft end forward fitting everything into the bay.

The engines been sat in my garage for six years its never been fitted so my first question seeing as its been sat there that long and never fired is there anything i need to check before fitting?, I pulled the dipsticks on the gearbox and engine and both are crystal clear, does it need changing also does the impeller need changing too, would it have perished?

I also want to clean it as although its been inside a giant box on a crate theres about an 1/8 of an inch of dust all over it, is it as simple as taping up all the inlets and outlets,electrical harness & bag up the alternator and then pressure wash it to within an inch of its life? Any Thoughts?

Regarding fitting out the compartment both the fuel and water inlets are on the port side of the engine so was gonna place both filters up high on the port side of the compartment although the calorifier connections are on starboard i was gonna route these around the back of the engine to port as the calorifier will sit next door in a locker.

What i've got so far (that needs fitting) going from the stern is:

Exhaust system, Cockpit drains, Fuel tank, Bilge Pump (under engine in boats sump), the engine itself, then fuel and water systems (up high forward), is there anything i've missed, oh yeah i need to get a solid gas pipe from the gas locker to the galley are there any do's and donts about routing it through this compartment?

Also sound insulation, any recommendations and as my compartment is one long tunnel is it wise to go right to the stern or just insulate immediately around where the engine is situated and do the inside of the removable companionway hatch?

Cheers in advance

Roger

 

[Ceirwan]

I can't comment on the specific Centaur issues as I don't have one, but I'd definitely change the impeller and the oil. Especially the impeller. Before starting it'd be worth turning over by hand or ideally with the decompression lever (if it has one) depressed, this will help circulate some oil around, with it being sat as long as it has.

Don't forget your siphon break in the water inlet if the engine is below the waterline.

 

[europe172]

Don't run the gas pipe through the engine bay, take around and under the starboard berth.

 

[Storyline]

Fit a powerful spotlight in the engine room - makes doing the daily oil check a pleasure as your pride & joy is flooded with light. A rack to hang dedicated spanners for adjusting stuff. As regards sound insulation - you can never have too much

 

[prv]

Fit a powerful spotlight in the engine room

+1 for decent lighting, but I'd suggest LED strip rather than a single spotlight. A spread-out light rather than a single source means the bit you need to see is less likely to be in shadow. I have a strip of LEDs along the side of my engine bay, controlled by a cupboard switch so they come on when I open the door.

On sound insulation, I am not expert but would err on the side of more. I regretted not re-lining Kindred Spirit's engine bay while the motor was out, and I wish Ariam had more insulation as well. She just has a few sheets immediately next to the engine but there are lots of surfaces in the large engine bay which are not insulated - and she's very noisy under power to the extent that from the cockpit you can't speak to someone in the cabin. But there's lots of stuff mounted on the sides which makes adding more insulation difficult - far better to get this stuff right from the beginning.

Bilge pump under engine sounds a bit worrying for a couple of reasons - 1) can you get at it to clean it (or replace it - most centrifugal pumps are a bit cheap-and-cheerful) and 2) will it end up pumping oil overboard? Lots of boats keep the engine bilge separate from the main one; if your lowest point is under the engine then a drip tray would be a good idea.

If you're building a new fuel system it's worth carefully choosing the type of filters you use - personally I'd go for spin-on oil-filter-style cans. On Ariam I fitted Racor spin-ons, which are great but the cartridges are very expensive so I think it was a mistake overall. I can't see any good reason to choose the traditional fiddly CAV type. A priming pump makes life a lot easier, either integrated into the filter housing or as a separate rubber bulb. Personally I like to have dual filters with a changeover lever, but that's probably not essential if you have spin-on filters in an easily accessible location.

Pete

 

[rogerball0]

cheers for the replies, are there any diagrams of fuel systems someone could point me to as i will be running two tanks on board, one behind the engine (trad centaur position) and a bigger one in the boat and so want to set up a system with dual filters and dual tanks that can both be isolated. Have seen a primer bulb i think it was on Ken Hastie' Centaur on his site, if anyone has a schematic of a boats fuel system would appreciate being pointed to it; a picture as they say...........

Lights sound like a good idea too, the boats gonna be LED's all the way so nothing to stop me putting a handful in the compartment.

The engine compartment is separate to the rest of the boat, i say bilge pump underneath engine but obviously accessible; i want it there as i have drilled limber holes that run from all the lockers into the bilge.

What do you think about a diverter valve on engine inlet to help pump out should the worst happen?

Sound insulation; i found a company on t'internet called acoustifoam, 32mm thick with what looks like lead in the middle and available either in white or foil and self adhesive too, anyone used them?

Roger

 

[prv]

cheers for the replies, are there any diagrams of fuel systems someone could point me to as i will be running two tanks on board, one behind the engine (trad centaur position) and a bigger one in the boat and so want to set up a system with dual filters and dual tanks that can both be isolated. Have seen a primer bulb i think it was on Ken Hastie' Centaur on his site, if anyone has a schematic of a boats fuel system would appreciate being pointed to it; a picture as they say...........

Don't have any diagrams handy, but the principle is pretty straightforward for a standard single-tank system:

Tank --> Shutoff valve --> [Priming bulb] --> First filter --> Lift pump (on engine) --> Second filter (usually on engine, but can be mounted remote) --> Injector pump (part of engine) --> Return hose --> [Shutoff valve] --> Tank

The priming bulb and return shutoff valve, shown in square brackets, are optional. I strongly recommend including the priming bulb unless your filter housing includes a priming pump; the return shutoff I think might be a coding thing for fire resistance (one had been retrofitted on our ex-charter boat, coding seems the most likely reason).

As mentioned above, I am also a fan of dual-changeover filters. In which case, replace the "First filter" above with:

            +------------> First filter ------------>---+
            |                                           |
--> 3-way ball valve                             3-way ball valve -----> 
            |                                           |
            +------------> First filter ------------>---+

If you're really clever, you can physically arrange the valves and filters such that the valve handles in each position sit in front of the in-use filter and clear of the isolated one. This makes it foolproof to remove the right one! I got the idea from a lifeboat's dual engine water intakes, where the valve handle prevented anyone opening the in-use strainer.

If you really want a dual tank system (planning some long trips?) then I guess you duplicate the system as far as you want and then have a three-way valve to select the one to use. Combining after the first filter would be reasonable:

Tank --> Shutoff valve --> [Priming bulb] --> First filter --+
                                                             |
                                                       3-way ball valve -----> Lift pump (on engine) --> Second filter (usually on engine, but can be mounted remote) --> Injector pump (part of engine)
                                                             |
Tank --> Shutoff valve --> [Priming bulb] --> First filter --+

I guess for maximum resilience you could keep them separate until just before the injector pump but one side will need an auxiliary lift pump (probably electric) to substitute for the engine one:

Tank --> Shutoff valve --> [Priming bulb] --> First filter --> Lift pump (on engine) --> Second filter (mounted remote) --+
                                                                                                                          |
                                                                                                                    3-way ball valve ---> Injector pump (part of engine)
                                                                                                                          |
Tank --> Shutoff valve --> [Priming bulb] --> First filter --> Lift pump (electric) ---> Second filter (mounted remote) --+

In both the two-tank setups you need to allow for the fuel return - much more fuel comes back to the tank than is burned in the engine, so if you have the return going to a different tank to the feed then you will end up pumping fuel from one tank to the other. This might be desirable as a sort of ad-hoc fuel-polishing arrangement, since it's passing through the filters, but certainly in normal use you will want to be feeding and returning from/to the same tank. Just needs another 3-way valve but I got bored of drawing ASCII-art in a proportional font

EDIT: Actually on second thoughts I'm not sure about the last system above. Is the mechanical lift pump going to be ok when the fuel is feeding from the other tank? If not, the obvious solution is to remove it and go electric on both supplies, but then you're reliant on electricity to keep the engine going which would be a pity. Best to stick with the previous version I think, where the lift pump and second filter are shared.

Pete

 

[rogerball0]

cheers prv thats fleshed it out quite abit.

 

[Storyline]

That idea of Pete's regarding a strip of LEDs sounds good. The shadows were so annoying from my halogen spot I ended up fitting a second one at the other end of the engine room. They kill the batteries but are only on for very short periods. If you do not have the luxury of his auto switch make sure your switch is illuminated when on so you know when the lights are on when the access hatch/door is shut.

 

[rogerball0]

Some pictures to help visualise what i'm doing:

This is where two additional tanks will live, both 55L PE, one for fuel and one for water.

The engine compartment

And the whole shabang, behind foam bulkhead will be where batteries, electricals, VHF and instruments will live.

Roger

 

[Hydrozoan]

... What do you think about a diverter valve on engine inlet to help pump out should the worst happen?

Some recent discussion of that in this thread http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthrea...mp-as-auxiliary-bilge-pump&highlight=diverter.

Do check your own details, but the additional pumping is likely to be pretty small.

 

[PetiteFleur]

Seriously consider fitting a non-leak stern gland if one not already fitted. I fitted a Volvo Penta type when I re-engined my boat - well worth it. Also fitted completely new exhaust system and new insulation all round.

 

[dylanwinter]

this from rogers site and is the inside of his centaur

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-...AAAmwY/PcamzkLpoH4/w683-h512-no/WP_003497.jpg

the website is great

https://plus.google.com/photos/110182886418433827802?banner=pwa

and there are these shots


https://plus.google.com/photos/+RogerBall1975/albums/profile

you can have great fun in the world of roger

 

[rogerball0]

Thought this might interest you Dylan, gave Tony a hand last friday pulling his and another mates Centaur out the water, get this they have their own Centaur launching and recovery trolley:

Nice bit of kit with adjustable racks for different span of keels

John doing the honours with his boat

Tony tying knots & me lending much needed grunt in the shape of my van on the slipway.

Job done, just like a bigger version of a dinghy trolley.

Roger

 

[rogerball0]

Seriously consider fitting a non-leak stern gland if one not already fitted. I fitted a Volvo Penta type when I re-engined my boat - well worth it. Also fitted completely new exhaust system and new insulation all round.

Cheers PF gone with a PSS shaft seal for mine, hopefully if the paints dried i can start tentatively bolting things in tomorrow.

 

[prv]

Job done, just like a bigger version of a dinghy trolley.

What do they do with it once it's out? Sounds like the trolley's used for several boats so they can't just leave the boat on top of it for the winter, and anyway it doesn't look like it steers so they can't go far.

Just stick that trolley jack under the front of it and tip the boat off the back?

Pete

 

[rogerball0]

What do they do with it once it's out? Sounds like the trolley's used for several boats so they can't just leave the boat on top of it for the winter, and anyway it doesn't look like it steers so they can't go far.

Just stick that trolley jack under the front of it and tip the boat off the back?

Pete

I understand the original syndicate was four but now its Tony and John, the second Centaur stays on the trolley which is then blocked on sleepers and wheels removed, cheaper and quicker than crane, quite amazed Tony' zafira towed it into the yard without too much effort although pulling the boat up the slip produced an odd smell presume it was the gearbox or clutch under load.