Portishead - Marine handyman recommendation?

vodzurk said:
Thanks for the heads up :).

Any thoughts on how to check a water pump?

Yep, it muchly seems to be a sequence of gradually increasing price investigations...

1. Check seawater is flowing out the back (the jacuzzi is on)
2. Check seawater filter is clear.
3. If temperature rises when idling, consider checking thermostat (temperature levelled out with me, hinting that the thermostat and coolant is working, to some extent).
4. Check oil / freshwater coolant levels.
5. Change freshwater coolant.
6. Flush seawater coolant block with something that eats salt + other crud (Salt-Away arrived today).
7. Attempt high-pressure back-flush of inlet pipe (through the clear pipe, not through pump or engine).
8. Check water pump (unknown yet to me how to check this).
9. Lift out - Check in/out seawater pipework has no blockages.
10. Replace termostat and pump, just because we're running out of options.
11.... dismantle engine?

I think at #8 onwards, it might be a proper engineery type that I have to commission. Hopefully I won't need to get to that though :).
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To check water circulation pump -: 1) Look for any water leaks around it (put some white paper underneath it overnight?)
2) Listen to any grinding noises coming from it (bearings failing)
3) Check for any play in the spindle that connects to the belt pulley (may need to remove belt for this check)
4) Remove pump from block and check interior splines for damage/corrosion, they rotate freely etc.

Depending on which outdrive leg is fitted, the raw water intake is probably on each side of it, as you can't raise your leg you may not be able to see if they are clear? I have a go-pro we could use to inspect them and your water outlet through the transom shield without the need for a lift out, if that is of any help?
 
Oooh, good call with the go-pro... got a £20 chinese-knock-off-pro myself that'll do the trick :).

Will add that to the weekend tasklist... hopefully everything can be resolved by the flush or stick-poking :).
 
vodzurk said:
colleague reckons stuff a high-pressure hose on the out-pipe from and try to blow it out from the inside with tapwater.
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I don't know with the mobo stuff (only my little Beta 14) but I wouldn't do that, the high pressure might "blow back" up the exhaust and fill the cylinders with water.

If I were closer I would come and give you a hand but if you have a manual it should be pretty straight forward. The issues come when something breaks, but everything is fixable ;) .
 
Friday afternoon update, live to you from aboard Gorjus...

Can't find a sea cock :(.

Don't trust myself to undo the hoses, they look quite solid (non bendy) and quite thick.

So instead I've warmed it up, killed it, then poured 2.5 litres of Salt-away into the raw water side through the filter.

And as I type, I realise it's probably just run straight out of the inlet pipe. D'oh!!!!

Will plug up that side of the filter and try again...

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I think Lioness might have had the winning answer...

Dangling the camera over... I think it might be time for a bottom scrub. She's only been in since December, but think there's whole ecosystems living on our sterndrive.

Can't even figure out where the intake is meant to be, but it certainly don't look good!

_20170825_173917.jpg_20170825_173935.jpg_20170825_173955.jpg.

Think I saw an offer in the facilities for a grubby bottom scrub, time for a stroll...
 
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If i'm right the water inlet will be on the forward edge, just below your second picture.
 
Ah, yes, I see it.

Looks the only reasonably clear bit on the whole thing.

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Marina has lift+scrub on special offer @ £80 at the moment, but seeing as it's clear, think I'll cross my fingers that this Salt-away works. It's been in for 2.5 hours now... Tempted to leave it overnight but scared it might eat the whole engine.

Edit: Instructions on Salt-Away website seems to suggest 24 hours... So guess I'll flush tomorrow.
 
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The water intake on the leg shown in this pic does look clear.
Did you film with the engine running to see what water flow out was like? Has the salt-away helped?
If not and you have checked the impeller and circulation pump, It could be a cost effective time to get her lifted not only because the amount of growth you have on the leg, props and hull will be increasing the stress on your engine/your fuel consumption etc. but also you can check the water intake hose from the leg, put a fresh water and or salt flush through the system using muffs and as growth slows over the winter it won't hopefully, need to be lifted again until next years lift out offer starts?
 
If you are still struggling, the try Alan Stafford at SOS Boatservices. He is a top bloke, reliable, competent, and excellent value. I used him many times on my outdrive boat, and also current shaftdrive. He advertises in the Portishead Quays booklet. Based in Gloucester, but happy to travel to Brizzle.
 
Lioness said:
The water intake on the leg shown in this pic does look clear.
Did you film with the engine running to see what water flow out was like? Has the salt-away helped?
If not and you have checked the impeller and circulation pump, It could be a cost effective time to get her lifted not only because the amount of growth you have on the leg, props and hull will be increasing the stress on your engine/your fuel consumption etc. but also you can check the water intake hose from the leg, put a fresh water and or salt flush through the system using muffs and as growth slows over the winter it won't hopefully, need to be lifted again until next years lift out offer starts?
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Once again, cheers for the advice! :).

I didn't film with the engine running... the whole area is like a jacuzzi, so thought it would be pointless... but thinking about it... once the cam is underwater, it'll be a much more clear view (assuming no bubbles)... will give that a shot tomorrow afternoon asap.

I'm not convinced the salt-away has helped. I really struggled to figure out how to get it in, and aren't sure I've done it in any way that would work. The hoses leading in pretty much don't exist... they're mostly metal pipes from the transom/leg, with one quite solid 6-inch long bend pipe that doesn't seem very flexible... so I didn't undo anything. Rather... as per my "Right... Only one direction for liquid to go through this filter now..." post #26, I blocked up the inlet and poured 2.5 litres of the (pre-mixed) stuff in... which wouldn't have swilled it around, so not really effective.

I think if I order another tub (the stuff is about £15)... I'll see if I can plug the filter in/out holes with tubing to feed purely from salt-away (if the pump PULLS in, rather than pushes before the filter).

I've limited time to test the effects... so didn't see what the levels of stress BEFORE the salt-away were. Just that it was slightly touching the red on the temperature gauge after 90 mins (in reasonably bad, at least for us, lumpy water). Since then, we did 2 runs to Clevedon at the weekend, keeping it to half throttle, and she maintained 3/4 of the green (ie 1/4 of the green left until red). Increasing from 3000rpm to 3500rpm had her touch the red again though... however, pulling back to idle for a couple of minutes brought her back to 1/2 mark on the green (where she sits on idle as per picture).

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The half throttle wasn't too bad... going with the tide we got 12mph on GPS, and 6mph punching the tide. Still, shes a planing boat, and thats probably not enough to get her up.

I've got a lift-out/bottom-scrub scheduled for tomorrow afternoon whilst it's on half price. I know I've caught it at the end, but when does the offer typically start? Am thinking by next summer, I'd probably want her streamlined/scrubbed at the start of the season. Either way, I guess it needs doing and this'll be the best price for the next 10+ months. Maybe the extra load on muck and stuck-down trim tabs is putting extra stress on at low rpm's?

Whilst they're doing the bottom-scrub... is asking for a "fresh water or salt flush through the system using muffs" something I can ask for? I don't understand what this entails.



Next thing to figure out after all this... why there was ~3 litres of seawater in my engine bilge after 30 miles at the weekend. And why the bloody auto-pump-on-a-float-switch can't pump for sh*t. Man oh man, this isn't ever gonna end, is it?
 
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rafiki_ said:
If you are still struggling, the try Alan Stafford at SOS Boatservices. He is a top bloke, reliable, competent, and excellent value. I used him many times on my outdrive boat, and also current shaftdrive. He advertises in the Portishead Quays booklet. Based in Gloucester, but happy to travel to Brizzle.
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I'm liking the look of Alan very much!

Specific rates, no callout, recommendation,

Thank you for the contact and recommendation! Will give him a buzz now in anticipation of contact for sometime next week :).
 
vodzurk said:
Next thing to figure out after all this... why there was ~3 litres of seawater in my engine bilge after 30 miles at the weekend. And why the bloody auto-pump-on-a-float-switch can't pump for sh*t. Man oh man, this isn't ever gonna end, is it?
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Welcome to the world of motor boat ownership!

Seriously, though, are you sure it is sea water or could it be something to do with the Salt Away exercise?

Although I have 3 automatic bilge pumps (due to hull design and over-enthusiastic previous owner), the lowest one never empties completely and I would say there is easily 3 litres down there. Now and again my conscience pricks and I suck it out with one of those cheap plastic hand sucker pumps into a plastic container. Due to the shape of the bilge, the bilge pump float switch is not quite at the lowest point At the moment, I suspect it's mostly rain water but with the odd bit of lube and fuel oils added - I've recently changed oil / oil filters / fuel filters!
 
I have used both of the engineering concerns in Portishead yard and they both did a fine job. (Supervision was needed on tidying up when the lads were doing it) Both were up to the wire time wise i.e. as we were get ready for the launch crane, but the work was sound.

I dumped my Volvo Sail drive in a skip however and used an outboard instead on my 2nd boat. On my present boat I changed my Volvo to a Yanmar and noted that the engineer shared my low opinion of Volvo-Penta
 
rgsmg53 said:
This is probably a bit late for you but a word of caution based on personal experience of both the marine "engineers" based in Portishead. Personally, I wouldn't use either again. Neither of them start or finish when they say they will - a nightmare, particularly if it's an out-o- the-water job. And once they've finished, the job is only "OK" - certainly not excellent.

In my experience, prices are on the expensive side of reasonable but not prohibitively so.

In the case of Advance, keep your eyes and ears - and common sense antennae - well tuned and don't be fobbed off. Make sure what you are told makes sense. As a retired professional engineer myself, I have been astonished at some of things I have seen carried out by Advance.

In one case, I'm firmly of the opinion that a recommendation was made with Advance's (and Honda's) profit margin in mind and not in the best interests of the customer - but I emphasise that in this case I did not commission the work.

If I need engine work done that I cannot do myself, I go much further afield and happily pay the travelling costs.

I hope that someone else will post some positive comments for balance but I have yet to meet anyone who is 100% satisfied with either.

From what I've understood of your problem, I would expect to see liberal use of hand held temperature measuring equipment to help diagnose the problem area. Should a suggestion be made that your recently-serviced engine in beyond economic repair then make sure you get a second opinion before going any further.

BTW your "rant" above pretty much mirrors my experience in the first 8 months of a new-to-me boat! It's the nature of the hobby unless one has pots of money and buys nearly new.

Best of luck with sorting out the problem. Do let us know how you get on.
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+1. Sadly this is a recurring Opinion.
 
tonyone01 said:
I recently had work done by Advance and although happy with the price the communication was bloody awful and when I raised this with them their response was to shout at me. Won't be using it hem again !
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Phil is very knowledgable, but not the easiest to deal with. Mitch and Brad are great.
 
Though I may criticise their slowness, Phil and crew can get it done and sorted. Just get it booked in with firm date and keep on top of the job. Boating costs twice what you budget for but well worth it. If you get someone else to come and look at it there will be travel costs and travel delays and Advance Marine are the English regional Volvo dealers however the other option is Wigmore Wright in Penarth but I have never used them.
 
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