So what has gone wrong this year ?

[jrudge]

So how is everyone doing so far?

Compared to Williams Rib hell last year and Generator misery the year before ( which only lasted 3 days to be fair) my tally so far has been reassuringly mild.

Boat is a Squadron 58 2004.

1. Flat rib battery. Assumed needed replacement but surprisingly not

2. Generator stopped. No Coolant flow. Turned out to be a tiny chafe hole in the supply pipe ( that had anti chafe binding on it ex factory so it laster 14 years) which was suddenly not so tiny. Bunged it up with leak stop for lunch and E30 an an hour later all fixed. Had not been self priming for a while so I suspect that is why.

3. Ice Maker. Flow hose had perished. Due to spectacular design all water is over the electrics ( anyone thought of doing it the other way round) so any leak pops the power. There was spare hose so cut and re connected. Same the following day. Hose dead so replaced. Ice making restored. Few days later same again. This time ice maker off, as it defrosts bit of water flows out the front and over the switch ( which is again below the water ...). Fixed with a dab of silicone

4. No water from the taps. Have 2 water pumps. Turns out one does not work ( new one ordered- boats.co.uk say the bottom one always fails). The second one had a combination of the wires falling off the pressure sensor ( which whilst a simple job are almost impossible to get back on as they face away from you at arms length) and then a faulty pressure switch which was solved with a clout from a pair of pliers. Will remove the lot, replace pump and set up property by adjusting pressures on next visit.

5. An unfeasible number of the cr%& LED bulbs I bought have failed. Halogen would have been more reliable. New batch bought.

6. The radar ( which I never use but turn on from time to time to pass the day away!) has stopped revolving. I will investigate next time I am there. Drive belt / fuse / connectors I suspect. We will see. It does not really bother me.


As usual nothing stopped it moving, no dismantling of toilets and the AC worked fine - so all in I would call it a success!

 

[alt]

Nothing, thankfully. Put about 100 hours on 2 x kad300's annually.

However we have been busy with my friends Sealine 305 'project so it has still been a learning curve of a season

 

[vas]

J. you do understand that you're pushing your luck with a post like that mid season, right?



V.

 

[petem]

1. Fridge (new one required)
2. Clutch cables (lubricated and adjusted)
3. Weird revving issue (unresolved)
4. Pre filters changed (related to 3. above)
5. Radar / GPS / Nav lights unit became detached (bolts and screws replaced) (€2)
6. Unplanned A/F of drives required
7. New clear sections for hoods and stitching repaired
8. Minor flooding due to loose plumbing connection (no cost)
9. New Spanish courtesy flag required (€3)
10. New boat hook required (old one lost overboard)
11. New fender socks

 

[julians]

1. Drive trim failed - turned out to be a faulty circuit breaker
2. Bennett trim tab switch broken - bought and fitted new switch.
3. Water pump bolt vibrated loose
4. Toilet mounting bolts vibrated loose
5. Rope round prop - my fault
6. Evc throwing fault every few hours, thought throttle pot was faulty, replaced but fault still present

For a 2006 windy 25.


That's it so far, not too bad this year (touch wood) .

 

[julians]

Oh yeah, new ensign required and a new boat hook required.

 

[julians]

I do need to get round to reupholstering the cockpit as some cushions are tearing at the seams, but that's going to be expensive, so keep putting it off.

 

[Bouba]

Vas is right. I’m not tempting fate by answering

 

[Whitelighter]

Hardly anything....

 

[Portofino]

Adjusted the valve clearance with a mate .
Was quite taperty before now a lot quieter.Ive put over 400 hrs on in 4 seasons so thought it needed doing .
Not difficult, but more of a phaff sliding the feeler gauge under the exhaust valve buckets and a bit cerebral working out which were at TDC .

Water pump pulsing syndrome gradually the Fq increasing from every now and again to every 10 mins .Always at night !
Turned out to be leaky calorifer .The hot water boiler .Its just a 220 v immersion.
Seeping from pin hole 1/2 way up .” Marine “ version of a 220 V as expected BOAT ie a €1000 , local french DIY house hold under sink unit ( looks like a “ marine “ ) €170 .
Then spent rest of the day with a pig of a job removing old unit from the ER , just enough space at the rear over the gearbox to man handle the dam thing out - just .Me trousers soaked in the hot contents of 40 L draining it .
Then unbelievable........ my boat plumbing is std 12 mm pipage .
So I waltz back to DIY shop to get the bits to connect the new unit to the boat .
Chuffing Fr use 13 mm Thirteen millimetres pipe !! Argh !
I found out trying to connect the new unit to the boats pipage stretched at arms length with outside air temps of 35 ( French mimi heat wave ) never mind recently run ER —- argh !
Lost count of how many trips to so many places to source right adaptors .
Then sods laws plays another card ...... the mounting bracket don’t line up .
So yet another trip to DIY to buy a 60 x60 mm x12 mm marine ply board to fabricate a better back plate to mount .After queuing at the returns to get refunds on the various duff parts bought s earlier that don’t fit the boats plumbing .

I,am now hating ever starting this job and the €1000 to €170 “ saving “ is 8issimg me off big time .

Bolt the new mounting plate to the old , mount the new water heater unit .
Connect up .Its 9 pm now and I started at 8 am .

Aircon drain shower sump switch failed on night .
Awoke to hear a main fwd bilge pump on - different deeper tone as it’s a 2000 something / hr .
Lifted the floor panel to see the shower box flooded .
Cleaned up and swopped out the cheese triangle carp switch with a €60 fully electronic, no moving parts resistance type .

Noticed a bit of diesel fuel dripping from the starboard racor FG 900 primary filters .
First thought perhaps a leaky T handle or lid .Changed the o rings .Few days later same .
Eventually worked out it was the see through bowl .
Couldn’t really access it so had to disconnect the whole unit , drain it.Put bungs in the pipes attached .Put the thing in a bucket bring up top on the cockpit table reeking of fuel - find the crack , a hairline crack where the WIF sensors been over tightened.Not by me , by the yard that replaced them 5 y ago .
Bodge up a fix with cyanoacrylate + epoxy. Refit test = no leak .

This one unusually with a boat has a happy ending .Mathew from ASAP via DHL gets the correct replacement part in the Italian marina office by 2 pm the next day .
ASAP exactly what it says on the tin .
Doing it all again dismantlement and refitting with new part is obviously easy second time . Bleed the system and engine = all is good .

That’s my little lot of extras this year in 45 hrs so far , about 2 months left .

 

[Firefly625]

my fuel & water tank keep need refilling but oddly my bilges are dry so not sure where those go. Oh, and I am sure someone is steeling my beer & wine.


Apart from that, all good.

 

[Mr Googler]

Valve clearances for me too....quite enjoyed it once I figured out what “on the rock” meant.
New fresh water pump
Gave up trying to make engine gauges digital and went back to standard
VHF broadcasting is weak despite new aerial/cable and trying with direct power supply. Garmin super helpful as usual and looking at the unit as I type.

 

[CLB]

1. Shower sump pump failed
2. Engine has loss of power
3. Shower sump pump failed
4. Shower sump pump failed

Think that's about it

Ps, anyone know if such a thing as a reliable shower sump unit exists?

 

[BartW]

Adjusted the valve clearance with a mate .
Was quite taperty before now a lot quieter.Ive put over 400 hrs on in 4 seasons so thought it needed doing .
Not difficult, but more of a phaff sliding the feeler gauge under the exhaust valve buckets and a bit cerebral working out which were at TDC .

did you experience that a lot of adjustment was needed ?
I was adviced from the MAN guy who did the rebuild in Montenegro approw 500hrs ago, to do the same (with a mate)
can"t be too difficult just a lot of faffing,

 

[petem]

1. Shower sump pump failed
2. Engine has loss of power
3. Shower sump pump failed
4. Shower sump pump failed

Think that's about it

Ps, anyone know if such a thing as a reliable shower sump unit exists?

We've owned our boat for over two years now and despite showering on it have never had a shower sump pump fail. I'm afraid I don't know what model is it but I do know that the PO changed the original one for a more reliable type.

So good ones do exist!

 

[scottie]

Put the boat up for sale expecting a slow sale the broker had a buyer sitting waiting !
We had decided to retire gracefully before health caught up.

 

[markc]

Vas is right. I’m not tempting fate by answering

Yep, +1 to that. Ask again after October!

 

[CLB]

We've owned our boat for over two years now and despite showering on it have never had a shower sump pump fail. I'm afraid I don't know what model is it but I do know that the PO changed the original one for a more reliable type.

So good ones do exist!

Perhaps when you are next on the boat you could be kind enough to take a pic. I am thoroughly fed up with these bloody things. Thanks

 

[Portofino]

did you experience that a lot of adjustment was needed ?
I was adviced from the MAN guy who did the rebuild in Montenegro approw 500hrs ago, to do the same (with a mate)
can"t be too difficult just a lot of faffing,

Mostly exhaust s , they get hottest .
One engine had 2 inlet and 4 exhaust out .
Other had 1 inlet and 3 exhaust out .
My mate suggested using a stethoscope to hear which are the noisiest first and just do those .He said they all won’t need doing .It just takes a few to be out .***
Anyhow it was no trouble taking the caps off them all 12 in all and checking a 24 valves .
So with a 6 bank there’s two rocker arms , one for the inlet , one for the exhaust.
It’s a 4 valve head but the single rocker arm has a bridge covering the two valves .
The exhaust one is bit deeper to insert the feeler gauge and there’s a tiny bucket to lift up .
With the “ rocker method “ you need a mate to turn the engine using a 32 mm socket with a 1m long bar on the crank vibration pulley at the front .
You don’t need new valve cover gaskets as the OEM are a combo of metal / rubber and sit in a groove on the head .They appear to be made for many on / off cycles .
The caps simply unscrew to take off and simply pop back on and tighten up .

Next time you are in the ER take a 14 mm socket and whip a valve cap off and take a look .
You need a hex to adjust and iirc a 14 mm ring spanner to slacken off the adjuster lock nut .


*** it’s not a metal fatigue issue as they open with time hence the TAP sound increases .
No it’s a performance issue .
Really the final fraction of a seconds during valve closure in a 16/18 to 1 or high compression engine is vital .
Too late and gas escapes or to early same = power loss .
You don’t get the same dramatic power loss with slight valve miss timing in a lower compression say petrol car or lawnmower at 8/9 to 1 .
But power loss is exponentially increases the further up the comp ratio goes .

In effect you are tuning the thing up to near OEM new Hp rating .
Yes it does sound quieter too ,buts that just a side effect not the real reason for doing it .

Worth while in a planning boat with all the variable seasonal happenings attempting to rob it useable Hp that can be translated into fwd motion .

 

[jrudge]

Perhaps when you are next on the boat you could be kind enough to take a pic. I am thoroughly fed up with these bloody things. Thanks

I have posted before that how something so simple can go wrong so often and be totally unrepairable to boot I cannot understand.

I used to fix them and 48 hours later they would go wrong again. I don't bother now I just buy a new one. I think the float switches object to being immersed in shampoo! The last time in Palma this was wallet busting E250 as I recall. Only £100 ish in the UK but of course I need it NOW!