Some Pics from the weekend

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Alcyone

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Brought Ishtar back to Cardiff from Dale at the weekend. Lovely weather.

Low tide at Dale. You could almost walk to Ishtar (arrowed)

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Misty Morning, Dale:

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Birds

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At Anchor near Atlantic college

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Steepholm

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And lastly, Sunset over Sully Island

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Having read your blog, it sounds like a pretty eventful trip with the diesel bug problems. I'm sure you have considered these ideas, but for what it is worth, could you put a dual filter system in so that when one blocks you can switch over to the other clean filter which is plumbed in parallel? Are you using Soltron or similar?

PS, lovely pics!
 
Great pictures. Have you been using FAME free fuel?

I can't get in my tank to clean it so am planning to fit a new tank this winter with a hatch in a good place to gain access and plan to clean on a regular basis. Being from a commercial back ground I am more used to having a daily service and main tank. If I had the room I'd install similar on Picaro but without taking up locker space it would be a bit of a squeeze.

Chris
 
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Thanks for the comments about the pictures.

Regarding the diesel bug, I don't know. We were so p&ssed off when we got back, we just left the boat in a mess. I have a feeling I'm going to get angry with it soon. I thought we'd got to the bottom of the problem with the Marine16 additive, but clearly we have not. This has ruined three weekends this year, when we'd been looking forward to trouble free sailing after fitting a new engine.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet, but when I fix it, it will stay fixed!

:D
 
Funny you should mention that. I've been told that white diesel is just as susceptible to the bug as red, but I've never heard of it either, It is amongst the things I was thinking of trying. For the amount we go through in a year, the price difference is tiny.
 
I think the key difference between our boats and road vehicles is the amount of turnover in the diesel tank - we are refuelling our cars most weeks or every other week, whereas the diesel in our boats sits for long periods of time without being used.

Touch wood, I have yet to have problems like this, but I'm sure it is only a matter of time. If I did get problems, I think I would empty my tank and then have it steam cleaned, to try and get the whole thing sterile before refilling. I would definitely put a dual filter system in though.
 
Not read the blog but guessing my problem was similar - boat had lived at Swansea where they have dodgy diesel, filters completely choked. Did a Marine 16 treatment and was advised to change the filters again in a few weeks. I forgot. Last ride back from Swansea stbd engine started losing power - filters completely blocked again. New set in and spares ordered, another treatment done. I've now run at least a tank and half of fuel through (of nice Portishead fuel) so hopefully on top it now.

Before purchase Excalibur had been left for best of a year with almost empty tanks, hardly moving. Asking for trouble.
 
Novachris said:
Just a thought,but could you use road diesel in your boat? not much in the price these days, and you never hear of diesel road vecichals with the bug.
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The road diesel you buy nowadays contains a % of bio fuel. Be careful using it in your tanks - it will react with moisture in 3-4 months. Make sure you know what you are taking onboard - ensure it is FAME free.

To me the only way to ensure your system stays clear of the bug is to empty the tank on a regular basis. For this reason I am fitting a new tank with a hatch on the front so I can gain easy access to empty/clean it. I plan to do this annually.
 
Love your photo, Misty Morning, Dale. How kind of you to photograph our Southerly 115, Dulcibella II. I was aboard but zonked after spending the previous day dried out in Sandy Haven and polishing the topsides. Seem to remember it was very rolley!
 
channel said:
The road diesel you buy nowadays contains a % of bio fuel. Be careful using it in your tanks - it will react with moisture in 3-4 months. Make sure you know what you are taking onboard - ensure it is FAME free.

To me the only way to ensure your system stays clear of the bug is to empty the tank on a regular basis. For this reason I am fitting a new tank with a hatch on the front so I can gain easy access to empty/clean it. I plan to do this annually.
Click to expand...

My tank has a sump with a tap, and when i remember i drain it into a plastic bottle,but it seems clear with no water or black stuff.

I cant for the life of me work out why they make fuel tanks without this facility these days.
 
Novachris said:
Just a thought,but could you use road diesel in your boat? not much in the price these days, and you never hear of diesel road vecichals with the bug.
Click to expand...

Thats because the throughput in a vehicle tank is much greater so the bug that does develop is smaller in quantity and just goes through the engine.

The bug affects all oil products including aviation, and some of the additives were invented to tackle this issue in aviation fuel and road fuel..
 
Flossdog said:
Love your photo, Misty Morning, Dale. How kind of you to photograph our Southerly 115, Dulcibella II. I was aboard but zonked after spending the previous day dried out in Sandy Haven and polishing the topsides. Seem to remember it was very rolley!
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Yes it was rolly. I think the original pic, btw, was 4 times as large. If you want it, send me a pm with your email address and I'll send it to you.

See you next summer if you're there again!
 
Bosun Higgs said:
Thats because the throughput in a vehicle tank is much greater so the bug that does develop is smaller in quantity and just goes through the engine.

The bug affects all oil products including aviation, and some of the additives were invented to tackle this issue in aviation fuel and road fuel..
Click to expand...

I don't buy the throughput argument per se, BH. Our camper van, especially during the winter is unused for longer periods than our boat, and we've never had the bug. The additives in road fuel may be more to do with it, imo.
 
Alcyone said:
I don't buy the throughput argument per se, BH. Our camper van, especially during the winter is unused for longer periods than our boat, and we've never had the bug. The additives in road fuel may be more to do with it, imo.
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I appears to me that many more people have had issues this year than any previous year - RNLI statistics seem to agree. From January 2011 new european rules where introduced specifying a minimum amount of bio-fuel to be mixed into our diesel, red and white, minimum 7% I think. So you may well find that your camper van doesn't fare so well after this winter.

Just a thought - are the fuel pipes on the average car/camper van larger diameter than a boat due to the larger engines?
 
I suspect that that depends on the size on the size of your boat engines! My fuel pipes are significantly larger than the ones in my car, and they have similar size diesel engines. My volvo pentas have a very high fuel relatively (so I'm told) and are therefore are sensitive to fuel filters blocking up. I suspect the car is more effiecient and also doesn't consume 14 gallons per hour :-)
 
That was partially my train of thought - it's mostly sailing yachts with relatively small engines of around 18hp that have had issues I've heaard about. I'd guess they've got a much lower consumption than a car or one of your big thirsty units.
 
Plenty of mobos suffering too, Excalibur suffered from Swansea fuel and lack of use. The first 2 sets of fuel filters I have been through were horrendous. 2 sets in 5 months that is.
 
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