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Thread: Surprise!

  1. #81
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
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    San Francisco Bay Area
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    Quote Originally Posted by BobJ View Post
    I like my new boat, but today I was missing my old one. Everything worked on the old one.
    I have yet to get to that point with any boat I've owned except Vingilothiel
    1968 Selmer Series 9 B-flat and A clarinets
    1962 Buesher "Aristocrat" tenor saxophone
    Piper One Design 24, Hull #35; "Alpha"

  2. #82
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    Jan 2010
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    Quote Originally Posted by BobJ View Post
    I like my new boat, but today I was missing my old one. Everything worked on the old one.
    To paraphrase Mary Poppins, “On the ocean enough is as good as a feast.”

  3. #83
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    Sep 2007
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    The engine is reputed to be a good one - a Yanmar 3GM30 - and it supposedly has only 600-700 hours on it. But despite the boat being built in Rhode Island, the engine is a European version of the 3GM30. It had a "self-bleeding" fuel system, which was an idea that didn't work well. It caused the engine to simply not run now and then, due to air in the fuel system. This not-running happened to us shortly after leaving Santa Cruz to deliver the boat, and it has happened a couple times since.

    I have a good engine mechanic who rebuilds diesels for a living. He removed the faulty self-bleeding system and did exten$ive other work. The engine started and ran flawlessly for getting to/from the 3BF and last Sunday's Midwinter. But yesterday it wouldn't start. It wanted to at first, running roughly for a few seconds. But after a few more attempts it wouldn't even catch. (I had turned off the raw water intake to avoid filling the engine with water.) The batteries are strong - it turns over fine.

    Suggestions from the crowd? Again my mechanic is quite good, so I'm looking for experience specific to this model of engine.

    This is a big boat, I have a downwind slip and I kinda need the engine to work, hence my frustration.
    .
    Last edited by BobJ; 03-12-2019 at 07:24 PM. Reason: Details added.

  4. #84
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Humboldt Bay
    Posts
    135

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    I'm almost positive you have air in your fuel system. I would start from the fuel tank and trace all lines to the injectors. I bet you're sucking in air from somewhere. That has been my experience with this engine. Something probably settled and shifted with use since your mechanic worked on it. Check all your connections and hose clamps.

  5. #85
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    Sep 2007
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    Do you have the European version - S/N starts with an "E"?

    No doubt it's air in the fuel system. The question is why, when it was just serviced and was running fine. I could have bled it myself but I didn't want to screw up his ability to diagnose it.

    He has a couple ideas - I'll post back when we have an answer.

  6. #86
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    Sep 2007
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    The mechanic says the fuel line is 1/4" and Yanmar specified 5/16" for this engine. Also, because of the location of the tank, the line is relatively long. He disconnected it at both ends and couldn't blow air through it. He replaced it with a larger line and routed it more directly. He also replaced the lift pump, which was being asked to work a lot harder than intended. The engine is running again so hopefully you'll see me at the start on Saturday.

    Philpott offered to tow Surprise! out into the reach on Saturday morning if necessary - thank you Philpott!

  7. #87
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    Jan 2010
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    Yesterday was Sunday and, since Bob didn't want to go back to work yet, I was invited to sail on Surprise! He let me steer and so we sailed around Angel Island and then raised that pretty blue spinnaker ("too small, need a bigger one") on the way back over to Richmond. Does she sail like a dream? Well, yes of course she does. So beautifully balanced that I could control the tiller with my knees. In fact, it was very similar to the way Dura Mater sails. hahaha. Only more faster. More!

    Bob reminded me that there might be an Alerion 38 in my future, since one is for sale locally. hahaha/again.

  8. #88
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    Sep 2007
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    In fact, there's one with a tiller:

    https://www.yachtworld.com/boats/199...-yawl-3647319/

    And one with a wheel - in Wisconsin:

    https://www.yachtworld.com/boats/199...dard%20listing

    Kind of unusual since they only made six yawls.
    .
    Last edited by BobJ; 04-28-2020 at 02:56 PM.

  9. #89
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    Sep 2007
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    A great photo from the finish line on Saturday, thanks to SlackwaterSF!

    Name:  SSSCor2019 Slackw 2.jpg
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Size:  1.15 MB

  10. #90
    Join Date
    Aug 2013
    Location
    Seattle, WA
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    296

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    Quote Originally Posted by BobJ View Post
    Surprise! has a stove with an oven but there are two issues: (1) A 20 year-old propane system with some dubious-looking hose that I want to replace before I blow up the boat, and (2) a skipper who doesn't know how to cook. There are skippers like Tortuga Randy, who can produce an endless stream of baked goodies from his boat's oven, and Sail la Vie Phil, who baked muffins during the SHTP - while I was eating 5-Minute Heater Meals (and losing 20 lbs.) Ragtime! didn't have a galley but Surprise! does, and I need to figure out what to do with it. Suggestions welcome, but you need to understand that the specialties of the house are hamburgers, hot dogs and frozen fish patties.
    My prior boat had a two-burner alcohol stove top, so I had similar concerns when talking ownership of Morning Star, with her nearly 30 year old propane oven & stove and hoses of unknown age. Nothing in any of the extensive records that came with the boat suggested the hoses had ever been replaced.

    One of the non-required items in my prep for the SHTP was installation of a propane fume detector. Bought the unit on line, thinking I'd install it myself, then concluded hiring a professional would give me a better aesthetic result and better peace of mind. And, since replacement of the propane hoses would not likely spike a material increase in the pre-race hemorrhage of cash, the work order included the direction to inspect and replace all hoses as needed. The proverbial asking the barber if you need a haircut.

    The company, Morton Marine Services in San Diego, had done other work for me, and had helped me think through other potential projects, so I had a decent base of experience to support my favorable view of their abilities and judgment. Still, it was a pleasant surprise when they reported that none of the hoses needed replacement. And they came up with a very elegant solution to the installation of the display/control unit in the very challenging space between the battery monitor display and propane solenoid breaker. Because there are no other propane devices below, they put the sensor right under the oven where it will be the most sensitive, rather than in the bilge as frequently recommended.

    I would say it was some of the best money spent in preparing for the race and sail back, but my sailor's amnesia leaves me blissfully ignorant of the numbers. The peace of mind over the propane question in mid-ocean was, as they say, "priceless."
    .
    Last edited by BobJ; 03-12-2019 at 09:04 AM.
    Lee
    s/v Morning Star
    Valiant 32

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