Boat survey finding – Navtec turnbuckle screw

The Caliber 40LRC has convertible cutter rig.  This means that the inner forestay can be rigged aside when not in use.  The Navtec inner forestay has an adjustable screw (Navtec 1/2" Standard Screw 8.39")    that needs to be replaced, according to the boat surveyor, every six years.  Our inner forestay screw was ten years old so we decided to satisfy the survey finding by replacing it.  We found the exact match to the adjustable screw through RiggingandHardware.com.  They are great to work with.

Since the inner forestay is removable, this was an easy replacement.  We added a small amount of Lanacote to the screw when replacing.  Total replacement time was one hour.

 

 

Lazarette Latch

The lockers (lazarettes) in our cockpit have horrible latches that "bite" you every time you walk by them because of the way they protrude, especially when they are left open. After our trip North last summer, we decided to research flush mount latches so we could walk by them safely. Geralyn found lockable latches made by Southco. We mounted one of them over the weekend and it worked great. The latching mechanism needs a little tweaking to work in a lazarette versus a regular door, still, they are much safer than the original boat latches.

Ankle Biter

Calf Bruiser

Friendly Latch

 

Happy Holidays!!

We added some 12v lights to the cockpit.  It makes things a little brighter.  Happy Holidays!

Fixing a Jabsco Water Pump

Our Jabsco PAR-MAX water pump started going off intermittently for about a second, every hour or so. We looked high and low for a slow leak in the water system, but we didn't find any leaks. I wrote Jabsco with the symptoms, and they wrote right back telling me the cause. Apparently the check valves inside the pump failed. They sell a kit to fix it (18911-7030 ) for $25.00. I bought the kit and fixed the pump. A new pump would have been $150.00.

Anchor Securing Turnbuckle

During our trip up north, the anchor came loose while Geralyn was steering into the big waves. Just kidding about Geralyn steering into the big waves. The anchor did come loose though, when we dipped the nose in the water. Luckily we had secured the anchor with some rope, so it didn't go very far. Since then, we have been thinking about a way to secure the anchor. A friend of ours suggested a turnbuckle, so I went to ACE Hardware and bought a $4.50 steel turnbuckle for a proof of concept fitting. The steel turnbuckle would probably rust right before our eyes out on the ocean, so I found a permanent stainless steel turnbuckle online ($17.00). The website had a minimum order of two, but that's ok. I wouldn't be surprised if we donate one to the ocean someday. We'll have a backup.

Proof of Concept Model

Final turnbuckle

 

Changing Coolant on a Yanmar 4JH3E Diesel Engine

We've had our boat for two years now, and we have put 500 hours on the engine. It's actually overdue, but the time came to replace the coolant. The coolant on the Yanmar 4JH3E should be replaced every year, or 250 hours. Our engine had the Yanmar brand coolant (YG30R), but we couldn't get a hold of any without paying shipping charges, so we researched an alternative. Initially, we found a suitable replacement with Havoline Extended Life Coolant, and this is what we put in the engine. After further research though, we think next time we will use either Texaco or Shell "ELC" coolant because both brands have added nitrite and molybdenum for protection against pitting and erosion. The engine has three drain cocks: 1. On the cylinder block, on the port side aft. 2. Underneath the fresh water pump. 3. The exhaust manifold. I saved a plastic water bottle to be able to drain the old coolant in tight spaces. After draining coolant from all the drain cocks, I filled the engine with distilled water and ran it until it reached operating temperature. You do this so the thermostat opens up and the cooling pump moves coolant through the heat exchanger, therefore cooling the coolant with sea water (exchanging heat). This gets the coolant inside the heat exchanger moving so you can drain it with the distilled water. If you were going from green coolant (Ethylene Glycol ) to the pink/red/orange stuff (Dexcool), you may want to flush with distilled water a few times, since the two types of coolant are incompatible. When mixed together they form a gel-like substance that stops coolant flow and consequently the engine overheats. Since I switched from Yanmar Dexcool to Havoline Dexcool, I only flushed with distilled water once. Many boat engines have a portion of the coolant circuit diverted to a water heater. When draining, you can ensure the coolant in the water heater circuit is drained by disconnecting from the pump and blowing the coolant into the engine. You need to be careful because coolant is poisonous. After draining the distilled water with the leftover coolant, fill the engine with coolant. Make sure the coolant is either pre-mixed (ready to go in) or concentrated (mix yourself). The Havoline was concentrated, so I mixed with 50% distilled water and 50% coolant. After filling with coolant through the pressure cap, run the engine with the cap off until the thermostat opens. When this happens, the coolant level will drop. Fill to the top again and close the cap. Never open the cap on a hot engine.

During the project I replaced a portion of the coolant hose because the rubber was cracking a little.



Yikes!

We never saw this on the barograph before and wouldn’t mind if we didn’t see it again.