tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6458075112175110787.post5085273914715133209..comments2024-02-22T05:34:03.852-05:00Comments on The world encompassed: The real sea monstersRhyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00598445145507204424noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6458075112175110787.post-68949724137239568572013-10-30T19:23:45.838-04:002013-10-30T19:23:45.838-04:00Horatio, I can't tell you anything you don'...Horatio, I can't tell you anything you don't already know, or suspect. You may have flushed your system better than you know.<br /><br />I will suggest something, however: You need to figure out if your thermostat is in the raw-water (seawater) circuit or the coolant (antifreeze, pressurized around the engine and circulating through the heat exchanger, which my Portuguese sailing buddy calls a "calorifier".<br /><br />The reason is that 155F is as hot as you want the raw water to ever get, because the salts in seawater precipitate out at that temperature and can leave deposits in your exhaust system...although realistically the hot exhaust gases are going to heat up the water a lot, too.<br /><br />You should observe if the cap on your heat exchanger is the right pressure rating, and what is happening to your expansion tank when at cruising RPM...is the tank filling? Is the level changing?<br /><br />That's where I would start, although as long as you don't have a leak in the block itself (you would see coolant in the oil...bad), I'm not sure you really have a problem.<br /><br />I saw some surfing videos from Nazare. It looks a little difficult for a sailboat with the 30 metre waves!Rhyshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00598445145507204424noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6458075112175110787.post-78015695780507412802013-10-30T14:32:27.014-04:002013-10-30T14:32:27.014-04:00Anything is possible.
This is how it went: motore...Anything is possible. <br />This is how it went: motored to Nazare to haulout with the gauge showing about 180ºF at the usual revs (just like always since I left Canada 11 years ago).<br />On the hard, changed from cheap 10% antifreeze to a quality brand 50% antifreeze.<br />Ever since, been to the Algarve and back and temperature always stays at about 155º unless I gun it past my cruising speed.<br />My car mechanic said the same as you (but in Portuguese), "no way pá [man], gauge is faulty, maybe thermostat is no good...."<br />Big coincidence, I'd say, pá.<br />Ryker says that maybe by draining the antifreeze I cleared up some foreign bodies that were hampering the flow...that would still leave me with a faulty gauge - it's supposed to run at 180ºF. Oh pá, the life of a boat slave!<br /> Horatiohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06405728755670132370noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6458075112175110787.post-65252503080723171492013-10-29T20:58:52.321-04:002013-10-29T20:58:52.321-04:00I assume you mean the "freshwater" circu...I assume you mean the "freshwater" circuit (a stupid name as it's usually a glycol/water mix and is hardly fresh) that is too cool. <br /><br />I think you need to independently check that your engine coolant is in fact cool and that your temperature gauge is not faulty. <br /><br />As for the barnacles, the percebes kind are delicious!Rhyshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00598445145507204424noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6458075112175110787.post-84061442379360559942013-10-29T08:05:58.810-04:002013-10-29T08:05:58.810-04:00Great post, and educational.
Now I know why my eng...Great post, and educational.<br />Now I know why my engine runs cooler (too cool) after replacing the 10% antifreeze with a 50% solution. I read that it shouldn't make a difference, but it does.<br />I have ONE underwater throughull and a sea chest. The galley water flows out a hole just above the waterline - the sinks gurgle like hell when heeled.<br />What about the head, you may ask. It goes into a holding tank which is manually pumped out also just above the water line. For obvious reasons, I pump it out when it's dark.<br />Oh yes, a throughull with an exterior grate, holes...whatever...is for the barnacles and a damn nuisance.<br />Horatiohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06405728755670132370noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6458075112175110787.post-24146750007526469742013-10-27T21:28:38.319-04:002013-10-27T21:28:38.319-04:00No lotteries for us.....first time on a dock for g...No lotteries for us.....first time on a dock for general repairs and maintenance (dinghy too) in 5 years. Can't repair a seawater leak on a dinghy when you're at anchor.<br />Kennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6458075112175110787.post-14666788097941729402013-10-27T09:26:25.542-04:002013-10-27T09:26:25.542-04:00Huh...I thought you were on the hook! Congratulati...Huh...I thought you were on the hook! Congratulations on your lottery win!Rhyshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00598445145507204424noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6458075112175110787.post-57062991968884877792013-10-26T17:33:46.078-04:002013-10-26T17:33:46.078-04:00DS II is four slips away in our Grenada marina.;-)...DS II is four slips away in our Grenada marina.;-)Kennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6458075112175110787.post-13753834557581127982013-10-26T17:23:42.008-04:002013-10-26T17:23:42.008-04:00It's still up in the air, Ken. We have room to...It's still up in the air, Ken. We have room to carry about 200 gallons in the engine room, but in some ways I'd prefer to carry half that and use solar and wind to make as needed. We, too, are foot pedallers, but the difference is that with a full keel, water tanks are an element of internal ballast. We need more than some do, and what most can have in a fin keeler is less than we would want, including rainwater for washing and flushing, not just drinking.<br /><br />We'll see. It's not a today thing. The today thing was Becky down at haulout in a rain-swept gale discovering that the sling marks were a foot wrong due to the addition of the engine. I understand (I was off making money) it was an exciting moment.<br /><br />If I can find Paul or Sheryl I will write them to better understand their logic. I wasn't thinking particularly elaborate rig, but I remain open to contrary views.Rhyshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00598445145507204424noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6458075112175110787.post-18487524990045992872013-10-25T20:53:24.694-04:002013-10-25T20:53:24.694-04:00Hi Marc. Here is our seawater flow alarm. http://w...Hi Marc. Here is our seawater flow alarm. http://www.sailorssolutions.com/?page=ProductDetails&Item=FS200<br /><br />We made the decision to find out about lack of seawater flow rather then wait until the engine overheats due to the blockage. Trouble with hi temp alarms, it could be a blockage or lack of coolant in the freshwater loop as well as seawater. The flow alarm just measures flow and yells at you when the lower limit is sensed. <br /><br />Freshwater flushing of seawater hoses isn't desirable or even possible on Silverheels III as we catch water on deck, buy it sparingly from marinas and do not have any electric pressure for fresh water. We've pumped by foot for ten years now and we know how to save water....a good skill to develop in preparation for those dryer areas you allude to. ;-)<br />Our friends and yours too, Paul and Sheryl on Distant Shores II elected to leave out the watermaker on their latest boat. They have the water tank capacity to travel across the oceans and hated the expense and hassle of watermaker purchase, maintenance and spare parts inventory to make it all go.<br />Lynn and I can buy a lot of water for $5k+ and we like the "cruiser's gym" (hefting the jerry cans.)Ken Goodingsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6458075112175110787.post-58548429584137150722013-10-25T01:38:15.805-04:002013-10-25T01:38:15.805-04:00Thanks, Ken, what can I say...I like to mix it up....Thanks, Ken, what can I say...I like to mix it up. It was the increasingly common problem of swarms of jellies screwing up water intakes at power plants that got me thinking about strainers and so on.<br /><br />So I guess you are suggesting that if I have a standpipe that is open to the sea, that I just avoid any kind of a screen because it will only clog over with critters? That would suggest I keep filters on the inside, which was Plan B.<br /><br />The basket filter thing is cheap insurance. I've yet to catch an impeller vane in it, but I have kept little shreds of plastic and some equally torn up animals and plants out of the block.<br /><br />The seawater flow alarm is great; a similar device measures temperature of the water before the exhaust mix and, through an alarm, lets you know if you are exceeding 200F. When you install it, I would love to hear your opinions on it.<br /><br />I'm aware that very regular critter removal is the cost of being at anchor. Have you considered fresh water flushing (or backflushing) of selected hoses? It might argue for a watermaker after all. We have loads of room for water tanks, but I was considering the utility of a smallish watermaker for drier parts of the world, and for the ability to divert tank fresh water from a dedicated tank into the head and galley for flushing purposes.<br /><br />Hauling out Alchemy on Saturday. I expect to motor away at launch as all the pieces are aboard. Thanks for writing.Rhyshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00598445145507204424noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6458075112175110787.post-45814865795974579742013-10-24T21:44:02.964-04:002013-10-24T21:44:02.964-04:00Marc, not sure about the segue from strainers to j...Marc, not sure about the segue from strainers to jellies but good post anyway. ;-)<br />Before heading out from Toronto back in 2008 for saltwater cruising we removed every last outside through hull inlet strainer on the hull, all four of them, head, galley and deckwash. Glad we did. <br />Miniature critter larvae love to colonize thru hull mechanisms. They will drift/swim through those holes in the hull mounted external intake strainer, grab on to a likely place and then proceed to eat and...GROW. Barnacles not so much, but coral polyps, mussels and oysters and other shellfish will do this. That external strainer mesh...especially the lovely stainless one in the Groco with the cute little cleanout door, will be plugged with the rock hard, ceramic like calcium deposits forming the shells of these guys. We swim around the hull almost daily with an old screwdriver with a floating handle. A little thrust up each open thru-hull and a twist of the wrist evicts the buggers. <br />I do like the post seawater impeller strainer thing...it'll collect the rubber vanes as they're shed by the impeller, rather than finding them in the heat exchanger inlet. We have a seawater flow alarm sensor (still in the box) that should warn us of a seawater engine cooling clog. By the way, we discovered that the seawater calcium scale alst builds up in the seawater loop, hoses and strainer elbows. Just looking into the engine strainer bowl wasn't enough...we didn't see that the bronze strainer inlets were scaled up...kinda like a 50 year old iron water pipe in Toronto.Ken Goodings, Silverheels IIInoreply@blogger.com