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1

Main Message Board / changing fuel filter

« on: August 12, 2020, 09:08:41 PM »

Changed racor fuel filter today, I've changed it several time over the last 15 years, the tank was full of fuel, I have a valve installed just before the racor filter, with the filter off, I opened the valve just to run a little fuel out, (rinse) but no fuel came out, I thought that was odd because of siphoning, I put the filter on and bled and ran the engine, in the past I would leave the knurled knob open a 1/4 turn or so to self bleed the system, engine started right up, ran it for half hour or so, however, when I shut the engine off, it wouldn't start again unless I shut the knurled bleed screw knob tight,

had to leave the boat until friday, in the meantime, thought I would ask you guys for advice before I get back and trouble shoot,why wouldn't the tank siphon, and why can't I leave the bleed screw partially open like before, the pick up tube has the screen removed, .  I can rev the engine to 3200 rpm no problem. I have spent the last hour reading the archives.
 It's got me confused, almost like the fuel line has a airleak, or something breaking the siphon. but why  the bleeder screw can't be cracked open  a little like it used to be, like Ron says, (self bleeding) I did notice Stu's report on the racor check valve I could look at when I get back, I did notice a little trouble starting the engine, hence the filter change, now it fires up instantly, as long as the knurled knob is tight??

2

Main Message Board / looking for a new charger

« on: June 14, 2020, 09:35:26 PM »

I had a promarine 30 amp for 13 years, and it died,  am in the market for a new charger, have looked at mainsails sterling charger, this gets a little confusing to me, on my old promarine 30 I had two  10 gauge wires fused with 30 amp in line fuses, to the  1/2/ALL  perko selector switch.  I have 4 trojan 105 batteries and a dedicated start battery with a on off switch and a combiner.  A friend gave me a brand new DSL 75 amp charger he bought years ago and never used it, I installed it with trepidation, it immediately heated the charging wire and literally melted the fuse right out of there.  so I took it out, I was thinking it would charge "up to" 75 amps, but it looks like it nailed my charging wires with 75 amps immediately, and of course  heated the wire, blew the fuse . I am very nervous about all those charging amps on my boat, even if I correctly sized the wire to the perko switch. What would happen downstream so to speak, The sterling charger from Mainsail certainly looks appealing, not a bad price either.  what size charger would you recommend for my batteries, do 4 six volt batteries wired in series then parallel so I have 2 12 volt banks give over 400 amp hours, or is it 200 amp hours,  do most of you wire the charging wire to the 1 and 2 or All on the perko switch? or do you run the charging wires directly to the batterys, and the ground to the ground bus bar? which connects to the engine block., do I run a seperate green wire bonding the case, sized the same as the dc ground wire to the engine block as well? or to the negative bus bar?, if thats the case, why can't I combine the ground and case wire at the charger, I did read Mainsails instructions, but, so much info, thought I would ask you other members how you do it too. and what you recommend, the charger was installed in the hanging locker. Any advice on a charger? Thank you for reading my ramblings,

3

Main Message Board / leak on port side

« on: October 25, 2019, 07:51:32 AM »

I have water on the shelf (after a hard rain) in the head, the upper shelf behind and to the left of the toilet, I re bedded the stanchions with buytl tape last year so I am confident the water isn't coming from there, that leaves the rail where the jib sliding block is on as a suspect, my question is, to remove that sliding track do all those screws/bolts need to be removed? that would be a nightmare, or is there a few key bolts to remove, appreciate any ideas, thanks

4

Main Message Board / fuel cut off cable

« on: July 28, 2019, 08:03:51 PM »

went to shut my engine off by pulling up on the fuel shut off handle, it went halfway and with a little more effort was able to pull it up all the way and shut the engine down, upon investigation I noticed the end of the cable sheething was pulled out of the bracket adjacent to the shutoff lever, does anyone know how this is supposed to be attached? or do I need a new cable? I thought I had pictures of my engine but can't find any to see what it used to look like attached.  Thanks

5

Main Message Board / Cabin Led light bulb replacement

« on: April 05, 2019, 11:08:08 AM »

Sitting here in the winter thinking of summer boat projects:  would like to replace my cabin salon lights with LED's, I've done some conversions but focusing on the slider festoon bulb fixtures, looks like they are 42 mm bulbs, I've searched the archives but they are mostly older posts and techy stuff change rapidly these days.  On the internet they go from 50 cents to 15 dollars apiece, need 8 of them, any recent advice would be appreciated or recommendations on what kind and where to get these, I think Stu recommended the soft white.  Thank you

6

Main Message Board / companion way door size

« on: October 18, 2018, 09:30:21 AM »

going to the boat to winterize and can't find my winter door so would like to make one to fit in the grooves where the 2 door slats go, have looked on the site and can't find the overall opening size.  would like to make the door before i go to the boat.  thanks all.. 88 catalina 34

7

Main Message Board / bottom paint in lake superior

« on: July 21, 2017, 08:02:37 AM »

I sail in lake superior, the boat goes in the water in the spring, and comes out in the fall with virtually nothing on the hull, is bottom paint necessary, I used to put vc 17 on but was skoffed at by fellow boaters for spending the time and money, however, my dock mate says that without it the boat can take on water through the gel coat, not sure what that means, has anyone ever heard of that?

8

Main Message Board / side gate

« on: September 03, 2016, 11:37:24 AM »

has anyone installed a side gate on their boat, the girl I sail with is very short, and when coming to a dock she can't step over the life line to secure the boat with the dock lines, she was requesting a gate about midship, anyone ever do this?

9

Main Message Board / electrical mystery

« on: September 01, 2016, 10:44:21 AM »

was motoring along one day, I plugged a usb plug into my cigarette lighter receptacle, noticed a spark at the receptacle, and the engine stumbled, tried it 2 more times, when the spark would show, the engine stumbled.  after reading the post on low oil alarm, Ron mentioned engine fuel lift pump, do you think this was shorting out that?  I wasn't aware that it had a electrical connection, not at the boat now, going up today.  Not a problem, as the usb plug was defective to initiate the spark, and I threw it away.   the receptacles are fused, but before fuse blew, the engine momentarily stumbled.  got us all confused on the dock.  The stumble was immediate, i.e. spark, equals instant engine stumble.  So if there is a short in the dc side of the boat, the engine quits?  Everything is fine now but, Any ideas would be nice to hear, and yes, I should change the name of my boat  :)  Thanks guys, Bob

10

Main Message Board / leaving boat on shore power when gone

« on: August 29, 2016, 09:00:02 AM »

I don't leave my boat plugged in when not there, what is the danger of leaving my boat plugged in.  I am the only one in the marina that unplugs my boat when I leave for a week or so.  other boaters have questioned why I do this, I do it on the advice I have read on this forum, but, I would like to be able to explain why.  I did  lose my onboard charger because the boat 3 slips over got hit by lightning, that is pretty rare.  I know Stu and Ron leave theirs unplugged.  so I do too.  Thanks everyone

11

Main Message Board / State of charge

« on: August 25, 2016, 02:02:17 PM »

My 7 year old  t  105 batteries seem to be wearing down..I have a Victron battery monitor that reads soc 100..however with a hydrometer I get 1 or 2 balls floating which means 50 percent of charge..should I trust the monitor? Or the cheap hydrometer..with 5 amp per hour fridge and some led lights after 2 days on the hook..monitor reading around 58 percent ..I need my start battery to start engine..house bank will barely turn over engine...think I need new batteries?

12

Main Message Board / steering noise

« on: July 27, 2016, 12:16:10 PM »

been searching the archives for a bit but couldn't find my problem, when i steer, there is a squeaking noise coming from the wheel, I sprayed wd 40 on the shaft where it goes in the binnacle but didn't help,
also my autohelm 4000 moves my boat wherever it feels going, related? I don't know, I am going to remove that cover in the aft cabin and take a look, also when going straight ahead in calm seas the wheel wants to turn port when I let go of it.  any Ideas?  sure miss my autohelm

13

Main Message Board / difficult first engine start of season

« on: June 08, 2016, 10:15:13 AM »

splashed boat yesterday, engine wouldn't start for awhile, can't figure out why, never had trouble after winter layup before.  Engine turned over rapidly, glow plugs were working as per the volt meter drop, I have the solenoid upgrade.  I moved throttle open and close a few times, fuel pump was working, tank was full anyway, after repeated attempts engine fired once, then after a bit finally started.  no trouble with starting since, anyone ever had that first start of the year give them trouble? 
Also I am that guy that has been complaining about my boat slowing down, lucky to get 5 or 5.1 knots in calm seas at 2500 rpm.  used to get around 6, at dock it will rev up to 3200 rpms.  my tach at rest, engine off sits at 200 rpm,is it possible this problem is related to the hard start this year?  Filters have very few hours on them, maybe 25.  Thanks guys

14

Main Message Board / K&N air filter breather hose

« on: April 09, 2016, 09:45:43 AM »

Installing a K&N air filter on my 25xp engine, does anyone know what to do with the oil breather hose?  I have exhausted my search through the archives and can't find what others have done, do I just strap it to the filter like the old set up had?  Get a seperate can to put it in? sure I will figure something out, but curious to see what others have done when they switched to the K&N filter.  thanks

15

Main Message Board / calibrate tachometer

« on: December 01, 2015, 10:16:13 AM »

Has anyone ever calibrated the tachometer, my boat has been slowing down, I purchased a hand held lazer rpm tester, put the reflective tape on the pully on the crankshaft, it reads a couple hundred rpms low on the tach. vrs. the lazer tester.  I don't know what would make the tach start to read low, anyway, I got all winter but if I take the tach off, does it have to be sent out? or can it be done on the boat,  thank you  Bob