Topics

[Thank You]

What's Happened:

Started my M25 XPB today.  The fuel pump stopped clicking about 8 seconds into my glow plug routine.  The engine started normally, but then stopped dead (like I'd pulled the kill switch) after about a minute of operation.  No life from the fuel pump.   I pulled the positive feed to the pump to make sure it was getting power.  I only saw about 8 volts at the feed.  I checked the voltage at the powered post of the glow plug solenoid, and it showed full voltage of about 12.8 v.  I jumped a wire from the solenoid post to power the pump.  It ran, but was "arrhythmic", i.e. gave out a fast, muffled pulse, rather than the slower loud click I'm used to hearing.  I ran the pump for a total of about two minutes in short spurts, thinking I might need to bleed the fuel lines.  No response when I tried to start the engine.

What I've Done and Will Do:

I ordered a replacement Facet cube-style fuel pump.  I'm not certain the pump's the problem, but at only about $50 plus another $20 for two day shipping, it's a cheap first installment on a solution.  Thank You so much for the alternate fuel pump posts.  Westerbeke is selling their pump for $178.80 plus shipping.  I'll bench test the existing pump.  If it works on the bench, I'll keep it as a spare.  Tomorrow I'll try to trace down my voltage drop source.

My Questions:

• Am I right to assume that a drop to 8v at the fuel pump is not normal?
• Could the voltage drop have caused the fuel pump failure?
• Or, are the two just coincidental?
• Any recommendations for tracking down the voltage drop?
• Any other causes, issues I should be checking for?

As always, thanks in advance for any thoughts or suggestions,

Dan
1985 C34 Ennui Went
(repowered with M25 XPB)

[Background:]

I have two related questions. 

Background: 

• The bottom of Ennui Went's head forward bulkhead (attached to the nav station hanging locker) was rotten.  The bottom of the bulkhead had pulled away from the hanging locker, pushing the head door frame aft, so the head door hit the companionway step and wouldn't close.
• I removed the lower portion of bulkhead.  This process first required the removal of door frame.
• When reinstalling the door frame, I noticed it was tighter than upon its removal.  I pushed it into alignment.  The bottom half of the door frame now has no direct attachment to the nav station hanging locker.
• After the first sail, the bottom of the door frame had moved inward and, again, the door won't shut.
• The bottom of door frame is angled to meet the inward slope molded into the head fiberglass floor pan.

Tentative Diagnosis.  I suspect that, as the hull flexes, it forces the frame downward.  With nothing tying the frame bottom to the nav station hanging locker (originally because the bulkhead bottom was rotten and the screws were not holding and, now, because that portion of the bulkhead is removed), the downward force causes the frame to follow the floor pan slope inward and aft.

Questions: 

• Should I replace the bottom half of the bulkhead, or replace the entire bulkhead, for structural reasons.  The bulkhead, though with some outward edge rot, is sound at the top and sound where it is through-bolted with the head grab bar into the nav station hanging locker.  The aft portion of the hanging locker that now shows in the head cleaned up nicely.  It's gel coat surface is as good as or better than the rest of the head fiberglass.
• What to do about the moving door frame bottom.  What comes to mind is (1) trim the frame bottom so that it doesn't ride on the floor pan and, hence, isn't forced inward as the hull flexes, (2)  figure out a way to reattach the bottom to the nav station hanging locker, or (3) any other suggestions?  In considering (1) or (2), I don't know whether a tight and secure frame is needed for strutural support.

Any suggestions and comments are welcome.

Dan Cross
s/v Ennui Went
1986 Catalina 34 #159

Hi All,

Where is your refrigerator compressor/condenser?  Any pros or cons to its location?

The frig on Ennui Went hasn't worked since our purchase three summers ago.  We've always been icebox sailors, but the budget allows for an upgrade this year, and the fridge is it.

My original compressor was in the aft lazarette.  The lines to the icebox are roughly 15 feet, which is longer than I'm finding in stock evaporators.  Before I pay more bucks for line extensions, I'd thought I'd canvas the tribe.

Thanks for your input.

Dan

I've got a brand new C34 standard rig headstay for sale.  Well, most of it.  Specifically, it's 45' of 5/16" 1x19 316 stainless wire with a swaged 5/8" pin marine eye from Rigging Only.  Total length - eye center to wire end - is just over 45'.  I purchased it last summer for just under $175.  I'm offering it for $125, hoping to sell it with an "idiot" discount of only $50.  You can offer me less, but know that doing so will just make me feel more of an idiot.

You'll need a turnbuckle stud to complete the stay.  The published forestay length - eye center to stud end - is 44'-5", so there's plenty of wire to work with.  If you want to go the mechanical terminal route, Rigging Only has a stud available here.

Wire has only been unrolled once (that's when I learned I bought a tall rig) and then rerolled.  No wear.  Photos and original Rigging Only invoice attached.

I'll leave this posted here for awhile before offering it on eBay.  Here's hoping this fits the bill for someone.

Dan Cross
s/v Ennui Went
C34 #159
dancrosswis@gmail.com

Hi All,

I converted the article I wrote for this summer's Mainsheet into a tech wiki.  It, frankly, flows much better than the article and I had the chance to throw in more photos.  If anyone's interested, I've indexed the page under Galley and Plumbing, and here's a link.

Dan Cross
Ennui Went #159

Hi All,

I made up some Docking Stick knock off's this spring.  They worked great this summer, so I put up a Tech Wiki Article describing how I made them.  Hope some find this helpful.

Dan

[Adapter gauge pegged at 4,000 PSI]

Hi Folks,

We had a good Memorial Weekend cruise visiting Door County (WI).  Great food with lots of pots going and, a first, a little oven action.  And then we ran out of CNG.  Water for the last morning's coffee heated slowly on the grill.

Fortunately, Marinette has a CNG pump.  I've made a CNG refill adapter along the lines of our Tech Wiki article, modified to include a needle valve as described at http://forums.sailboatowners.com/index.php?threads/cng-refilling.168890/.  And, I used it once last year, an episode that left me uncomfortable.  So, I thought I'd canvas the experience of others before reconnecting to the hose.

Here is the sequence of events last year (as I recall; I've got contemporaneous notes on the boat), this is at a 3600 PSI pump:

   
• Tank valve is off
• Attached adapter to tank
• Set needle valve to about 1/4 open
• Attached pump hose to adapter
• Paid the pump
• Turned on the pump
• Adapter gauge pegged at 4,000 PSI (it's limit)
• Pump turned off?
• Opened tank valve
• Tank filled slowly until I shut off the tank value at 2200 PSI.  Adjusting needle valve did not appear to affect flow rate.
• No sale registered at the pump

I'm not sure how to interpret what happened.  My theory is the pump quickly turned itself off when the pressure at the end of its hose shot up.  The CNG that filled my tank may simply have been in the hose? 

Next time, I suspect that I should open the tank valve before turning on the pump, so the gas has a larger volume to rush into.  How worried should I be about that 4k+ PSI spike?

I haven't found a step by step description of the refill process.  I'd like feedback on whether my procedure sounds right.  Any suggestions on the needle valve setting?  Any other suggestions are welcomed.

Thanks,
Dan Cross

I am redesigning my plumbing.  One of my objectives is to be able to supply water through the galley faucet using either the existing electric pump or a manual foot pump.  I will be using manifolds.  My thought is to run parallel paths from my "intake" manifold (which will receive flow from either freshwater tank or from an antifreeze intake) to my "cold" manifold (which will send flow to the cold faucets and to the water heater).  I am also thinking of plumbing in an accumulator.  I've attached my initial design flow chart, simplified to just show the parallel flow between the two manifolds. 

Am I missing anything?  Will this work?  Do I need check valves in either line?  Any thoughts or comments will be appreciated.

Dan

[Running Wires Through Mast Compression Post.]

Hi All,

I have questions on two projects for which I did not find any existing threads.

Running Wires Through Mast Compression Post.  After an unplanned night crossing of Lake Michigan last summer (which was both gorgeous and great fun), I decided I'd like to have a light for my windex.  I will power the light from the navigation lights circuit.  I have an '86 deck stepped mast.  Running new wires up the mast was straight forward.  Running wires through the deck and down the compression post is looking much harder.  The existing wires coming through the deck and mast step are bedded in a huge blob of what I expect is silicone (it's white, adheres aggressively to everything and is still flexible).  I have begun digging my way through it and have reached about 1/2 inch below the deck top, with no bottom in sight.  My fear is that the adhesive/caulk may run down for inches.  I don't know how I would get through that depth.  Any one have any experience with this?  Any suggestions on how to complete the wiring?

Tightening Chain Plate Rods.  I removed and rebedded my chain plates.  I am now ready to re-attach my rods.  How tight to make them?  Any suggestions along the lines of "finger tight" and then "x" turns?  I removed the rods with the boat in the cradle.  I noticed the deck "move" when releasing two rods on the same side.  Will it be wise to launch and let the boat rest for a day before tightening the rods?  Sort of let her resume her "in the water" form first?

Thanks for any help,

Dan Cross
Ennui Went
#159

I've acquired an '86 C34 with a CNG tank.  The tank to stove hose looks to be original, i.e. time to be replaced.  The tank regulators are not vented to the outside.  I'm sourcing CNG hose.  Am I right that the regulator to stove hose can be low pressure, but the vent hose should be high pressure?

Any help will be kindly received.

Dan Cross
#159, Ennui Went