Dodged a Bullet

[Joseph Fikentscher]

Last evening while on the Manasquan with friends, the water pump belt broke. I did not hear it on the bridge. When the ladies finally said their butts were warm (they were sitting on the engine box), I climbed down and opened the engine compartment to a fog of steam. Immediately I turned the engine off and limped home again on one engine. To dark out to make an assessment so I buttoned her up and went home.

Got to the boat today, no water in the oil, hoses looked ok. I replaced the belt and also the alternator belt and started her up. Ran fine at the dock for a half an hour. again, no water in the oil. No oil in the exhaust either.

Phew! Could have been a lot worse. Need to get the gauges on the flybridge working!!

[Navatech]

Need to get the gauges on the flybridge working!!

Speaking for myself, I'd also add an audible alarm... Basically a sensor, some wires and a buzzer on the bridge...

[ljmauricio]

We had the same issue Saturday while bringing the boat from Palm Beach Gardens back to Daytona. Broken water pump/alternator belt. The high temp alarm went off about 5 miles south of Fort Pierce, Fortunately we had a spare belt and after limping into port and letting the engine cool down, the belt was replaced. Turned a 1 day trip into 2. They say things happen in threes, so keep your eyes on the temp gauge guys. There's 1 to go......

[John F.]

318s are tough motors.

[Tooeez]

You might want to check how the exhaust hoses feel right behind the risers compared to the ones on the other engine. If it ran for awhile with no water cooling the exhaust the inside of the hoses might be burnt, and liable to split somewhere down the line.

[Joseph Fikentscher]

Checked the hoses and they feel fine. I was lucky.

Navatech, Good idea, I'll look into the alarms.

Thanks!