Yannis wrote: ↑May 21st, '24, 07:28
And still, we spend money and abuse ourselves in trying to keep up with time.
This is who we are!
I have to admit I agree with you Yannis (what???). Bertram owners are hands on owners and not because we're cheap. Many of the projects on this forum cost way more in time and money than just buying a nice used Bertram. My project Amberjack easily cost a couple times as much as buying something ready to enjoy on the market and certainly way more in personal time. Still, it keeps me out of the house and out of my wife's hair and has been instrumental in preventing me from catching that disease known as golf.
Part of it is that boating is changing. It used to be the domain of working stiffs with a passion and a bit of mechanical ability. Now as significant wealth comes to some at an earlier age and boats are easier to operate I see people in their 30's and 40's buying fairly expensive boats as an amusement. These are people who have someone else do the work for them. I am comforted by the fact that I know where the spare fuel filter is located and how to change it if I need to.
Anyone who ventures out on the water should know the basics of engine maintenance at a minimum. If something happens while you are out, it could be the difference between getting home and drifting for hours waiting for help.
Tony Meola wrote: ↑May 28th, '24, 21:46
Anyone who ventures out on the water should know the basics of engine maintenance at a minimum.
"Should"...yes like they should also know the rules of the road/Seamanship, how to handle a boat, a paln of what to do if something should happen...person overboard, loss of power, an idea on how to navigate without Aids like radar, GPS and chart plotters.
Yes, like you said Tony, the basics of engine maintenance I'd think would be important...along with basic tools and supplies like spare filters, belts, oil.
That said I was giving a friend a hand last week on his motor as he was ordering Racor filters for a Looper visiting our marina. He was hoping to get them in the following day and show the owner how to change them before they left. How about being on a 5000 mile trip and not know to keep an eye on the fuel filters, or how to change them...never mind having spares.
Anyone who ventures out on the water should know the basics of engine maintenance at a minimum. If something happens while you are out, it could be the difference between getting home and drifting for hours waiting for help.
I was at the dock in Cortes Bay, BC maybe a couple hundred miles north of Seattle. Across from me was a nice 70 foot-ish cruiser. The owner had been there for a couple days with generator issues. It had been serviced just before heading north and started leaking diesel the first night at anchor. He was waiting for the mechanic to arrive by float plane from Seattle to fix it.
I think I could have located the issue in five minutes, maybe fixed it in 15 minutes as it most likely was a loose fuel connection or fuel filter. The mechanic was coming in the next day so I didn't volunteer but still, this was mechanical skill 101 and he should have been able to chase it down himself instead of being stuck at the dock and paying for a dedicated float plane and full day mechanic hours.
I realize that there are some people who can't walk and chew gum at the same time. My father was a mechanic, so I learned my way around gas engines. But diesels are not that much different. I can do the basics, and sometimes can figure out the tough things.
Doug you are still up in civilization even if a float plane is involved. But being 100 miles offshore and having a clogged fuel filter and being able to change it is not good.
As they say stuff happens.
I remember when we lost an engine due to a bad fuel pump. Well, we actually had one onboard. My father changed it and had to make a gasket our of a piece of cardboard, but we got it done and able to head home on both engines.
Since I switched over to diesels I don't carry an extra fuel pump. but then again, they aren't $150 like gas fuel pumps are. Plus, not sure it makes sense anymore to actually have one laying around for a few years.
One other reason the guy in the 70ish footer has arranged for a float plane and mechanic is probably because there is no gen set dealership in the area. Had there been one, I bet buying a new generator would be cheaper, let alone the revenue from selling the old one...
Damn it 200 miles north of Seattle...what a dream location, if only it wasn't 8000 miles away (or more) from where I am...
One other reason the guy in the 70ish footer has arranged for a float plane and mechanic is probably because there is no gen set dealership in the area. Had there been one, I bet buying a new generator would be cheaper, let alone the revenue from selling the old one...
Damn it 200 miles north of Seattle...what a dream location, if only it wasn't 8000 miles away (or more) from where I am...
Yannis--$125/hour for 10 or so hours plus whatever a semi-dedicated plane would cost, let's say $1000 for round trip as a rough guess. The plane likely made a couple more custom stops in the area. But you're right, $2,250+ for a simple generator repair is too much. My guess is he was going to try to have the generator service company cover the cost. That still leaves the diesel fuel washing around in his bilge that someone had to deal with. Otherwise he could have moved the boat even with diesel in the bilge over to the nearest large town, Campbell River, maybe 20 miles and had local do the repair for a few hundred dollars.
Tony--I agree, 100 miles off shore and drifting would be awfully lonely compared to being tied to the dock on Cortes Island.
Do you swim in these waters? I mean what’s the water temp in the summer...I assume before June it should be too cold.
(from someone who finds the August temps in the Aegean too cold anyway).
Yannis it depends on where along the inside passage between Vancouver Island and mainland BC you are. Tides flush from both ends where the year round temperature is 50-55F. From the south end of Vancouver Island to the north end is about 300 miles. Toward the middle where the tidal currents don’t reach it becomes progressively warmer, maybe 70-75F and lots of people like to swim. That’s about where the road on the mainland ends so it starts to be much wilder. Smaller day boats start to drop out and you see mostly larger boats with more endurance (fuel, water, food) plus us intrepid Bertram owners!
Today the Aegean water temp is 21C or 70F, and deep into the summer it will reach an average of 28-29C or 82-84F.
As I was googling this info, I was tempted to also google the temps in BC and found out that the coldest water temp in August is 52F and warmest is 66F. So, depending on the exact area you are looking, temps should play in that range.
One thing is certain for me. I'm destined to only be able to observe the beautiful scenery and lovely coves of BC, but swim I doubt it, as even the 70F temp of the Aegean today is too cold for me to even put the tip of my toes in the water!!
Carl wrote: ↑Jun 3rd, '24, 06:30
Yannis - What don't kill you makes you stronger.or puts you in the hospital.
Oh Boy!
When it is 90 degrees and humid out, even that 75-degree water feels cold when you first hit it, but it doesn't cause the thermal shock 55-degree water does.
Sorry to hear your problems have continued. Thought you had it with the last report. Hopefully this will do it and you can enjoy the fruits of your labor.
I hate when people use a quick fix to make things work, then you inherit their problem.
Still loosing coolant Only part to be replaced is the heat exchanger. Any other ideas??
Is there a high colored die you could use to see if it is running out through the exhaust? It has to be going out the exhaust if you don't see a leak in the engine compartment. That is the only other place it could go except the oil and you say that is clean.
Check the transmission coolers. Wild card and that should show up in the transmission fluid.
I said this in another thread, mine was dripping from the connections of the rubber tube to the expansion tank so that it was falling on the hot engine and evaporating without traces in the bilge. Changed the tie-ups and stopped the leaks.
Just ran the engine at 1300 rpm for 1 hr with the pressure tester connected to the engine. It never went above 5.5 psi and when I removed it after the engine was cold there was no coolant missing to I connected the plastic overflow tank back to the engine and filled it up to the full mark. I'll report tomorrow if the level goes down.
Removed and pressure tested the heat exchanger today to 90 psi and it did not leak. I'm running out of options here. I looked into the old engines and saw that behind the oil cooler (which the 260's don't have) there is a coolant line with 2 clamps and also there are 2 freeze plugs behind the flexplate.
Replaced the heat exchanger, drained the whole block from the coolant, flushed everything and filled it back up with water and uv dye. Ran the engine for about 1.5 hrs at idle at the dock and this is what was happening. Up to now I've added about 1/2 of the plastic bottle. I'm hoping this is just air bleeding out of the engine.
Ran the boat today and for the first time I see the coolant above the "full" mark on the plastic tank when the engine is hot. Need to wait until it cools down but this is a good signal.
99.9% the issue is solved. Ran the boat today and the coolant level went over the full mark on the plastic bottle when the engine was hot and now that it cooled down the level is where it was after refilling it this morning.
Picture 1: How I found it this morning before refilling it
Picture 2: Just when I shut off the engines
Picture 3: Right now
I cut open the old heat exchanger but everything looked fine. I really don't care as the issue has been solved.
Only part to be replaced is the heat exchanger. Any other ideas??
