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Decay Happens

bigd14

Contributing Partner
Blogs Author
I visited the boat this evening with the intention of tightening the forestay and adjusting the rig to actually finally get the boat ready to sail. I found a bunch of guys working feverishly on the dock right in front of the boat to replace the gangway that had toppled into the river (yeah, it's that kind of place). I didn't want any part of that mayhem, and I left my tools for the galley update at home so I was left with no real jobs to do.

I decided to search the engine area with my headlamp for oil or diesel leaks. No major leaks but I found this:

3EB3B4BF-1803-4451-9B85-F81E95C0AFEB.jpeg

That bolt supposed to be holding the starter to the engine was completely unthreaded and about to drop into the bilge. How lucky that I found it now! I realized it had been 4 years since I had looked closely at the engine beyond oil and transmission fluid changes.

I spent an hour looking the entire engine over. During my inpsection I found three loose hose clamps and all the nuts holding the engine mounts to the hanger bolts in the beds were too loose. So I spent another hour methodically tightening everything I could reach around the engine. There is more to do, including properly tightening the starter motor bolts since I need a long socket extension to reach them. I'll be testing every hose clamp eventually and looking into all the areas of the boat I don't normally check. The steering quadrant for example.

Anyway, just a reminder that Boats Need Maintenance! I guess that applies to marina gangplanks too.
 

Loren Beach

O34 - Portland, OR
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
Was the marina with the broken gangway the one by the top of Multnomah Channel?
 

Saverio

Member III
Hello I have always had boats with Yanmar engines, very reliable engine. Then one day I fell in love with the Ericson 38 - 200 with Universal 5432 engine, I immediately noticed that it has a lot more vibrations than the Yammar, it doesn't move even an inch, the cause? the support system is old-fashioned, the engine must be able to discharge vibrations through rubber supports, as Yanmar does. Xavier
 

bigd14

Contributing Partner
Blogs Author
I think many boats are well past due to have the engine mounts replaced. I upgraded mine to four Iso Flex mounts and found it was significantly smoother and it doesn’t move on the mounts at all. It does still sound and feel like a bucket of rocks being tossed around down there. Perhaps that’s just how these Kubota engines are and the Yanmar is smoother?
 

frick

Member III
On the things Yanmar did to smooth out the running was to decrease the compression and up the RPMs. It helps to removed that Diesel Clatter.

Rick
 

Mr. Scarlett

Member III
On a similar note I found this bronze nut under the transmission on my 35-2 the other day.
I can't figure out where it came from or how long it has been there. There's no sign it has been tightened up against anything but the threads are shiny....
 

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Jerry VB

E32-3 / M-25XP
On a similar note I found this bronze nut under the transmission on my 35-2 the other day.
I can't figure out where it came from or how long it has been there. There's no sign it has been tightened up against anything but the threads are shiny....
I have a cable clamp on my throttle cable that looks like that. I'm not sure why. Wandering through HD electrical dept, it looks like an electrical cable splice.

Picture - just above the dipstick:
 

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Mr. Scarlett

Member III
Thanks for the tips. There are no through hulls that far aft and this nut could not have bounced back there. I will look for a piece of hardware on my cables although mine is a different set up (Yanmar).
Something up inside the pedestal? Does it look familiar to anyone who has been in there?
 

Christian Williams

E381 - Los Angeles
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
cable clamp on my throttle cable

Clever gizmo. It just compresses the Morse cable so as to make friction, so (for example) a throttle setting doesn't creep.

That big bronze nut does seem to fit the description. I don't think there's anything like that inside a YS pedestal.
 

Mr. Scarlett

Member III
Nothing on the linkage. Or anywhere else I can see. Bronze made me think of steering, but there isn't anything that big on the 35-2.
 

Filkee

Sustaining Member
In a similar vein, I've had a chronic problem with my raw water strainer coming loose. It's mounted on the starboard side of the pan and secured with two screws. I've taken it all apart and tightened the screws but it winds up getting bounced by then rattling around. The screw are half circle so the whole thing just kind of rides up. I'm wondering if taking a quarter inch off the intake hose and then tightening everything again might do the trick but I'm also scared to death to do anything near a thru hull. OR, is this a sign that I need new mounts? Remember, I'm the guy whose spin on fuel filter came loose too.
 

bigd14

Contributing Partner
Blogs Author
Filkee, do you have room to install a small removable wood bracket bearing down on the top of the strainer mount to keep it engaged with the mounting screws and prevent it from riding up? Or even just a couple new screws driven in such that they apply opposing pressure?
 
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