Sven
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We had the engine on Senta "serviced" back in April or so. The mechanic was an idiot, and not very bright either, so we didn't feel we knew the condition of the engine even after having it serviced.
This last week we had a mechanic recommended by the rigger spend some quality time in uncomfortable positions tending to our little Perkins.
The bottom line is that things are a mess ... hoses and wiring disorganized ... lousy engine access
The good news is that we can gradually straighten out the tangles and that the engine and fuel tank are both in at least decent condition ... YAY !
It turns out that the tank is _not_ black iron as we'd thought (we'd been told or read ?). It is aluminum ... we are greatly relieved.
It also turns out that after 50 engine hours since the last filter changes, there is no sign of real crud or any water in the fuel filter ... YAY number two.
The transmission oil was old, but it had not broken down too much.
In the slip, at full throttle (I thought that was against the marina rules ... uhoh, glad we weren't there) she did 2600 RPM with no smoke and 2800 tops, with smoke, which apparently was quite acceptable.
A small leak at the radiator cap which we knew when we bought her from Lew. Apparently the leak is from the neck of the cap fitting, not the cap itself ? Did I remember correctly that someone else here had a cap that didn't seal properly because the cap wasn't deep enough ? That could explain why ours would leak without blaming it on a pinhole in the neck.
The oil pressure and temperature alarms will be fixed shortly. I will feel a _lot_ better.
When we had her surveyed, the surveyor mentioned that the exhaust elbow looked like it might have a leak. Lew mentioned that he'd just washed her so that was probably where the water came from. The mechanic showed us the leak the surveyor had been talking about. It is indeed a small pinhole in the SS exhaust elbow with traces of soot. That too will be fixed and we'll just have to be careful not to nap down below without good ventilation. Now we just hope it is a stock part so one doesn't have to be made from scratch.
The mechanic spent a lot of time working on her and our feeling of confidence in the engine and the fuel tank has just increased a great deal. The mechanic will squeeze some more blood out of us but he's worth it as long as he takes care of what's ailing.
-Sven
This last week we had a mechanic recommended by the rigger spend some quality time in uncomfortable positions tending to our little Perkins.
The bottom line is that things are a mess ... hoses and wiring disorganized ... lousy engine access
The good news is that we can gradually straighten out the tangles and that the engine and fuel tank are both in at least decent condition ... YAY !It turns out that the tank is _not_ black iron as we'd thought (we'd been told or read ?). It is aluminum ... we are greatly relieved.
It also turns out that after 50 engine hours since the last filter changes, there is no sign of real crud or any water in the fuel filter ... YAY number two.
The transmission oil was old, but it had not broken down too much.
In the slip, at full throttle (I thought that was against the marina rules ... uhoh, glad we weren't there) she did 2600 RPM with no smoke and 2800 tops, with smoke, which apparently was quite acceptable.
A small leak at the radiator cap which we knew when we bought her from Lew. Apparently the leak is from the neck of the cap fitting, not the cap itself ? Did I remember correctly that someone else here had a cap that didn't seal properly because the cap wasn't deep enough ? That could explain why ours would leak without blaming it on a pinhole in the neck.
The oil pressure and temperature alarms will be fixed shortly. I will feel a _lot_ better.
When we had her surveyed, the surveyor mentioned that the exhaust elbow looked like it might have a leak. Lew mentioned that he'd just washed her so that was probably where the water came from. The mechanic showed us the leak the surveyor had been talking about. It is indeed a small pinhole in the SS exhaust elbow with traces of soot. That too will be fixed and we'll just have to be careful not to nap down below without good ventilation. Now we just hope it is a stock part so one doesn't have to be made from scratch.
The mechanic spent a lot of time working on her and our feeling of confidence in the engine and the fuel tank has just increased a great deal. The mechanic will squeeze some more blood out of us but he's worth it as long as he takes care of what's ailing.
-Sven
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