'Free State' Fitting Out

[smacksman]

Work on my Albin27 aft cabin to get her ready for cruising.

I removed the oil cooler because the bleed nipple fell off. At the moment it is being brazed back on.
Inside the oil cooler were several bits of raw water impeller.
So today I removed the impeller seen below on the left with the replacement on the right ...



Even with the damaged impeller the pump pushed an adequate amount of water through the engine to keep it cooled so there is plenty of reserve there.
The Ford Lehman 4D61 engine neatly fits the engine room and access to the forward end of the engine is limited. If I was intent on keeping Free State for a long time I would cut an access panel in the fore bulkhead to improve access.
I would recommend keeping each removed screw in the cover plate in order as in my case some of the screws had sheared in the past so some were longer than the others. Room is so limited a dumpy screwdriver is required.
I then used a mirror and a torch to see what was going on - the impeller was obviously damaged with several vanes missing.
With two pliers gripping the vanes I managed to wiggle the impeller out. Note there is a small neoprene disc in the center that is loose enough to fall out.
The impeller removed was a Volvo Penta 825940
In the spares box on board was a Jabsco 1210 0103 but the spare impeller I fitted was a Johnson 1027 HFG2 for no other reason than it is a Johnson pump. It seems to be take your pick!
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I like to check that the bitter end of the anchor chain/rope is attached to the hull.
I was very pleased to find that 'Free State' has all 5/16" chain and not chain/rope that I had on my sailboat ' Sylvia G'. All chain gives a much tighter anchoring circle.
I found the bitter end was shackled to an old stanchion base which certainly kept the bitter end with the boat but I like to have a rope tail which I can cut free on deck if needed. Easily solved by replacing the shackle with some 3/8" rope. I still need to buy a kedge anchor and line to anchor fore and aft as I did several times with my sailboat in the ICW. So often there is little room to swing.
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All the bunk cushions laundered thanks to my hotel laundry room. Tricia sewed new backs to some of the cushions and it took time to squeeze all the foam back into the cushions.. The 1983 lilac coloured covers are sun bleached but now dry and clean.
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More to follow ...

[don123]

The Ford Lehman 4D61 engine neatly fits the engine room and access to the forward end of the engine is limited. If I was intent on keeping Free State for a long time I would cut an access panel in the fore bulkhead to improve access.

Lehman was a USA company noted for marinizing popular automotive/truck engines for marine use - Most notably the 80 HP 4 cylinder Ford and the 120 HP 6 cylinder Ford, so 'Ford Lehman' became a famous trademark

Your engine is more correctly a 'Peugeot Lehman' and there's not a Ford part on it. It's a marinized version of the Peugeot 504 diesel found in cars of the 1970's. You can order many parts for it by looking up the car version of the engine. Everything is the same except for the Lehman parts added to marinize the engine

Don

[smacksman]

Thanks for that Don. Yes it is the 2 litre Peugeot 504 engine that has a great reputation.

Today I bailed out the aft bilge. I didn't know there was so much water in it - well over 20 gallons. I used a hand pump which was quite an effort. How do other owners arrange their bilge pumps for that area? My access is from a small circular hatch in the floor just forward of the step in the aft cabin.

[smacksman]

I picked up the repaired oil cooler today. I just hope the cooler won't leak. It cost $98 to have the air bleed nipple brazed back on which was twice the estimate. I asked if they could run a pressure test on the oil side - say to 90psi but they said that it would cost a fortune running around getting the right fittings.
I will look closely for water in the oil or vice versa



I poked around in the inlet area and yet another piece of raw water pump impeller dropped out!

[don123]

I picked up the repaired oil cooler today. I just hope the cooler won't leak. It cost $98 to have the air bleed nipple brazed back on which was twice the estimate.

That is a ridiculous charge for such a small repair. For future reference, I always carry a Marine-Tex kit on board which I use for repairs like that. It's a heavy duty epoxy which is very good at making permanent repairs on many broken or rotted pieces - I once used a glob of it to repair an exhaust mixing elbow which had sprung a leak and I used the rotted out elbow for about 80 hours of engine run time until I could get a new one. The epoxy stunk a good bit due to the high temperatures of the exhaust gases, but it didn't fail. I think a glob of Marine-Tex would have permanently repaired your bleed nipple about as well as the brazing job

Today I bailed out the aft bilge. I didn't know there was so much water in it - well over 20 gallons. I used a hand pump which was quite an effort. How do other owners arrange their bilge pumps for that area? My access is from a small circular hatch in the floor just forward of the step in the aft cabin.

Mine is the same. I only get water into the aft bilge when I fail to keep the cockpit seat drains clear and water runs into the compartments beneath the seats and they overflow into the aft bilge. I used a small 120 volt fountain pump and some 3/8ths hose to pump it up to the cockpit drains. It reminded me to clean the seat drains!

I think you and I have very similar 'pre-production' boats - Mine is a 1984 with a serial number of 116 which I am told means it was the 15th or 16th boat, since they usually begin the run with either 100 or 101 for the first boat. Could your serial number be between 100 and 116? I'm guessing your boat has a fiberglass rudder with no strap between it and the keel? Mine was like that. I did add a stainless strap between the keel and the rudder, using that same round hole in the aft cabin floor to reach the bolts on the bottom of the keel. The production boats used a much thinner welded stainless rudder blade with a wooden strap connecting the bottom of it to the keel
viewtopic.php?f=28&t=7677&p=46699&hilit ... ood#p46699

Don

[Vic K]

I also have the 4D61 and have done a few extra things that you might consider:
Update the water cap with an adapter kit that I believe came from American Diesel. Includes return bottle. It's easy to install .
Change out the old style fuel filter to a spin on that you can get on Ebay.
Keep an eye on the mechanical fuel pump. It can pump diesel into the oil crankcase when they go out which mine did. I replaced the mechanical with a lo pressure 12 volt pump and keep an extra in the parts box.
Noise was a big problem for me but using a 'engine blanket has reduced the noise at cruise speed.
I seriously thought about replacing the engine but right now I'm quite happy with the old girl.
Good luck with your project.
Vic

[smacksman]

@Don
Marine-Tex kit is now on my shopping list - thanks for the heads up.
Many thanks for the link to rudder mods Don. I plan to have her hauled out soon so I will check what is there. I really like the idea of a shoe to stop anchor lines snagging into the gap.
My hull reg number is AMN27105M83H so it looks like hull no.5 of 1983 by your calcs.
Ah! So that's where the water in the aft bilge comes from. Thanks. I'll check it out.

@CaptVic
I like the idea of a coolant reservoir. I suppose at the moment if the engine boils the coolant will be spattered all over the engine room!
I checked out the fuel lift pump today and stopped a leak at the outlet banjo joint. What a bad design! The banjo bolt fouled the block so couldn't be removed. The whole pump would have to be removed. I have heard of the pump problem before so I have a small 12v pump in my spares box.
I like the idea of the blanket. What did you use?
The air inlet is just wire mesh so I'm looking for some media to slip over the top. That should lower the air inlet noise.
The fuel filter on the engine seems to work and I have spares in the original Lehman spares box. Nice box! So it aint broke so won't fix it - yet.

Latest work.

I fitted the oil cooler and ran the engine. Disaster! Oil pouring out of the flexible joints. Go online and read that old flex joints dry out and leak. Went online and deduced that Russell joints are the best and found local stockists. Drove 8 miles to find the first, and closest choice was no more. Went to the next stockist, Parks Auto Parts and they were brilliant. Made up new pipes as I waited and $80 later I fitted them and NO LEAKS!
I had drained and cleaned the engine bilge before and noticed there was some diesel there so hunted for the leak. I found it on the outlet banjo from the fuel lift pump. Nipped it up cautiously (it is into ally body) and it seems to be ok,
The owners before had masked the teak handrails/window frames timber prior to coating and left the tape on too long. It left a filthy mark on the fibreglass that was difficult to shift. I went online and had a choice of 'Lift Off' ; WD40; Goof Off ; carnuba car wax ; charcoal lighter fuel ( naptha) ; essance of citra ; and a few others. I tried the wax, WD40, toilet bowl cleaner, chrome cleaner; canvas cleaner and denatured alcohol which is what I had on board. The denatured alcohol won hands down. The marks just vanished immediately. So cooker alcohol is the winner!
The toilet bowl cleaner is very good at shifting ingrained dirt on the deck and superstructure. Worked in with a scrubbing brush and left to foam up a bit. Then hosed off. It certainly cleaned my hands as well. Probably best to use rubber gloves.
A hornet decided that New State would be a good place to build a nest. She started to make the first cell next to my center light in the fore cabin. I watched as she carefully moulded the first cell of paper thin material. I felt bad but I zapped her with bug spray. Hornets are strange. My usual approach with bugs/bees is leave them alone and they will do the same, but I have been attacked and stung by hornets with no provocation other than being in her line of flight.
I've been checking on Craiglist for items and one was a bike. It was advertised an hour before and after an exchange of text messages I bought it for $50. I took the front wheel off and it just about fitted in the boot of my hire car. A bit hung out the back so I tied the lid down. Hoped people didn't think I had a body in the back that rode the bike!

[Vic K]

I got an acoustical blanket from Nasernm 2000 on Ebay. It was their E2 48" X 66" that I'm at the present having re-cut to better fit over the engine including a lift handle. It was also treated with a fire retardant.
When I redid my 84 FC I found a BUNCH of rot around the window bases plus elsewhere that had to be addressed. Also look at the hull and deck connection behind the rub rail. Hope you are luckier than I in that the connection on my boat had to be reattached with new rivets and in some places glassed.
Good luck,
Vic

[smacksman]

Found a good anchor on Craiglist - An ally Viking Size #30 stamped 2000lb breaking strain. The seller loved it for his Dehler 32 sailboat and said it never dragged. Anybody else used a Viking and their comments on its holding power?

Ran to earth some oil filters today so bought three. There was a NAPA Gold 1340 spin-on type on it which proved difficult to match on auto part store computers. Eventually found some Twix 51340 which I'm told will fit.

The engine stop solenoid/fuel cutoff switch is not working and without a wiring diagram I won't bother to fault trace it. I bought some bike gear/brake cable kit in Walmart and used a bit to run from the cutoff lever on the fuel pump to a piece of wood used as a handle under the foot rest under the wheel. Works fine and is fool proof.

Bought a length of 6"x1" to use as a fender board when tying up to piles and used a bit of it as an outboard clamp on the pulpit. Used some 1 1/2" x 1/8" ally flat bar bent round the tube and bolted through the timber to fix it.


One of the hinges on the forehatch had broken loose in the past and the pop rivet remedy had failed. The result was that the hatch was not waterproof. A new hatch is really needed but I'll let the next owner have that pleasure and expense. I reversed the bottom hinge plate and bent it to fit the deck upstand and then screwed it in place. Hatch now opens perfectly and is now watertight.

Just waiting for the butyl sealant to allow me to do a final nip up of the screws and I'll trim off the excess.

Got my 4 foot length of rub rail today. Took seven days to arrive and the shipping was $2 more than the rub rail!
Worked out at nearly $15 a foot!

Hot in the high 80's today and a thunderstorm later cooled it off but the no-see-um midges were terrible and eventually drove me off!

edit - pictures added

[smacksman]

The rub rail saga continues.
Got the Hamilton Marine part numbers from the excellent post on this forum. Went online to order and somewhat confused as there was no price for the insert and a search on the site for the insert number drew a blank. So I emailed Hamilton to ask for clarification. Yes, they replied those were the right numbers. The order arrived and NO insert. Phoned them to order the insert. Long process eventually succeeded in placing the order. Package arrives about 4 foot long - encouraging.
Today got round to fitting it. Frustration! The insert is too big for the rub rail and another 4ft. length of rub rail (and charged!) Would it not be beyond the wit of storemen to try to fit the pieces together before sending them. They also sent a new catalogue and the part number DWP132 -FB still does not list the insert DWP133-RB as a priced item. It looks like Part# 843F at 1 1/16" wide might be better and the #840 insert is priced at $2.15/ft but not enough dimensions to really compare with what is on the boat.
After contact by email and phone I have no faith in Hamilton Marine's ability to get it right so made the best of what I had.
Took a rasp and reduced the width of the 'too-big' insert supplied, lined the groove with butyl putty sealant, squeezed it on and screwed it home with stainless 1/2" x 10 screws. Lubricated the rub rail with liquid soap and forced it on. Not perfect but watertight and something to rub against.



edit - rub rail pic added

[Sprig1]

Sounds like you are getting it done. Thanks for keeping us informed. It sounds like we bought the same boat everything you have done I have to do as well thanks for blazing the trail.

[DesertAlbin736]

Was that last picture taken 7 months in the future & brought back to the present by time machine? Date & time stamp is 11/08/15.

[smacksman]

@Sprig - Just hope its not 'the blind leading the blind'!

@Desert - Haha! The fastest Albin this side of Tuson! My wife took the good camera back to the UK so I've just bought a cheap camera and forgot to set the time. I've cropped the date stamp out of most of the others.

Checking round the boat today for leaks after a good dose of rain and dismayed to find the port aft bunk wet - again. A few drips on the portlight so opened it to check the gasket and ended up with the smoked plastic light in my hands while the four plastic hinge lugs swung happily on the hinge bolt. Very cunningly closed to appear that all was well and just a nip up to stop the drip. Fat chance!
Ironically, the rub rail insert that was the wrong size is just the right size to bodge this job up. It will make it waterproof but not pretty and will be added to the 'todo list' for the new owner if he so wishes.

I found out today why the starboard water tank was nearly empty. While filling it the plastic drain plug fitting leaked. Another job for the list.

Received my new Lowrance Elite 5M GPS chart plotter today. I find Garmin more intuative to use but the charts cover a smaller area so more expense and Raytheon make lovely kit but don't do a small cheap unit. The Lowrance comes with charts for the US coastal waters and is just over $300 on Ebay delivered. The old Lowrance I had on Sylvia G got me from New England to Key West so I hope this will do the same.
All the chart plotter manufacturers do the same marketing ploy making the latest charts unusable on older plotters making them obsolete so selling new kit. Anyone want a working Garmin colour plotter with 2004 charts of the Chesapeake and Delaware. I'm sure the land is in the same place today.

[DesertAlbin736]

Checking round the boat today for leaks after a good dose of rain and dismayed to find the port aft bunk wet - again.

Rain? What's that? I've heard that water does sometimes fall from the sky. Doesn't happen around here much, and after April we won't see a drop nor nary a cloud in the sky until our "moonson" season arrives in July, and sometimes not much even then. YTD we're at 1.15 inches total since January 1. Not unusual to end the year with not much more than 6 inches total. That's why I'm "DesertAlbin"

[don123]

Rain? What's that? I've heard that water does sometimes fall from the sky. Doesn't happen around here much, and after April we won't see a drop nor nary a cloud in the sky until our "moonson" season arrives in July, and sometimes not much even then. YTD we're at 1.15 inches total since January 1. Not unusual to end the year with not much more than 6 inches total. That's why I'm "DesertAlbin"

For the polar opposite, we get 60 or 70 inches per year, frequently in BIG clumps - Nearly 10 inches over the last 3 or 4 days and more to come before it starts to dry out Monday

Don