10 year engine overhaul.

[Tree]

So, this Friday FP2 will come out of the water for a 2 month engine refresh and lots of preventative maintenance.

Engine hours are just over 2500 now and from my records I have no fuel pump overhaul showing anywhere.

Plan is to:

Pull fuel pump and send out for rebuild as I understand the cam lobes may require re grinding due to the hours.

Injectors out and tested - pretty sure I’ve got a lazy injector that’s dribbling and that would explain the recent very smoky start ups and occasional difficulty starting in sub zero temps.

Valve adjustment as this really isn’t easy to perform with the engine in place but understanding the massive tolerance on the valves I’ve not been concerned.

Compression test

Stainless steel wet exhaust elbow finally as I never got round to it when I fitted the HDI elbow. New silicon exhaust hose as the space under the deck is tight and I’ve never been a fan of the rubber hose being so taught under the deck.

Shaft out and check straightness as I have some minor vibration at 3400 rpm. Also check cutlass and fit the latest incarnation of the developed wheel I had designed for her 8 years ago (crikey props have shot up in price since then!)

Current prop is 19 x 19 Michigan wheel but the developed prop was 20.5 x 19.5” with minimum cupping, that gave me an extra 1-1.5 knots on cruise and 2.5 knots on WOT. The new developed prop is the same dimension but with more surface area and some other funky stuff going on so watch this space.

Replace skin fittings with composite fittings except engine intake.

New cambelt, idler and tensioner as that will be on six years this summer.

Paint out engine bay

Full out of water survey and valuation for insurance company.

Any pointers to look out for with the fuel pump would be helpful just in case I need to mention anything to the diesel injection company doing the service on it?

Oh and full new bolsters and if I’ve any money left I’m treating myself to new helm seats.

[Nancy]

Wow, what a list! She'll truly be as good as new.

[Tree]

Wow, what a list! She'll truly be as good as new.

Hope so. Just dodged a bullet.

Shaft was cracked 3/4 of the way round on the taper. I was putting £2000 worth of propellor on there on relaunch

So to add to the list. New prop shaft being made from T-Met, not entirely sure what Albin made them from originally but all signs are pointing to just standard 316 stainless as this has zero magnetism in it unlike super duplex or T-Met.

[Norseman]

Shaft was cracked 3/4 of the way round on the taper. I was putting £2000 worth of propellor on there on relaunch

That happened to my boat as well, about 3 years before I bought it: Part of the shaft and the prop disappeared in the deep, probably around 600 hours on the boat.
New shaft, new prop, new shaft seal, etc.

Good idea lifting the engine, possible corrosion on the oil pan from the raw water pump slinging salt water under the Yanmar?

Also a good time to inspect the muffler and replace the exhaust hoses?

[Tree]

Stainless mixing elbow and new hoses being fitted Dag as part of the job

The raw water pump had done this when I last pulled the engine 10 years ago after purchase. Previous owner had replaced the oil pan and I had the engine needle gunned back to bare metal, painted with two part epoxy primers and yanmar grey. Hopefully this should all be good still.

New shaft going in will be 1000 ksi stronger so should give me a safety factor of around 7 compared to the aquamet 22 of 5

[Tree]

Big hole in there!

69E9CDC9-AA49-4E5F-ACEB-A9710140F5F5.jpeg

But on the plus side it’s taking space up in my factory.

Injectors out and fuel pump off ready to be dropped off for service tomorrow morning.

EA1B18D4-616A-4D6F-A0AA-16D2CC6D4479.jpeg

So far so good. The paint job I had done ten years ago still looks good, few places it needs touching up and small amounts of rust treatment but I’m happy.

[Tree]

Almost done!

[Tree]

As you can see, some considerable money has been spent!

Intial budget was £5000, upped to £7500.

Total bill is now nearer £12000!

To List work completed:

Engine pulled and replaced or renewed:

Fuel Pump
Injectors
Freshwater Pump
Fuel cooler
Used and refurbished Cylinder head (long story)
Mk5 headgasket and associated manifold gaskets etc
Thermostat
All cooler gaskets
Rebuilt salt water pump
Cam belt and associated parts
Full engine service
Transmission removed to inspect damper plate and check for any oil leaks from crank output shaft seal - all good.
Replacement water in fuel sender unit due to damaged wire on removal.

All new running gear, shaft and propeller.

New Bolsters and engine cover cushion

Stainless Steel engine box rams

Anti foul, anodes etc

I also hated the boarding ladder and its stowage design so as you can see I have made a new one that simply lifts in and out when not in use with near to flush mount deck fittings. This can be stored in the drying locker when not in use.

Bilge has been cleaned to within an inch of its life.

New over board skin fittings as the plastic was degrading - that isnt a great job replacing those!

New clean agent engine bay extinguishers

25 year out of water survey - found that the boat is undervalue on insurance and i need to increase that by £10000

Engine to be fitted on Thursday morning with a view to starting it up before launch to confirm all is good - turned over by hand so we know nothing is hitting anything!

and finally, had some small dings in the vinyl, that has all been repaired and looks like new again.

2 weeks overtime on the initial refit and refresh but that was due to the original cylinder head work not being completed and then subsequently being done wrong or not to my standard, hence replacing with one from an engine that had spun a shell at 40 hours, I've fully rebuilt this one from the casting up! Fingers crossed I will launch this weekend!

I think thats all?

[Nancy]

Wow, talk about a blown budget! But this should hold you for a number of years.
Except for those helm chairs...you didn't mention those, so maybe Santa Claus can deliver them next winter after the kitty is replenished. I know that feeling!

Are overboard skin fittings Brit-speak for thru-hull fittings?

[Tree]

Aha - forgot the helm chairs, they’re on back order as no stock at the moment!

Thru hulls we refer to as the ones with the seacocks and the overboard as the ones that exit above the waterline. I was changing out the thru hulls originally but they were all deemed in good shape even after 24 years. The plastic overboards were the ones with issues as some had tiny cracks forming in the plastic flanges and had the potential to snap off.

New canvas is also on the list but Father Christmas will have to pay for that, probably early in the summer when I take the originals off out of the way.

[Tree]

Good to know it fitted in my van. Mind you, steering was light on the motorway

[REBMystic]

You will definitely be as good as new!! Very impressive list! Looking forward to hearing how launch and sea trials go!

[Tree]

You will definitely be as good as new!! Very impressive list! Looking forward to hearing how launch and sea trials go!

Tonight will be a sleepless night for sure. I just hope we’ve got everything right rebuilding the top end of the engine and we don’t have any drama once we’ve cranked it over a few times before initial startup. I’ve been down to the boat tonight to get everything ready for my mechanic to get a 6 am start as there was one thing in the list I forgot about and that was removal of the old exhaust hose and original cast iron elbow. New silicon exhaust hose going in tomorrow with a new shiny HDI stainless mixing elbow. Engine install around 10am all going well with a view to it being lined up, plumbed in and electricals attached ready to turn the key before 2pm. If that all goes to plan then I shall fit the prop tomorrow night, fit the rope cutter and she will be ready to lift and get back where she belongs in the water!


One thing I did forget to mention, albeit the boat had been out of the water for ten weeks now - moisture meter readings on the hull were perfect!

[REBMystic]

You will definitely be as good as new!! Very impressive list! Looking forward to hearing how launch and sea trials go!

Tonight will be a sleepless night for sure. I just hope we’ve got everything right rebuilding the top end of the engine and we don’t have any drama once we’ve cranked it over a few times before initial startup. I’ve been down to the boat tonight to get everything ready for my mechanic to get a 6 am start as there was one thing in the list I forgot about and that was removal of the old exhaust hose and original cast iron elbow. New silicon exhaust hose going in tomorrow with a new shiny HDI stainless mixing elbow. Engine install around 10am all going well with a view to it being lined up, plumbed in and electricals attached ready to turn the key before 2pm. If that all goes to plan then I shall fit the prop tomorrow night, fit the rope cutter and she will be ready to lift and get back where she belongs in the water!


One thing I did forget to mention, albeit the boat had been out of the water for ten weeks now - moisture meter readings on the hull were perfect!

Best of luck to you!! Once the dust settles let us know. Side question for you or others reading... I had my 6LP-STE injectors re-furbished. Putting them back in next month. Getting air out of fuel lines... do you have experience? I am assuming I get all fuel lines reconnected and leave the connection at the injectors a bit loose - crank a bit to get fuel to drip out, then torque them down?!! (this is my first time working in my diesel). FYI - my goal also is to get my engines looking as nice as yours. I got rust! Will take me a few years to get to it all.

[Tree]

That is exactly what will happen when we prime the fuel to the injector. Keep them cracked open and crank the engine over but don’t start it. Keep your finger on the stop button while turning the engine over until you see fuel leaking from the nut then tighten them up.

With regards to rust. I had my engine pulled 10 years ago and needle gunned all over. Primed with two part epoxy in green the. Two part epoxy in yanmar grey. As soon as I saw any corrosion starting, address it straight away and keep on top of it. The engine was pretty good when it came out but this gave me the chance to attack the hard to reach areas. There is always a can of cold zinc spray and yanmar touch up on the boat and I just keep it in check the best I can.