First (of many?) shakedown cruise

Arrived in Galveston about 5:30 pm after a leisurely 4 hour cruise from Clear Lake. The engine break-in consists of varying the RPM every half hour or so.  Glorius weather with a high temperature of about 72F, and the skies cleared to be nearly cloudlees by arrival.  HOWEVER, there was a sometimes bothersome 19 knot North wind, which was never from quite dead astern. We got a nice push to add to our speed, but the waves shoved us around some. We rode our scooters about a mile to have dinner at Fisherman's Wharf downtown. Great seafood and a colorful sunset view from our waterfront table (see picture). Boat ran very well, but I found myself nervously checking the gauges far more often than necessary...

The shakedown cruise ended with a relaxing cruise back to our home on Clear Lake.  I should qualify that to be uneventful trip with respect to the engines. Since the installation of the new autopilot in January, the steering has become increasingly less responsive.  Specifically, the wheel should make about 9 full revolutions from lock to lock.  Before the cruise to Galveston, we filled the reservoir in the hydraulicc steering with fluid.  The hope/thought was that there had been air in the system after the installation of the pump for the aautopilot.  No luck since the problem persisted, and we found a small pool of fluid beneath the hydraulic cylinder that actuall pushes/pulls the rudders.  Fortunately, the cylinder could be rebuilt with hew seals.  The bottom line is that this has solved the problem.The photo shows the cylinder (brass colored) with new hoses (black).

Successful sea trial of re-built port engine!!!

Whoop! On Friday we had a very good sea trial of the re-built port engine. Along the way, the starboard engine also had much work done on it also including re-built fuel injectors, timing set (it was 15+ degrees off), valves adjusted, etc.  Both engines performed far better than in the nearly 6 years that we have owned Lucky Us. Right at the very "start" it was very positive. Both engines started in under 5 seconds instead of the 4-5 five minutes of grinding away on the starboard engine in particular.
    We hope to begin the break in process with an overnight trip to Galveston tomorrow... Stay tuned!

baby steps (while we wait...)

No news on the status of the testing of the fuel injection pump, which is supposedly the last hurdle before the re-built diesel main engine can be run and tested. However, while we are "patiently" waiting, we have installed two new pieces of our new electronics package. Namely, we have installed a new Garmin VHF marine radio. It has stations at the upper and lower helm stations and a two-way intercom adjacent to the galley. We could still add another remote microphone and several remote speakers in the future if we felt the need. As part of this we also have a loud hailer that also listens and includes a programmable fog horn. The final (?) "gadget" is an AIS (Automatic Identification System) that both sends and receives information. Commercial ships as well as some pleasure craft transmit a VHF signal that contains their name, location, speed, course, size as well as a lot of other information. Our unit transmits similar information, but it also computes important information like closest point of approach of the other vessels and plots the other vessels on our chartplotter. Whew! Just when we were starting to get our learning curve down to a reasonable size, we go and add some more complicated (but very powerful) new electronics. The AIS transceiver required its own GPS antenna, and it is also networked into the GPS and the VHF radio. Bottom line: lots of wiring, power, network connections, remote microphones, etc. Also, we added an extension to the crossbar on the radar mast to make room for the additional GPS antenna for the AIS transceiver (see photo). Phew! We sure know how to have fun and enjoy our retirement...

We are back (after 5 days in Las Vegas)

We got home at 2:00 am on Tuesday morning after a wonderful trip to Las Vegas ("Lost Wages") for the wedding of Terry's nephew. Neither of us is an avid gambler, but we did log a few hours playing the slots. A major highlight was the show "Jersey Boys". While we were gone, the engine was put back down into the engine room and totally re-assembled. Evidently it ran, but there was a problem with the fuel supply so the fuel injection pump was removed and sent out for diagnosis... The large round opening is for the gear (about 10 inches in diameter) that drives the fuel injection pump. As usual, we are now at the mercy of yet another specialty repair shop.

The second picture shows the new hoses (black) for the oil cooler and oil filter. The old hoses were virtually new, but they were a smaller (3/8 inch) diameter than the new 1/2 inch hoses. The larger diameter should result in more efficient cooling of the oil and better lubrication (?) of the engine.

One of our long term goals has been to learn how to perform as many basic repairs as possible on all of the many systems on the boat. My personal goal for the diesel engines is to be able to remove the fuel injectors. We had them removed and tested before our initial start last February, and at that time, I learned the basics of that process. However, with the engine completely disassembled I had the opportunity to review the process. The next picture is one that shows the top of the fuel injectors installed in the head. I was able to label various parts so that IF I find it necessary to remove a clogged injector at some future date, I will have better information than the generic shetches of a "typical" installation in the manual.

Well, hopefully the next post will be soon and will report the results of a successful sea trial of the engine...

...on the mend

Haven't posted in what seems like a long time, but finally there is good news to report. The port engine has been rebuilt, and it was put back on the boat today. The first picture shows the engine (basically just the block and oil pan) being delivered to the shipyard. It has a nice shiny new coat of "Ford-Lehman red" paint. The Admiral and I took Lucky Us to the Seabrook Shipyard first thing this morning.

It was a beautiful trip in 70 degree weather with a few fluffy white clouds and only a 4 knot SE wind. We towed the dingy along so that Terry could return home to await a furniture delivery. Manuvering the boat around the crowded docks went well thanks to the low wind. As usual, they were running behind. Finally, after an hour wait, we positioned the boat for the "lift" by the mobile crane. This picture shows what they call the "Stinger". It is basically a 40 foot long I-beam that they use to reach in through the rear/aft salon door. The door is only about 2 inches wider than the engine, but the crane operator made it look easy as you can see in the final picture. Then we brought Lucky Us back to her dock at the town house where the engine will actually be re-installed. The next step is to move the engine forward where they will assemble an A-frame with a winch that will lower the engine through a hatch onto the motor mounts down in the engine room. After the engine is in position, they can finish re-assembling the engine (e.g. replace the head, starter, alternator, transmission along with assorted hoses, wires, etc).

Good news and more good (but expensive) news

The Admiral and I visited the engine shop today. First, the good news. The starboard engine passed its diagnostic test with flying colors. They did re-set the timing, which was off by more than 15 degrees. When we started that engine today, it started after about 15 seconds instead of two plus minutes. It was quite windy today, but it did seem that there was less white smoke, especially after the engine warmed up. There seems to be no need to do anything major to this engine now (or hopefully for a very long time).


In the shop we saw various pieces of the engine, which had been totally disassembled. We discussed our options, but once the engine has been removed from the boat, for a few extra "boat bucks" the engine can be totally re-built. Since this engine is no longer produced, some parts are no longer available, but fortunately, aftermarket replacement parts are available. All of this is what led me to the second part of the title for this post(i.e. the "expensive" news).



The picture is of the oil pan. I am used to seeing the oil pans on gasoline automotive engines that look like a relatively thin piece of stamped steel. This one is massive, and it is cast aluminum at least 1/4 inch thick.



Decisions have been made, parts ordered and work is progressing.

more engine adventures...

We spent yesterday morning taking Lucky Us to a local shipyard to have the engine removed. Actually, we went to two different shipyards since the crane at the first one could not reach in through the salon door. The second one had a crane with this most amazing long arm that pivoted off the front and could reach as far as 17 feet inside... The photo shows the arm as the crane moves slowly forward to reach into the salon just above the engine.


Once the chains on the engine were attached to the arm, the crane raised the arm about 2 feet, and then the crane slowly backed up. The engine was then placed on a truck to go to the machine shop.

Oh, and did I mention that the Admiral and I had taken Lucky Us around Clear Lake on this adventure. Yup, the trip was what is called a learning experience... Normally, a twin engine power boat is easy to maneuver at slow speed in small areas. You can turn/pivot the boat about a given point by putting one engine in forward and the other in reverse. It is a lot more difficult when when attempting this with only one engine (and remember that engine is off center in the boat). The net result is that you can turn one way rather easily while turning in the other direction is rather difficult. The bottom line is that I learned a lot about the physics of centrifical force (prop wash), lever arms, etc. In this process I think that I reached a new level in my boat handling skills, but time will tell on that.

Now that the engine is off to have the cylinders re-bored, etc., there will not be much happening on the engine front.