My boat is being a boat . . .

[tpenfield]

It's launched . . .
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We departed for the ramp @ 10:45 am . . . There was somebody launching a small center console, but not much of a wait. The guy tied up his boat to the dock and drove his trailer home.

So, we backed down the ramp, and this size of a boat tends to draw a crowd of onlookers . As I was getting the boat to the water, there was the other guy's boat drifting right towards the ramp . Who would have known that you have to secure the dock line to both the dock AND the boat.

The Admiral was wondering how we would move the guy's boat out of the way. I said "14,000 lbs of boat and trailer will move it nicely". The guy eventually came back and retrieved his boat.

I had to get the tow vehicle pretty deep as the high tide was marginal. I think I'll lower the bunks a few inches over the summer, since there currently is plenty of keel clearance.

Weather started moving in as I got the boat to the mooring and set up my "gull sweep" devices. The seagulls had their way with the boat last year, but hopefully not this year.

Tomorrow might be sunny, so it will be a boat cleaning day.

 

[tpenfield]

After about 3 hours of cleaning while talking with a few old-timers at the town dock, I got the boat cleaned up so it is presentable.

The seas were quite calm, so I took the boat out for a quick spin and back. Having indicators for the trim tabs really helps, as I set them to about 10˚ down to give some stern lift. It made a huge difference in time-to-plane and the boat seemed to ride better. I was able to come up on plane at 3500 RPM instead of the usual 4000 RPM.

I tried trimming the outdrives up a pinch, since I was using some trim tabs for lift, but even the slightest up trim made the boat slow down (went from 27 mph down to 24 mph).

I suppose if I were going 40+ mph (4500+ RPM) then I might be able to trim up a bit. I'll just have to experiment a bit to see what works best.

 

[alldodge]

Just guessing, but probably burning more fuel with the tabs down a bit even with turning less rpm's

Could use the slip calculator to see, and what does VV show?

 

[tpenfield]

Just guessing, but probably burning more fuel with the tabs down a bit even with turning less rpm's

Could use the slip calculator to see, and what does VV show?

I got to run the boat some more to get the fuel burn while on plane. Last year it was around 1.15 - 1.20 mpg.

 

[Lou C]

I had to smile when I saw your gull sweeps, this is the latest in my bird repellent repertoire...over the years I have used:
pennant flags
scary angry cats
bird spiders
gull sweeps
the birds get used to whatever you use so you have to keep changing it up.
right now I have 2 gull sweeps and 2 bird spiders, I used this last year and it kept them off till the very end of the summer, had to pull out the scary cats again then.

 

[tpenfield]

First time out of the season today . . . We went about 8 miles to a quiet cove. Drank some beers.

One thing I noticed while cruising (28 mph 3400 RPM . . . 1.35 mpg ) is that the starboard engine raw water pressure is quite a bit lower than the port engine. Last year, I recall them being about the same. This year . . . port 25 psi, stbd 18 psi. On the way back, they were more like 21 psi and 17 psi.

When I idled down (1500 -1000 rpm), the stbd engine was actually higher than the port ( port 4 psi, stbd 6 psi). Full idle (600 RPM) was similar (port 3 psi, stbd 4 psi).

Engine temperatures were spot on (163-165) the whole time, but wondering if the pressure difference is an early sign of trouble.

Impellers were new last year and have 27 hours on them.

Thoughts? . . . I suppose I'll have to figure out where in the raw water side the pressure sensor is located and work from there.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Sensor driven water pressure? Or mechanical gauge?

If sensor driven, going with the sensor is going south

 

[tpenfield]

Sensor driven water pressure? Or mechanical gauge?

If sensor driven, going with the sensor is going south

I'm thinking sensor . . . part of SmartyCraft. Definitely not a mechanical gauge.

 

[tpenfield]

In other news, I think I've found a good setting for the trim tabs. . .

Last year: cruising was 1.2 mpg
This year: cruising is 1.35 mpg

I'll take it . . . .

 

[Scott Danforth]

It is most likely the same Bravo water pressure sensor that has been iffy for more than a decade

 

[tpenfield]

It is most likely the same Bravo water pressure sensor that has been iffy for more than a decade

Maybe . . . I'm looking for it in the parts diagrams . . . not finding it though.

Speaking of Bravo outdrives, the delayed shift on the port engine is back. It is making docking a challenge. I had the Bravos on my maintenance list for this year, but decided to put it off until next year. Maybe I'll pull the boat early August for a fix-it and then dunk it back in.

 

[tpenfield]

I found the Raw Water Pressure Sensor. In the steering parts diagram (PS fluid cooler)
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.
I will probably keep an eye on the pressure. I'm assuming if the pressure remains low, that the possibilities would be:

• Bad sensor
• Partial restriction in the water flow before the sensor
• Weak/failing impeller

I read in the manual that the pressure at 4000 RPM should be 20 PSI or more. At 3600 RPM I was seeing 25 PSI and 17 PSI. Coming back from our day it was 3400 RPM and seeing 21 PSI and 17 PSI.

I do have sea water strainers before the raw water pumps, so I'll see about checking there for potential clogs.

 

[froggy1150]

Could you plumb in a tee and put a manual Guage temporarily to verify pressure reading

 

[tpenfield]

Could you plumb in a tee and put a manual gauge temporarily to verify pressure reading

Maybe, the fitting/sender is on the P/S cooler. I may try back-flushing the sea water strainers to see if it makes a difference.

It seems like any deferred maintenance comes back to bite during the boating season. Since I did not take the drive(s) off to fix the delayed shifting, I did not back-flush the sea water strainers this year. They were new last year.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Ted, you have to ask yourself....... since the sensor used by Mercruiser looks remarkably the same as a GM oil pressure sender...... are the wetted components compatible with salt water?

I have yet to find a sensor in the catalogs from BWD or SMC that is salt water compatible.


https://www.standardbrand.com/en/catalog/catalog/pdf-catalogs

https://www.pageturnpro.com/Four-Seasons/18207-Standard-Marine/sindex.html

https://s3.amazonaws.com/pageturnpr...8518647509_EngineManagementRefGuide112011.pdf

 

[tpenfield]

Ted, you have to ask yourself....... since the sensor used by Mercruiser looks remarkably the same as a GM oil pressure sender...... are the wetted components compatible with salt water?

I have yet to find a sensor in the catalogs from BWD or SMC that is salt water compatible.


https://www.standardbrand.com/en/catalog/catalog/pdf-catalogs

https://www.pageturnpro.com/Four-Seasons/18207-Standard-Marine/sindex.html

https://s3.amazonaws.com/pageturnpr...8518647509_EngineManagementRefGuide112011.pdf

Probably why they fail at a fairly high rate.

My boat went into service in June of 2016, so this is its 8th season in salt water.

 

[harmanoff]

Read the entire post! enjoyed it a ton! that is a sharp boat and loved hearing about your adventure with it! Hope you get it all sorted out!

 

[tpenfield]

Read the entire post! enjoyed it a ton! that is a sharp boat and loved hearing about your adventure with it! Hope you get it all sorted out!

Yes and thank you for your kind words. It seems that once I get one issue sorted out another one comes in its place.

Right now my main issue is the delayed shift on the port outdrive. It makes things challenging at the dock as I usually have the port engine in forward and the starboard in reverse to swing the boat around to dock on the port side. What ends up happening is that the boat ends up nose in to the dock and not parallel to it.

 

[harmanoff]

Yes and thank you for your kind words. It seems that once I get one issue sorted out another one comes in its place.

Right now my main issue is the delayed shift on the port outdrive. It makes things challenging at the dock as I usually have the port engine in forward and the starboard in reverse to swing the boat around to dock on the port side. What ends up happening is that the boat ends up nose in to the dock and not parallel to it.

Goodness! Well keep us posted! love hearing about it!

 

[tpenfield]

Quick update:

Per the service manual the raw water pressure should be at least 20 psi at 4000 rpm. I took the boat out today and ran it up to 4200 (ish) rpm.

Port engine was at 27 psi
Starboard engine was at 17 psi

Engine temperatures are fine (165)

So, I’ll be doing the backflushing next week and see if that makes a difference.