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CHECK THE ENGINE ROOM DAILY
by Bob Hale
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It was just a small puddle of saltwater, not a threatening amount. But the puddle was under the starboard engine, where water isn’t supposed to be. I found it on a routine check of the engine room, which I try to do at the end of each day’s run. The daily check is a nuisance. Hatches must be lifted and I must drop down between the engines, where shoulder room is tight and hot engine parts must be avoided.
This time, though, the engine room check was rewarded – if the events of the next day can be considered a reward. I looked and looked, but couldn’t find the source of the unwanted water. I would have to investigate when we were underway.
Next morning, an hour or so after departing Gig Harbor for points south, I turned the helm over to my wife Marilynn, lifted the hatches, dropped down, and saw water dripping off the hose that connects the starboard engine raw water pump and the starboard engine heat exchanger. More looking revealed the source: the cap on the end of the heat exchanger was leaking all around the seal.
I called to Marilynn to reduce speed to idle, and suspecting that the rusty bolt that held the cap in place had vibrated loose, I put a wrench on it and tightened. There was a brief resistance, then the bolt turned easily. I gave the bolt about a half-turn, and decided to see what happened. Marilynn advanced the throttles to our 8.5-knot cruise speed. I crawled out to put the wrench back in the toolbox.
A moment later, when I looked to see if the drips had stopped, I found a flood. The cap had blown off and gallons of water were gushing out. Engines to idle! Shifters to neutral! Starboard engine OFF! Pumps ON! Close the starboard engine seacock! Stop that water!
There is something about seeing water pouring in that focuses the mind and speeds up thinking – and action.
The pumps put the unwanted water back on the outside of the boat, so we weren’t going to sink. We were, however, on just one engine. I called John Flaherty, who does the mechanical work on the boat, and he confirmed that he was scheduled to work on a boat at Day Island Yacht Club the next day. John had in his possession the new heat exchangers I had ordered to replace the 15-year-old heat exchangers on the engines. This was supposed to be preventive maintenance. Now it was repairs, but at least the stars were aligning to make the repairs.
We limped to the Narrows Marina fuel dock at the mouth of the Day Island lagoon a short distance south of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, and arranged to spend the night. John arrived the next morning, heat exchanger in hand. Two hours later we were underway.
All’s well that ends well, they say. I would have preferred that the heat exchanger hadn’t failed. That said, it’s pretty clear that the bolt holding the heat exchanger cap had corroded and weakened, allowing the cap to leak under pressure. If I hadn’t found the first evidence of leaking, the cap would have blown off at some time in the future and really flooded the boat.
The port engine heat exchanger and the two transmission oil coolers will be replaced before we head north for the yearly research trip up the British Columbia coast. I will continue to check the engine room at least once each day.
Response
I saw your warning about checking the engineroom after a run, and thought I would share an experience of my own for what it’s worth.
Some years ago I was bringing our sailboat up from San Francisco with my son and some friends and associates. We were motoring a good deal of the time, and I insisted that a visual inspection of the engine be made every 30 minutes from the cockpit. In addition, at each watch change (4 hours) the engine was to be shut down, the oil level checked, and a more careful inspection made of the engine. The crew thought I was being too careful.
One night it was my turn for the mid-watch so I shut down to check the oil. The boat began to wallow. It was difficult to even stay on your knees. I nearly decided to skip it, but not wanting to be the bad example, went ahead anyway.
When I inspected the engine, I noted a small oil leak just beginning to run down the side of the oil filter. A cooling hose had come loose from its support and the hose clamp was vibrating against the oil filter. The vibration had just rubbed a hole in the filter can when I happened to look.
I guess if it can . . . it will. I make it a practice to check the engine room each hour underway.
Bob Hansen
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