Fram's Maintenance Log
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Fram's To Do List
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October 2013
Boat hauled and stored at 38 Spring St., Belfast.
AC power left connected for winter, with battery charge on.
Main and Genset engine oil and filters changed.
Water tanks, water lines & engine cooling winterized

August 2013
Cleaned boat upon arrival in Maine. Reinstall gear on top of pilot house (except kayak racks, which need varnishing).
Changed wiring for batteries so that shutting off both battery banks at selector switch disconnects everything but bilge pump, and so that starting batteries (in engine room) are isolated from house batteries (under salon sofa).

July 2013
Prepared boat for transport to Maine. Lowered mast, removed smoke stack, radar mount, horn, lamp boards, kayak mounting boards.

12 June 2013
Changed main engine oil & oil filter.
Hard starting has continued, but find that engine will start sooner if one cranks for shorter period (e.g., count of 20), waits a longer period between cranks (e.g., another count of 20). Will typically start during second cranking period if this protocol is followed.

3 June 2013
Experienced engine shutdown in heavy seas in Bedford Sound outside of Prince Rupert. Engine stumbled a few times, and then quit. Would not restart. Switched from tank 4 to tank 1, and to other Racor filter, and engine immediately restarted. Have not found explanation for shutdown, but think it might have been air sucked into fuel line as fuel would have sloshed in tank as the boat repeatedly pitched in the heavy sea. Tank 4 is the port side aft tank, and has its fuel pickup tube at the tank's forward end, so with tank less than half full, perhaps fuel can slosh far enough back in tank to expose pickup tube to air. Since this shutdown episode we have run on tanks 1 and 3 (starboard side tanks) and have not added fuel to tanks 2 and 4 on port side, as cause of shutdown may have been contaminants or algae in tank 4. Tried running engine briefly on tank 4 in port to see if Racor vacuum gauge showed a vacuum, indicating a plugged filter; after perhaps 5 minutes running, the vacuum gauge showed no change from zero.

28 May 2013
Replaced shower sump switch. Old push button switch had worked loose, with result that soldered wire connections were worked each time the switch was used. The connections finally failed today. Replacement switch is toggle style. Labels have been added - "Sump Off" and "Sump On".

27 May 2013
Hard starting engine issue has returned, but got the engine started after about 30 seconds of cranking, in two or three 10-second bursts.**

25 May 2013
Engine now starting easily everytime. Not sure what solved problem. May have been an unconcious habit of mine to reduce throttle slightly as the engine starts. I now leave it at half throttle with hand off the throttle lever.

24 May 2013
Hard starting continued on our first effort. But engine cooling issue is solved. No loss of coolant on long day cruising to Comox from Nanaimo.

23 May 2013
Replaced coolant (fresh water) pump with new, water heater loop ball valve, both main engine Racor filters, and main engine primary fuel filter. Bent Sorensen urged we use 10 micron fuel filters rather than the 2 micron filters he removed. Raw water strainer serviced.

14 May 2013
Finally received a call from Bent Sorenson, of Viking Marine, the marine diesel mechanic in Nanaimo. He has tested oil for presence of antifreeze/coolant and antifreeze/coolant for presence of oil, and both came up negative. This means that head gasket is not blown, as Bent initially advised might be the case. The only evidence of leakage that he can find is streaking below the fresh water (coolant) pump, and suspects it may be leaking when engine is warm. He plans to replace the pump with new. He indicates that he has seen leakage at the pump gasket numerous times, and points out that that the gasket on such pumps may leak if touched with fingers during installation. He will also replace on/off ball valve on line extending to domestic hot water tank (I had seen this spitting coolant on first day out).

As for hard starting, Bent is not as concerned, and advised to perhaps try setting throttle higher when starting (I had been using 1/2 throttle). He asked for the rpm that I was running engine, and I said typically 1600-1800, but had run it successfully at 2000. His reading on the Cummins is that it is rated for 2400 rpm, and so should be operated between 1500 rpm (60%) and 2000 rpm (80%). Hence it seems to get enough fuel at normal cruising rpms. On further discussion, he plans to replace all fuel filters and test output of fuel pump. He will also service raw water strainer, but says that sufficient raw water is coming out exhaust.

He suggests adding "snake oil" to fuel to combat effects of alcohol in today's diesel fuels. He will explain further when we get back to Nanaimo. I have been using additive recommended by Heather. But odd thing is that hard starting began immediately after we topped off the tanks last fall and added additive. Could the fuel purchased at Flounder Bay in Anacortes have been bad? Could we have used too much or wrong additive?

1 May 2013
Discovered minor weeping at hose attachments to bedroom heater. Probably not enough leakage to explain coolant leakage causing overheating.
Hired Bent Sorenson of Viking Marine, in Naniamo to solve overheating and hard starting problem while we are back east for three weeks.

30 April 2013
Cleaned bilge in engine room.
Consumed about 1/2 quart coolant over 1.5 hours running into Naniamo this morning.

29 April 2013
Added 8 quarts of water to main engine after overheating shortly after starting. Ran at steady 185F remainder of day, but consumed about 1.5 quarts over 4 hours.

28 April 2013
Applied new name and port lettering to transom inearly morning, just prior to departure for Sidney.

27 April 2013
Reinstalled loose bolts in air intake manifold (not sufficiently torqued by Roche Harbor Marine when injectors replaced, and vibrated loose).
Completed fabrication and installation of new kayak supports on pilot house roof (douglas fir with leather on wear surfaces).
Installed new pencil zinc in main engine heat exchanger.

26 April 2013
Completed removal of name and port lettering from transom (2-1/2 day job completed by Martha!)

23 April 2013
Cap Sante Marine: Installed 8 hp Lewmar bow thruster, with new battery located adjacent thruster; relocated Vacu-flush and related components

27 September 2012
Replaced shaft brush. Repaired aft bilge pump float switch. Fresh water wash down of entire anchor chain. Wash exterior gel coat.

25 September 2012
Sanded to bare teak, and two coats varnish on teak pieces on salon deck and mast/boom. Sanded and recoated with one coat of varnish the hand rails and top of salon trim.

25 September 2012
Roche Harbor Marine: Cummins fuel injectors replaced with rebuilt injectors; valves adjusted; oil & filter changed.

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