Friday 27th January
After switching the motor off yesterday, the saltwater intake pump was still leaking half a litre per minute. Turning off the sea cock solved that problem.
Today we had to do something about it. Step 1, turn off the sea cock for the deck wash pump and remove the pump. Step 2, find pipe connections to fit engine hoses. Not so easy. None of the fittings onboard were large enough to fit the engine hoses. I used the largest fittings I had, then used short pieces of pipe sleeving each other until the desired size was reached. No not ideal, but it’s only to get us back to the mainland and new parts. Step 3, mount the pump with cable ties.
That should have been all. But no. The water that splashed over the engine while doing all this, had wet the engine sensors. This meant the Volvo computer wouldn’t let the engine start, despite drying off the engine with a towel, it detected dampness or something. It’s funny a boat motor not liking the wet!
Now we are fully stocked we are running two freezers and the fridge. The overcast rainy day has meant the solar panels are not charging the batteries. As the batteries got lower in charge we had to get the motor going to charge them. Andrew disconnected computer wiring from the engine and shorted the starter solenoid with a screw driver. A friend recently called Andrew “MacGyver” and I’d have to agree. He seems to be able to fix most things, even things he’s never done before!
We ran the motor for a few minutes (the deck wash pump works) then switched off and reconnected the computer. The heat of the engine had dried out the problem and the engine started with its normal push of the button.
We can’t run the motor for too long at once because the deck wash pump is not made to run continuously. But it’s enough for now.
We’ve been lucky with this anchorage, we are out of most of the stormy weather
After switching the motor off yesterday, the saltwater intake pump was still leaking half a litre per minute. Turning off the sea cock solved that problem.
Today we had to do something about it. Step 1, turn off the sea cock for the deck wash pump and remove the pump. Step 2, find pipe connections to fit engine hoses. Not so easy. None of the fittings onboard were large enough to fit the engine hoses. I used the largest fittings I had, then used short pieces of pipe sleeving each other until the desired size was reached. No not ideal, but it’s only to get us back to the mainland and new parts. Step 3, mount the pump with cable ties.
That should have been all. But no. The water that splashed over the engine while doing all this, had wet the engine sensors. This meant the Volvo computer wouldn’t let the engine start, despite drying off the engine with a towel, it detected dampness or something. It’s funny a boat motor not liking the wet!
Now we are fully stocked we are running two freezers and the fridge. The overcast rainy day has meant the solar panels are not charging the batteries. As the batteries got lower in charge we had to get the motor going to charge them. Andrew disconnected computer wiring from the engine and shorted the starter solenoid with a screw driver. A friend recently called Andrew “MacGyver” and I’d have to agree. He seems to be able to fix most things, even things he’s never done before!
We ran the motor for a few minutes (the deck wash pump works) then switched off and reconnected the computer. The heat of the engine had dried out the problem and the engine started with its normal push of the button.
We can’t run the motor for too long at once because the deck wash pump is not made to run continuously. But it’s enough for now.
We’ve been lucky with this anchorage, we are out of most of the stormy weather
