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Engine work
The last couple days have been engine work days. We started installing an anti-siphon device for the raw water exhaust injection. The engine sits below the water line and the water will siphon back from the exhaust into the engine unless we close the raw water through hull. The reason is a bit complicated and probably beyond the scope of this blog to explain, but I'll do my best. This boat was designed with a water jacket cooled exhaust instead of injecting it straight into the exhaust. But, though it is a beautiful copper/bronze thing, it has pin holes in the water jacket which causes a leak into the exhaust. The previous owner had wanted to put in an anti-siphon riser but never got around to it. We started putting it in behind the stairs yesterday. Tomorrow we will complete it and post pictures. We also need to install a petcock/valve to drain water from the water jacket when we shut off the engine.We removed the raw water pump today and found water had mixed with the oil around the shaft of the pump. So we are replacing/rebuilding the pump. We also adjusted the valves and though they seem to have never been touched they were remarkably well set. We also took off the fuel injectors for service and 1 will be replaced. So for the time being we are engineless. This is not a good feeling, but there is nothing we can do except wait for parts to arrive. We had ordered parts but one was the wrong part (the raw water pump) and the other (injectors) turned out to need more parts. Overall, however I feel good about the state of the engine. The top end looks remarkably clean and the oil smells good.
Lila is getting more secure with the boat and is typically sleeping in the raised guest berth above the settee. Hannah and I went shopping today and food is getting much more expensive. It's a little disturbing. But tonight we had Tuna Casserole and farm fresh green beans.
Oh, because of the cold weather the water was shut off on the dock so we have been seeing how long our water will last. So far it's been 9 days of reasonably normal water usage. It will be interesting to see how long it will go. As an issue with this, we are still leaking fresh water into the bilge and I still don't know where it is coming from! Over the week we dumped about 10 gallons overboard with bilge pumps. This will be a priority to find.
