The heart of the boat
Initial assessment
A new motor with a sail drive was installed in 2008. It seems OK, but have some problems in details.
Sail drive
The boat has not been out of the water for years. Yanmar recommends to change the diaphragm of the sail drive every three years. We have no information on whether it was ever changed since 2008 when the motor was replaced.
Fuel pump
There are manual and electric fuel pumps. The manual one is the same as in outboard motor fuel lines, but one has to open the engine compartment to use it. The electric pump seems to be a diaphragm pump, it was controlled by a switch in the control panel. In terms of operation it would make more sense to have the pump switch in the cockpit, ideally at the motor control panel.
Electrical System of the Motor
Motor
There are different types of alternator belts on board (A and B) as spare parts. It appears that the A belt used currently wears quickly. The reason being the pulleys very corroded and covered with abrasive rust particles. There were different spare belts on baord of different sizes, some of them not fitting at all.
To do:
- Check which belts fit
- Buy seawater pump belt
- Buy impeller
- Buy alternator belt
- De-rust or change pulleys
- Come up with a maintenance schedule. Check operating hour meter and install one if broken.
- Change sail drive oil and check for water intrusion, if neccessary change o-rings and oil seals of the propeller shaft
- Change anodes of the sail drive
Sometimes the motor does not start, the starter motor “does not have power”. It appears that the cause is bad contacts at the starter motor relay because the battery is full.
Note to self: Check wiring and replace corroded connectors.
Additional problems
When sailing to Pandan Island