Parts are Parts

There are times when sailing that you need to engage the engine. Some that come to mind are: Storms, running against the wind through a cut with a rocky bottom, or just docking in a tight harbor. So before we sail it's down to the engine room. Now for those who don't know, engine rooms on most sailboats are small... very small. In fact they even get smaller at sea, so it's better to get things done tied to the dock. The good thing about our CSY 44 is that her engine room is just the right size for a 5' 8", 145 lb sailor. But..... unless Gail does all the work ( now that's a thought) at last count I'm a little larger than that. Oh, and another thing, it's hot, really hot in there. And for some reason when I get really hot I sweat! Not just a little, a LOT! The real problem comes when the sweat gets into my eyes. It seems to prefer my right eye. Then it runs onto my glasses, I wipe it off with..... a dirty, greasy hand! So then it's, crawl out of the engine room, wash my hands, clean the glasses, wipe the sweat off my head and return to the belly of the beast. By the way did I say that my sweat has an extremely high salt content. So you know how salt in the eyes feels, right!





So what did I find in that little room?

Having taken the raw water connection off things looked ok for a 1979 Perkins 4-154 original to the boat. However, once I took off the water elbow it was a different story. Can you say; restricted flow, something growing in here! I wonder how water even got through here.

Replacement Parts.... Flange $197.00, Elbow $ 239.00, Gasket $ 2.40





Raw water filter for the engine intake. Should be brass colored. Hmmm... The green is what happens to brass when it comes into contact with salt water. After checking I found the intake valve would not completely shut off the flow when checking the filter. Not a big problem except the valve was leaking into the bilge. A slow leak.

Problem: Loose valve control fitting. Tightened



So what do we have here. Looks like a bulge in a rubber hose. Nah... not that easy. It's just a short connector between the heat exchanger and the thermostat housing. The only problem here is how to remove it so I can check the thermostat.

Thermostat for a Perkins...... $ 97.00 OCH!
Gasket $ 2.00
Charge for cursing part $$$$$$$$$$!!!!

So as you can see there is a lot to be checked and done. The good news is that I've got time here at the dock to do it. Then when I'm done I'll know ever inch of that little engine room and maybe loose a little weight.