1) The Starboard engine was running rough. It was clear that it was running rich, so a carb rebuild was in order. I got a kit and a new float, and went to work. Upon reassembly, I noticed that if you opened the choke plates on the secondaries all the way, the linkage would drop down and jam them fully open. This "air metering" mechanism moves the fuel metering rods in and out of the jets. My bet is that they were stuck full open. Fuel problem fixed. Oh oh, still not running up to par. Turns out the PO has changed the points, but didn't reset the timing. It was ten degrees retarded from spec, set at TDC instead of 10 BTDC. Running fine now
While I was in there I did a compression check and the lowest was 165 with the highest being 180. Respectable for an engine with 1400 hours on it.
2) Checked the Port engine. Points were badly worn and way out of adjustment. Timing was 5 degrees advanced from spec. New points, dwell and timing set correctly, and now both engines feel matched.
3) One of the things the mechanical inspection revealed was that the fresh water hoses to the manifolds were the wrong type and were collapsing at the bend radius. They are now replaced with the correct hoses with the embedded spiral wire support.
4) On the electrical side, I bought a Noco Genius 3 way charger, installed a new AC outlet at the charger location and got everything hooked up. I was hoping to bring back the badly discharges house batteries. They took 2 days to charge, but they are not holding like they should. The start battery is fine though. Off to get a couple of batteries I guess.
5) Discovered a small leak around one of the fresh water tanks. You have to disassemble the rear bunk to get the tank out. I could not believe the stench when I drained the tanks, whew! It turned out to be the fitting on the tank that was split, so a repair was required. The fine folks at The Chandlery in Ottawa spun a new fitting into the tank for me. It's all back together now and holding nicely. A good shocking with some bleach has sent Mr. Stinky packing.
6) While I was in there I decided to add a shore water fitting to the system. I cut a 3" hole in the stern near the water tank vent for the installation. This way it is nice and accessible inside the aft closet.
7) Sunday's project was to remove and scrub down the canvas. While it was off, I took the opportunity to buff the oxidation out of the radar bridge and oil the teak around the cabin frame.
And the list keeps growing.....
cheers
Sponsors