Posts In The “Technical” Category
Some time back I got a question from an owner of a larger Bayliner concerned that he wasn’t running his engines hard enough and that, as a consequence, they may not last as long. The advice he’d been given was that diesel engines need to run wide open for at least one hour in 10. …
When we leave the marina on a Friday after work, we often don’t reach an anchorage until well past 7pm. Although we could prepare a meal underway, usually we just like to enjoy being out on the water for a bit and winding down from the week. So on Friday night we typically favor lighter,…
I recently had a question on how to eliminate diesel-engine sooting at the transom. It’s an interesting topic because almost everyone is convinced they have a solution. These solutions run from expensive diesel fuel additives to passing the diesel through permanent magnets on the way to the engines. Overall, I’m pretty resistant to paying…
This week, boxes of Cruising the Secret Coast were delivered to the warehouse at Robert Hale and Co. Click here for book details, including sample pages and an overview by Waggoner publisher Bob Hale, and to order online. The book was a long time in coming. In 2002 we began…
A recent question: I am just learning about these pumps and at 1000 hrs on 330B, my starboard raw water pump began leaking at a rate to great to ignore. So after plunking down over $1600 with California’s 8.75% sales tax for two, if one’s bad the other must be near death right? However after…
In busy Pacific Northwest anchorages, stern-tying is a common option to allow more boats to fit in than would if they all swung free at anchor. Smuggler Cove Provincial Marine Park along the southern BC coast is a good example: We aren’t often in anchorages that busy, as we tend to favor less-traveled areas. Nonetheless,…
I recently came across a posting that is a good reminder for all of us. It was a standard 30-amp shore power cord. On the outside, there was slight evidence of heat. Upon taking the plug apart, it’s completely melted. It’s not my picture so I’ll not post it here but you can see it…
Online ordering is now available for our upcoming Waggoner sister publication Cruising the Secret Coast: Unexplored Anchorages on British Columbia’s Inside Passage. The guide describes the “Secret Coast,” our favorite, less-visited anchorages between Victoria and Bella Bella. Included are detailed navigation instructions plus history, sights to see, and trails to walk. Added chapters discuss anchoring…
Below is a reprint from the 2/2002 Safety Digest, published by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) of the British Department of Transport (www.maib.gov.uk). Although the vessels involved are quite large and the locale is distant, the lessons learned are applicable to craft of any size and are particularly relevant to boaters in the Puget…
When we’re cruising farther from home, we typically move the boat each day. The engines are run enough to charge the house batteries fully, and power is never a problem. But when out on the weekends, we often work and don’t move the boat as much, if at all. Usually we have several computers running…
I got a question earlier this year that essentially asked: I can’t quite reach full rated RPM under load but I’m only 50 to 100 RPM low in my Bayliner 4788. I’m considering playing it safe and repitching my props but my dealer recommends that I not bother until next season. Is it OK to…
I get the odd query, and this one is perhaps of broader interest. Gerald Albertson wrote: Hi James and Jennifer, I absolutely love your pics, especially Desolation Sound at Christmastime. It is a fine goal that I obtain the proper skills and confidence to do an Around-Vancouver Island adventure one day. One of…
Diesel engines have a great reputation for incredible longevity, yet most recreational marine diesels fail well before they should. The two primary killers are 1) overload (discussed at Diesel Engine Overload and Tony Athens’ Engine Life vs. Engine Loading) and 2) poor maintenance & operating conditions. Both are easy to avoid with a bit of…
Those of us with recent Cummins engines (since they started using air preheaters) will notice that the factory alternators are actually pretty respectable. My 2000 270Bs come with 105A Delco alternators. You would think this means I can charge at over 200A with the two installed in Dirona. Well, it turns out that the 105A…
In the previous posting, Cumins Power Curves Confidential I talked about why having Power Curves for your specific engines is a good idea and why and argue it was a mistake for Cummins to not make this data available to customers. This data is now reported to be available. Apparently the Cummins folks I spoke with at…
Since new, I’ve had the Cummins Performance Curves for my CPL 2205 engines but it was for a different rating. Apparently the CPL 2205 engine was sold in a 260 HP Recreational rating and a 225 Medium Continuous rating. Sometime back I asked Cummins for the exact Performance Curve for my 270B (260HP Recreational) and…
Recently we started recycling food waste at home through the City of Bellevue’s food-recycling program. It turned out that most of our kitchen garbage is food waste. Instead of dropping a nearly-full thirteen-gallon garbage bag in the garbage bin each week, we now rarely fill a three-gallon bag. The rest is food waste that goes…