[C320-list] Engine and Reefing Questions

[Kirk McCullough]

Maybe its not steam but water vapor, but its not something i have seen on 
Boomerang after 2200 hours on the engine. When the cooling system clogs, the 
engine overheats very quickly in my experience and the hi temp alarm will 
sound.

Kirk
Boomerang #124


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Larry Frank" <WindSwept at stx.rr.com>
To: "'C320-List'" <c320-list at catalina320.com>
Sent: Monday, May 14, 2007 7:51 PM
Subject: Re: [C320-list] Engine and Reefing Questions


> Mike,
>
> I concur with the others that the steam is probably not a serious long 
> term
> problem.  Make sure you now have good water flow out the exhaust and you 
> can
> be fairly sure the impeller is good and there is not any thing plugging 
> the
> inlet.  Actually, under the right conditions steam would be normal.  Take 
> a
> pot of water heated to 160-180 degrees outside on a humid day and you will
> see steam.  I am willing to bet that is what you saw.  I have had the same
> experience and always look at the exhaust water flow and if its good and 
> the
> engine temperature is normal don't worry further.
>
> Larry
> WindSwept C320 #246
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: c320-list-bounces at catalina320.com
> [mailto:c320-list-bounces at catalina320.com] On Behalf Of mike hunter
> Sent: Monday, May 14, 2007 2:32 PM
> To: C320-List
> Subject: [C320-list] Engine and Reefing Questions
>
> I'll start by saying I love this boat!  I have a couple of questions
> regarding engine temperature and what looked like steam coming out of the
> exhaust, but I'll get back to those in a bit.
>
>  Friday afternoon we fueled up and went for a little cruise around the San
> Diego bay, running the engine at different RPMs.  We found another 'sweet
> spot' at 2800 and kept it there for roughly an hour.  The engine stayed at
> its normal operating temperature of just a hair below 180 degrees.
>
>  Saturday morning we motor sailed to the mouth of the bay (~ 45 min.) and
> then proceeded to have a fantastic day of sailing.  It always feels so 
> good
> to shut down the engine J.  That evening while coming in, we started the
> motor and motor sailed through the bay to the no wake zone then dropped 
> the
> RPMs down to around 2000.  It was shortly after doing this my Wife noticed
> the temperature had risen to just a hair above 180 and there was what 
> looked
> like steam coming out of the exhaust with the water.  She dropped the RPMs
> down to 1200 and I went below to check out the strainer.  The strainer had
> accumulated a little bit of debris but it was mostly clear.  When I came
> back up the temperature had dropped back down to normal and the 'steaming'
> had stopped.  It almost seemed like we sucked up something and then blew 
> it
> out???
>
>  My plan now is to clean the strainer, check the flow through the intake
> hose and inspect the water pump impeller - which I replaced 2 weeks ago.
>
>  Finally, my engine questions:
>
>  -         What is considered 'hot' for a Yanmar 3GM30F?
>  -         Does the engine shut down when it reaches a certain temperature
> to prevent damage?
>  -         Am I on the right path or is there something else I should look
> at?
>
>  I also have a more important sailing question.  The wind varied from 8 -
> 12 knots throughout the day and the boat sailed beautifully.  At what wind
> speed do most of you reef?
>
>  Thanks!
>
>  Mike
>  #637
>
>
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