[C320-list] Thoughts on winterizing and servicing C320 with 3GM30F (E20931)

[Graeme Clark]

Troy

One of the benefits (as I see it!) of doing the work yourself is that it often gives opportunity to do a related job "while I am at it or while I have access"

If you pay a professional to (for example) change your fuel filter then that is what they will do 

On the other hand you might decide to remove, clean and repaint the Racor unit. You might decide to replace the fuel lines. You might notice - whilst you're doing the job - that something entirely unrelated but nearby needs attention

Sure - a good professional might mention some of this after he has finished the job but he is unlikely to be able to just add in the extra work there and then. It will require a second job sheet and so on

I never DIY to save money. I DIY to get it done when I want and how I want!

Graeme
 

Sent from mobile: please excuse typos etc.!


> On 12 Nov 2017, at 16:15, Troy Dunn <troutwarrior at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> As a relatively new owner with a to-do/wish list that far exceeds my spare
> time I've had to be judicious about which projects I take on.   Winter
> layup was not something I wanted to tackle last year.  This year I had the
> time to get smart and do it right.   I thought I'd share my experience with
> the list since the list/website was so helpful in figuring out what to do,
> and more importantly what not to do...
> 
> Keep in mind that my Hull #514 was manufactured in late 1997 and is a 1998
> model, so it is equipped with a Yanmar 3GM30F Euro Version 3 Cylinder
> Diesel.   Catalina went through at least 3 different brands of power
> equipment on the 320s that I'm aware of, so my experience might not fully
> apply to you if you have an earlier Hull Number with a different
> brand/model engine.
> 
> Karl Mielenhausen's Winterization Tips article is a must read if you are
> headed down this path.   Also, for general maintenance I have found the
> excel based checklist/workbook on the C320 site to also be an invaluable
> tool that I have tweaked and customized for S/V Wonky Dog.   The
> spreadsheet spring commissioning check list worksheet is where I make notes
> of things that creep into the must do category for next spring.   Examples
> of this for next spring include new belts (purchased), impeller and o-ring
> (purchased), full freshwater coolant replacement.  Another really
> interesting resource is a set of Youtube videos recently posted by
> "Spelunkerd".   The one on changing fuel filters and bleeding the fuel
> lines is here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ub0zfW42mVo&t=135s  He has
> also posted videos on oil change, etc.   Really fantastic confidence
> booster!
> 
> Is this effort worth your time?  Will you save money?   I think this is
> probably too personal a question to answer for anyone but yourself.  A lot
> of variables come into play here.   I can share with you my own personal
> thinking and some of the facts surrounding "how this made the cut".   For
> myself, the entire boat is a hobby.  For me this means, I don't put too
> much stock into value trades of my time from a monetary perspective
> because  I'm still working and it would be impossible for me to do these
> things as quickly as a professional, so that aspect is a bit moot.   It is
> more a trade of time cruising vs. time messing about...I enjoy both.
> 
> I paid about $650 last fall to "winterize" the boat.  About $200 was
> "material".    I got a one time 25% discount on that price due to my recent
> purchase.  The price this year without the discount would be north of
> $800.  Doing the job myself this year I paid about $200 for parts and
> materials, but I paid an additional $80 for tools that I will use over and
> over (e.g. oil extractor).   Some of those parts are things I don't need
> until the spring (impeller, belts, etc.) and are also items that weren't
> serviced by the yard last year so it isn't an apples to apples comparison.
>  It probably took me about 16 hours to complete all of my winterization
> tasks this year.   I'm guessing roughly 50% of that time was spent
> "figuring stuff out".   I think I could complete the tasks in 8 hours next
> year.  Some comical time sink moments include: raw water hose sucking
> itself to bottom of 5 gallon bucket so that the water pump wasn't pumping
> any coolant, Air Conditioner losing prime and refusing to reprime for
> winterizing, cabin lights breaker deciding to fail intermittent in middle
> of winterizing project, prediction for 19F temps 3 days before haul out =
> late night trip to winterize bilge pumps and drains (I know...probably
> overkill in 51F water, but better safe than sorry).
> 
> Ironically, the one item I fretted about the most, changing the fuel
> filters and bleeding the fuel lines, went very smoothly.   My advice for
> that task would be watch the aforementioned Youtube video for confidence
> building, then use the Racor pump to prime the entire system opening and
> closing bleeder screws moving toward the high pressure pump.    I did not
> need to bleed at the injectors, manually pump the feed pump, or by-pass
> compression and crank to prime.   The Racor has sufficient pump pressure to
> get the fuel prime all the way to the injectors on my hull.  I did bring
> the engine up to temp prior to the filter change and bleed, I felt like
> this was helpful with absolutely no basis for my thinking other than how
> rapidly the engine fires up when it is still warm.   The engine fired up
> right away with no cylinder misfires, stalling, etc.
> 
> One item for consideration by anyone who has never winterized/serviced the
> boat on their own.   You will learn a lot about your boat that could be
> useful, maybe even life saving in the future depending on your cruising
> plans.  Also, I found out so many new and interesting things about the boat
> that "come together" to give me a much clearer picture of our purchase and
> some items to focus on for preventative maintenance in the near future.
> 
> Thanks to everyone that contributes to the list/site/association.
> 
> Fair Winds-
> 
> Troy Dunn
> S/V Wonky Dog
> Hull #514
> Havre De Grace, MD