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

[Troy Dunn]

Greg-

That makes sense.  5 years...wow!  I won't get a year out of my new belts
if I don't so something about the pulleys.   Just for comparison sake, I'm
putting about 100 hours per year on the engine.   We sail for a little over
6 months out of the year on the upper Chesapeake.   How many hours is 5
years on Hoop Dancer?

-Troy

On Sun, Nov 12, 2017 at 3:53 PM, Greg Flanagan <greg.flanagan at shaw.ca>
wrote:

> Just a note on spare belts. My Yanmar dealer does not recommend buying new
> belts for spares. Apparently they deteriorate with age even when not in
> use. They recommend replacing the belts when showing wear and then keeping
> the old (serviceable) belts as ‘get-me-home’ spares. Replacing the belts
> periodically (5 years in my case) means you will likely never need the
> spares.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Greg
> Hoop Dancer #1076
> Sidney, BC
>
> > On Nov 12, 2017, at 12:46 PM, Troy Dunn <troutwarrior at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > Spot on Graeme!  There were a lot of those instances along the way that I
> > wanted to mention but the post was already probably TLDR for most folks,
> > so...I cut it short.    The biggest discovery I had during this
> particular
> > adventure was the reason for so much "black dust" in the engine
> > compartment.   It turns out my pulleys have a wee bit of rust on them,
> I'm
> > positive if I clean those up in the spring that I will have a lot less
> dust
> > next fall, and based on the research I've been doing on belts, it turns
> out
> > I'll probably keep the Yanmar belts I just purchased this fall as
> emergency
> > spares (they are actually Mitsubishi belts incidentally) and I will
> > actually install Gates belts (or equivalent "toothed" high quality belts)
> > The consensus seems to be that there is marked difference in wear and
> > longevity of these belts.
> >
> > Troy
> >
> >> On Sun, Nov 12, 2017 at 1:02 PM, Graeme Clark <cg at skyflyer.co.uk>
> wrote:
> >>
> >> 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
> >>
> >>
>