DAG NABBIT!!! *&^%$#@*!!

[aaronbocknek]

well i knew it was too good to be true.... phil, maccabee, and i took the boat out again for a little cruise this weekend (sunday morning) and as phil was at the helm (you are right paul, now i cant get the wheel away from him!) i went below and checked the trim tab level, and exhaust water flow and noticed that the water was not coming out of the genset exhaust. i quickly shut it down, called to phil to slow her down so i could inspect the engine area and exhaust hoses (no burned areas or holes or softness). i noticed that the engine compartment smelled warm, but not hot, nor was there a scent of anything burning. i felt the genset intake hose and it was hot to the touch. my first thought was that something got sucked against the scoop, stopping the water flow, destroying the genset impeller and the heat transferred to the intake hose (which the genset tech guy confirmed yesterday in a phone call). while in 'the hole' i was checking on my new engine ball valve installations and noticed that there was a 1/2 wide trickle of water coming from underneath the bottom plate, near a thru hull bolt of the new port side ball valve assembly (where the ballvalve meets the backing plate in the bilge). i HATE WHEN THAT HAPPENS. after we got into port--- i had too much on my mind i guess and it was a crappy docking job. dont laugh guys but it took me 5 tries to get her in the slip as EVERYONE in my marina was watching and shouting instructions---- anyway, i shut everything down and started to trace things. sure enough, either not enough epoxy, a stripped thread or something was causing the mounting plate of my new ball valve to leak, not too much but enough to cause concern as the installation is brand new. i called the cell phone of the guy that runs edwards boat yard and within 20 minutes of my call, on a holiday sunday, i got a call from the mechanic that installed them...... he said not to touch anything so that he could diagnose what was happening first thing monday morning. it was allowing about a gallon of water a day to my bilge and the pumps were taking over when they needed to and i kept an eye on it all weekend. now to the genset. i put a spare hose on the intake, and forced air down into the scoop strainer and i heard bubbles and that there was plenty of water flow when i lowered it below the water line. okay next step. hose to water pump, hose into bucket of water and turned it on....no suction, NOTHING. in fact, when i pulled the hose off the water pump, only a few drops of water came out. hopefully, pieces are not stuck somewhere and it just needs a water pump service kit. that will be taken care of on 12 june. now, onto the ball valve. i must admit, edwards boat yard was right on it. as phil went to check her out tuesday morning at 0700, he called me to tell me they were towing her back to the yard (edwards boat yard is roughly 2000 yards from our marina and has not one, but 3 travel lifts and is always a buzz of activity) and rehauling her. just as he hung up from me, i got a call again from the mechanic and said they were putting her back on the hardstand to dry out and the entire assembly will be pulled apart, dried out, inspected and rebedded and reassembled at no charge to me, nor will i be responsible for the towing or hauling her out a second time. he said the reputation of the yard is on the line, and so is his and it will be corrected, again, at no further charge. i must admit, they stand by their work, so if you all are near frog morter creek in middle river and need work, edwards boat yard is the place to go. i'll keep you posted. oh, one final thing about the genset pump.... i would normally attempt to do this myself, but, old onans are NOT DIY friendly. give me a kohler or westerbeke anyday of the week. our kohler from 1972 on the tri cabin was the easist thing to work on and cobe marine even admitted that onan until the very late 1980's was slow to pick up on that,but they have the parts and technical no how to fix the old 'iron beasts' as they are known.

[kevin babineau]

5 trys? i just back 'em down...but i cant figure out why no one want to keep there boat next to me though....

[Stripermann2]

Aaaron, I had a similar situation with my AC seacock. If the valve is replaced or removed, when you turn the valve clockwise to tighten, from above, it'll actually loosen the fitting below by turning it counter clockwise.
That's why there is a notch in the center of the fitting, to hold while securing both the valve and fitting. Otherwise, it'll leak for sure!