The Nauti One, an Endeavor 32

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by CareKnot

My reoccurring problem with the diesel is that it is constantly losing Prime. It's sucking air from somewhere. I suspect it's the Racor fuel filter. Why? Because everything else has already been done.

This is where they chose to put the primary fuel filter. It's impossible to get at from below. You have to work on it while hanging upside down through the access to the battery box located in the quarterberth.

Tomorrow, I get to reroute my entire fuel system. I'll have to remove the Racor filter and water separator and mount it on the gallery bulkhead, well below the level of the fuel tank. The fuel pump will mount slightly lower so that it never loses prime. As an added benefit, this shorter route will remove about 5 feet of fuel line.

Sounds like a plan. Anything you can get at without being Houdini is a plus.

[Celestialsailor]

On my boat(s) when the electrical wiring starts looking like this, I cut away all the tie-wraps and clean things up. I just did it again on "Joli Elle" last month. It's amazing how much easier it is to work in tight quarters where wiring and mechanical devices live together.
I call what you are doing with working up-side-down on the filter...boat yoga.

[CareKnot]

Originally Posted by Cadence

Sounds like a plan. Anything you can get at without being Houdini is a plus.

You have done this before!

[CareKnot]

I had a lot to do today. Finally got around to starting on the fuel system. The line from the fuel tank was just too short. But I got things roughed in.

Here are two photos. The first is where it was and the second is where I am mounting it in the front of the port side lazarette. Lots of boat yoga to get this far.

[Tayana42]

Don't you love boat yoga? It'll surely be better where you are moving it.

[CareKnot]

Originally Posted by Tayana42

Don't you love boat yoga? It'll surely be better where you are moving it.

No Doubt. There are removable plywood dividers that will give it protection, but I will still have to empty the lazarette because you have to get in it to access the filter.

I agree with Celestialsailor, that things will be better when I can clean up the hoses and wires and tie-wrap everything into place. However, that will have to wait for another time. This project is about getting moving again - reliably. I've spent way too many days tied to a dock, swinging on a hook or hard aground because of this fuel problem.

[CareKnot]

I have come to a conclusion. I think the fuel problem is from two different causes.

After days of operating flawlessly, the diesel didn't falter until I did the hobby horse routine over the Coast Guard Cutter wake. I think she may have sucked a bubble. That would explain a lot.

Today, when I was working on the fuel system, I had occasion to replace the homemade banjo bolt installed at Ross Marine. The difference between it and the official Yanmar replacement part is significant. Enough to make it suspect.

Now that Racor filter it's at the level of the bottom of the diesel tank. This insures that gravity will keep fuel coming to the filter and the electric pump. But just to be sure, there is lot of old rubber hose being replaced also.

[CareKnot]

Merry Christmas and Happy Hannukah (or any other holiday you might celebrate) to everybody at cruisers forum. I wish you all the very best.

This is a quiet holiday for me. I am still at Sail Harbor Marina in Savannah Georgia. I can't wait to get on the move again. I miss my family and friends. But there is nothing like a good adventure. Fairwinds and following Seas to you all.

[darylat8750]

Getting the correct banjo fitting bolt with fresh crush washers is a good idea. I have missed removing a rubber o ring when changing my Racor and it took a while to find that 2 o rings let just enough air in to cause the type of symptoms you mention. Good luck and Merry Christmas.

[CareKnot]

Originally Posted by darylat8750

Getting the correct banjo fitting bolt with fresh crush washers is a good idea. I have missed removing a rubber o ring when changing my Racor and it took a while to find that 2 o rings let just enough air in to cause the type of symptoms you mention. Good luck and Merry Christmas.

Hi darylat8750,

Thank you for the well wishes and Holiday greetings. I'm a big believer in getting the right parts. It does make a difference. But in this case, there was nothing that I could do to prepare me for this result.

I never would have guessed the cause of my fuel problems in a thousand years. On these boats, the top panel to the diesel tank has all the fittings installed before it is welded to the rest of the tank. The tank is then installed and glassed to the hull. I know this because there is a strainer permanently attached to the tube that will not fit through the fitting that is welded to the tank.

I probably have a hundred hours working on this fuel system. My friend William, the Marine engineer, has another 12 hours invested. We discovered what the problem was quite by accident.

We had both blown through the fuel line and heard bubbles in the tank. But it wasn't until William tried to siphon diesel from the tank that he found he could not draw the diesel out by suction.

The next day, we disassembled the fittings and found a small wad of paper in the first 90 degree fitting. It was acting as a one way check valve.

The only conclusion that I could draw was that the paper predated the assembly of the tank. It had to have been inside the strainer because it could not have been drawn through the strainer, nor could it have traveled backward through the fuel system. I presume it was probably an old parts sticker that had been stuck inside the system since at least 1978.

In any case, problem is solved. The ghost of sailboats past has been exorcised from the machine. The engine is now primed and runs well.

There is new fuel line throughout. The Racor fuel filter and the new fuel pump are in a more accessible location. We also took the time to install the fittings for a fuel polishing system. I already have another new fuel pump ready to install and all I lack is another Racor fuel filter. All is well.

[CareKnot]

I left Sail Harbor Marina on a beautiful, blustery day. Cirrus clouds and lower cumulus moved at slightly different angles across the sky, running like rivlets in the sand behind a receding wave. Change was coming, but I already knew that. There would be a few days of clear skies before the next cold wave made its way down the Rockies and across the Eastern Plains. On shore it was shirtsleeve weather, but at the helm, 10 - 20 knots of wind across the cool water whispered a different tale. I put on my fleece.

I wanted to sail. but I needed to test the engine and all the work we had performed over the last week and a half. Motoring against the current and tide seemed like a good place to start. I made it without incident to the mooring field just off Isle of Hope Marina and there to catch my lines was another CF member, Delancey. It was good to finally meet him.

Delancey, invited me to a beer and bratwurst impromptu feast. We were supposed to meet around sunset, but my fatigue got the best of me. I didn't realize how tired I was. I awoke a day and a half later and texted my apologies. But Delancey, like all of us, was busy working on his boat and behind schedule.

I consider this a missed opportunity. Delancey seem like a really nice guy and I would have enjoyed spending some time there. But I spent New Year's Eve resting and early New Year's Day I cast off with feelings of confidence and optimism. The next day all that would change. January 2nd presented a whole new list of challenges. I will fill in the details later.

As of today, I'm in the anchorage across the channel from downtown Fernandina, Florida. There are continuous lines of thunderstorms marching undeterred across the heavens like Sherman's troops across the South. I do not relish the thought of rowing a 10-foot inflatable dinghy across the current to the docks over a quarter of a mile away. But I need a few provisions, gasoline for my generator, propane for my stove and a set of open-end metric wrenches to bleed the lines from my injector pump.

At my age, this single-handing get tuff. Any volunteers to crew?

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by CareKnot

I left Sail Harbor Marina on a beautiful, blustery day. Cirrus clouds and lower cumulus moved at slightly different angles across the sky, running like rivlets in the sand behind a receding wave. Change was coming, but I already knew that. There would be a few days of clear skies before the next cold wave made its way down the Rockies and across the Eastern Plains. On shore it was shirtsleeve weather, but at the helm, 10 - 20 knots of wind across the cool water whispered a different tale. I put on my fleece.

I wanted to sail. but I needed to test the engine and all the work we had performed over the last week and a half. Motoring against the current and tide seemed like a good place to start. I made it without incident to the mooring field just off Isle of Hope Marina and there to catch my lines was another CF member, Delancey. It was good to finally meet him.

Delancey, invited me to a beer and bratwurst impromptu feast. We were supposed to meet around sunset, but my fatigue got the best of me. I didn't realize how tired I was. I awoke a day and a half later and texted my apologies. But Delancey, like all of us, was busy working on his boat and behind schedule.

I consider this a missed opportunity. Delancey seem like a really nice guy and I would have enjoyed spending some time there. But I spent New Year's Eve resting and early New Year's Day I cast off with feelings of confidence and optimism. The next day all that would change. January 2nd presented a whole new list of challenges. I will fill in the details later.

As of today, I'm in the anchorage across the channel from downtown Fernandina, Florida. There are continuous lines of thunderstorms marching undeterred across the heavens like Sherman's troops across the South. I do not relish the thought of rowing a 10-foot inflatable dinghy across the current to the docks over a quarter of a mile away. But I need a few provisions, gasoline for my generator, propane for my stove and a set of open-end metric wrenches to bleed the lines from my injector pump.

At my age, this single-handing get tuff. Any volunteers to crew?

I would if I could. Did you name her Miss Assisted Living?

[CareKnot]

Originally Posted by Cadence

I would if I could. Did you name her Miss Assisted Living?

Why, did you need some assistance?

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by CareKnot

Why, did you need some assistance?

The body has fallen apart. Mainly the spine & being arthritic and the lungs. Two are genetic the other is stupidity. Such is life. Keep the progress coming.

[CareKnot]

I left the boat this morning at high tide. The dinghy ride is a long one, and no fun against the current. Came back on the low tide at 1 p.m. Found most of what I needed in town.

I now have a second pickup tube in the diesel tank. I also have a battery switch going south.

It is time to eat something and finish hanging my socks out to dry. I will do the battery switch first. It it should be done while there is still light.

Next I'll start on routing the second fuel line from the second pickup tube to the second input on the Racor fuel filter. Since I have room on the top of the tank, I am removing the 90-degree fittings. I've had enough of these floating paper check valve problems.

I got 2 in line shut off valves, but I think I'll leave them both open. If one line clogs the other will still work. I'll let you know how it goes...