Running dry for hours. .. what damage could have been done?

[Ostinato]

Once you've past the engine problem, the smoke issue will become paramount. There is a chemical made to room smoke odor. It is used by hotels to clean rooms that smokers have used and can be found at cleaning supply distributors. Also there are paints that cover fire/smoke damaged - one that come to mind is Stix. It is a base paint. I would suggest you put a claim in for this damage and work too. It is a major job and can take many hours of work. Smoke is insidious and gets everywhere. Even behind hinges and the like. Good luck.

[Captsteve53]

A few years we had a portable boat stacked in a 40 ft container(actually two), i got a call to come down to the storage yard as the top container (three high) was smoking (had been apparently for some hours),

It took us 5 hours to get a crane and lift down then another two to unpack the container (as it was the bottom boat), yep the Volvo 6 CYL TAMD 41 PA had started it self and was still idling away merrily after some approx 8 hours min, our shipment team had forgotten to turn off the fuel/drain tanks and turn off the battery switch prior to shipping (All Mandatory), Just been delivered that day from the ship!!

Wiring had shorted and we shut the engine down by starving the air supply, the engine was stripped /cleaned and re installed with no change required of any parts/only normal rebuild gaskets,

So even in a container at idle not enough heat was developed to cause any damage-the engine seemed to be at normal temp as only minimal fresh water loss was noted,

Cheers Steve

[Rachinwokingham]

Many thanks to Sailing Fan for this really comprehensive list. It took me a while to thank you because I was working backwards with my correspondance! We have used your entry to compile a check list.

[SecondBase]

Originally Posted by Rachinwokingham

Many thanks to Sailing Fan for this really comprehensive list. It took me a while to thank you because I was working backwards with my correspondance! We have used your entry to compile a check list.

Would you mind posting the checklist at some point? Might create a nice asset for the forum and future viewers.

[redbeard1]

Hello Steve,

Regards the boat in the container, was the starter burned out?

[Rachinwokingham]

Our checklist is actually a list of questions for the engineers who were last on board before the incident and first on board after it. As such it is particular to our situation (for example the engineer has already rebuilt the water pump, and we want to know non technical things too, such as whether the main engineer was on board at all times or whether he delegated a lot of the work to his assistant, as we suspect).
I guess that if ever this happened to us again without other people having been on board, we would have a checklist that goes :

Use fuel shut off switch to disconnect engine (protect your hands. .. the engineer said he burned his hands when he did this)
Once you are sure there is no fire, ventilate.
Disconnect batteries if not already switched off!
Next day. ..

Check coolant level, inspect for signs of heat damage (has the paint work on the engine exterior blistered?)
Inspect the oil for any signs of impurities.
If any smoke has resulted from burning wire casings, wipe down boat surfaces as soon as possible.
Check the electrics and call a good electrician ASAP!
Check the batteries for charge and water levels (if Led acid) and inspect the starter motor for signs of overheating (in our case this was obvious).
Check impeller and water pump. Double check the sea water inlet is sound and operational.
Look at muffler and check exhaust hoses.
Call an engineer before running the engine again if unsure.
Make an offering to the God of diesel engines in the nearest bar at the earliest sensible opportunity.

[JPA Cate]

Originally Posted by SecondBase

Would you mind posting the checklist at some point? Might create a nice asset for the forum and future viewers.

Second Base, it was on the first page of this thread. You could select it and Print Screen it, or whatever.

Ann

[Kenomac]

You need to learn how to do all this stuff on your own. Make the check list for yourselves, forget about depending on the "pros," look where it got you this time... or plan on spending a boatload of money for nothing in return.

I can pretty much guarranty you that the person you may have hired to "take care of your boat while you were away" washed it off only one time the day before you arrived.

[GILow]

Originally Posted by SailingFan

You guys are making me decide to make a sign up for my little Yanmar! I am going to have to take a look for the best place to install a kill switch for the starter on it now.

You could do what I do. I have a master switch for the engine battery bank (24 volts) with the key switch next to the companionway. As I leave the boat, I take the key out of the switch (thus breaking continuity on the engine battery circuit) and hang it on a little board with hooks, along with the key to the house battery bank and the flags for the LPG and raw water seacock. This board is right next to the engine control panel, just inside the companionway.

At this point I have a perfect visual summary of the state of all of the critical bits of the boat that might conspire to sink it, burn it to a cinder or blow it to smithereens. This sort of thinking is essential when you don't have comprehensive boat insurance, just third party.

Matt