40 sedan bridge forum

So I have what is likely a simple question. I boat in the Chesapeake Bay. And water temperatures in the Bay are 85 to 87 degrees right now. On my dash, my port engine usually runs reliably at 170°. My starboard engine runs just a shade higher (likely dash error - the engine gauges show fine). I am seeing a difference in what the dash gauges are showing now versus where they normally sit. That is, I am seeing higher temps – especially on the starboard engine.

What I'm seeing is that both engines are running a little warmer. The port engine is at about 175 - which I do think could be attributed to the water temps. But the starboard engine is showing close to 180. That is a little higher than normal, even for warm bay water.

I have cleaned both strainers and neither had anything significant. I also checked the impeller on the starboard side. That's the easy one! It was in good shape with all its' fins. I have good water flow out of the exhaust. I did notice my SB coolant overflow container was very low (cold engine) so I filled it up to a little over half. The port side overflow was a little over half full (also on a cold engine). I haven't had a chance to take her out of the slip and run her up to temperature since adding coolant to the Sb side.

My coolant system was flushed, and the coolant replaced, about a month ago. Since then I took a nice voyage where we put about 20 hours on the engines in calm and snotty conditions so the engines got a workout. I didn't notice any temperature issues. Then I didn't use the boat for about three weeks. I'm wondering if this is a factor?

The starboard engine temperature drops from 180 to about 160 when I come off plane into no wake zones(idle speed) It elevates again once I get back up on plane. Another thing I noticed was that my idle speed was not getting me six knots. It usually does. A lot of things can cause that (wind, tide, flow, etc.) and one of those could be a dirty bottom. The boat did feel a little sluggish this weekend. So I'm wondering if that three weeks of non use may have resulted in marine growth. My bottom paint is in good shape, but this is the time of year where that's crap grows fast! So I have a short haul scheduled this week to clean the bottom and the running gear just to make sure that's not overloading the engines.

Once the short haul is done, I think I will have ruled out the easy stuff. Any other ideas? One other thing I am wondering is if my SB thermostat might be on the way out? If it's not opening fully it could be restricting coolant flow. This is my fifth season owning the boat and I have never replaced the thermostats.

I realize I have said a lot. But any other ideas would be appreciated.
 
Could be the bottom growth from sitting 3 weeks...A lot of salt boats have a diver clean their bottoms once a month. I get slime in warm fresh water if it sits for a couple of weeks but a 15-20 minute run up on plane cleans it off. Your brackish water is probably somewhere in between.
You have the short haul scheduled so see what's up after that. Next thing I would go with would be a barnacle buster flush of the raw water sides. The other thing to remember is that the 160* thermostats begin to open at that temperature. They are not fully open until 180*
 
There’s two thermostat types used. One is 190 the other about 177 . Sounds like you have the latter. If the temp alarms work and they are not tripping that’s good news ? Egt can be high with engines still ok . I bought egt sensors recently as it’s recommended somewhere , maybe on this thread , will install soon , any steam from exhaust underway at speed ? Are intakes clear under hull
 
Steve S said:
The torque on the 3116's in my 400DB push a "massive amount of water" (as commented by my dock neighbor with 7.4 Mercs in a 400DB), which means you pretty much get instantaneous response as Steve mentioned above. I have not felt the need for a bow thruster either.
Click to expand...
That’s true I love the thrust , just need to hone my technique as said for those situations where the wind is blowing me off the jetty
 
scooper321 said:
At my fuel dock, I often have to dock with the wind blowing onto the dock. I usually just come parallel to the dock and let the wind blow me onto it. I use the engines to pivot to keep me from slamming against the bulkhead, if needed. But rarely is the wind that strong anyway. In a severely strong wind, what might do is come perpendicular to the dock, secure a line and then pivot off of that, using the engines to control the speed of the pivot. I have not had to use this approach, however.
Click to expand...
It’s more wind blowing me off the dock that gets me. Funnily enough my 18yo son is often better than i as he is more gung Ho , the momentum into the wind is essential , I tend to chicken out and get stranded off the dock by a metre or so with the wind pushing me further off . He just uses his Xbox skills and leaves me to handle the mooring lines . I’ve seen others use the lever against a single mooring line trick, very effective , I must practice that . Twin engines work well with that method
 
Pgeee said:
There’s two thermostat types used. One is 190 the other about 177 . Sounds like you have the latter. If the temp alarms work and they are not tripping that’s good news ? Egt can be high with engines still ok . I bought egt sensors recently as it’s recommended somewhere , maybe on this thread , will install soon , any steam from exhaust underway at speed ? Are intakes clear under hull
Click to expand...

I believe I do have the 170 thermostats, yes. And my other alarms work, so I'm hoping the engine ones do! Fortunately, I haven't had to test them yet.

I don't have any steam or other visible exhaust. As for my intakes, those will be cleaned out in my short haul tomorrow. Visually, it appears that I have good water flow, though.
 
Pgeee said:
It’s more wind blowing me off the dock that gets me. Funnily enough my 18yo son is often better than i as he is more gung Ho , the momentum into the wind is essential , I tend to chicken out and get stranded off the dock by a metre or so with the wind pushing me further off . He just uses his Xbox skills and leaves me to handle the mooring lines . I’ve seen others use the lever against a single mooring line trick, very effective , I must practice that . Twin engines work well with that method
Click to expand...

Wind off the dock is easier as you're more in control. You've described the strategies well. I go as directly into the wind as I can, secure a bow line, and pivot in. It helps to have someone on the dock to help with that bow line! Sometimes the overhang of the bow can be a problem as it bumps into fuel pumps, signs, etc., on the dock. In that case securing a spring line to pivot off works, too.
 
Due to a bad relay I had an inoperative bow thruster all last season and part of this season. Did not miss it. The diesel engine torque makes handling easy. However it is a nice help and would look for it when buying a new boat but not sure I would add it to one that did not already have it. It did allow me to confidently berth it with one engine out this past week. I try to never use it as good practice but sometimes get lazy and might use it, mostly after in dock with lines secured to reach the far piling from the floating dock on the bow.
 
scooper321 said:
I believe I do have the 170 thermostats, yes. And my other alarms work, so I'm hoping the engine ones do! Fortunately, I haven't had to test them yet.

I don't have any steam or other visible exhaust. As for my intakes, those will be cleaned out in my short haul tomorrow. Visually, it appears that I have good water flow, though.
Click to expand...
If the issue persists it might be worth getting a handheld temp sensor and pointing at various parts of one engine then the other, e.g manifold. To see if there is a vast disparity, plus it removes any concern around gauges
 
After having a small amount of water in the center dry bilge since I bought the boat, the problem got worse, which is good thing since I located the problem. It was one of the "T" fittings which the prior owner tried to correct with marine tex. After determining the fitting size, which is 22mm x 15mm x 22mm I needed to find where to buy the replacement. Most plumbing stores only sell standard sizes. I found freshwatersystems.com had all fittings needed. I bought the John Guest brand and the fitting worked perfect. Freshwatersystems also has Aqua Lock but the John Guest were less expensive and have a twist lock which I like better.
 
scooper321 said:
I believe I do have the 170 thermostats,
Click to expand...

A 2003 is going to be an 8089 CPL so 160* thermostats.
pgeee has cats.

0EF020E5-EC6E-4881-B10B-438971085246.jpeg
 
Legal-Holiday said:
After having a small amount of water in the center dry bilge since I bought the boat, the problem got worse, which is good thing since I located the problem. It was one of the "T" fittings which the prior owner tried to correct with marine tex. After determining the fitting size, which is 22mm x 15mm x 22mm I needed to find where to buy the replacement. Most plumbing stores only sell standard sizes. I found freshwatersystems.com had all fittings needed. I bought the John Guest brand and the fitting worked perfect. Freshwatersystems also has Aqua Lock but the John Guest were less expensive and have a twist lock which I like better.
Click to expand...
I found from advice here that sharkbite fittings work on at least one of those gauges. I found the t fitting you purchased on their site. It looks identical to the old fittings, thanks, I now have another solution
 
Pgeee said:
I found from advice here that sharkbite fittings work on at least one of those gauges. I found the t fitting you purchased on their site. It looks identical to the old fittings, thanks, I now have another solution
Click to expand...
Glad the information helped always good to have options
 
Quick update on the warm engine temps. As mentioned, this week I added coolant to the overflow (about half full). The on Thursday I got a short haul/bottom wash. No barnacles but a lot of slime build up. (Note to self: use the boat more!). Got it all washed off. Don't know that the scuppers were backed up at all but they were washed too. Friday took a run to Chestertown (2 he ride). Water temps still mid 80s. SB engine sat right at about 165 the whole way. Exactly as it should. So I don't know if it was the additional coolant or the wash, but problem solved. My hunch is the wash did it. The port is running cooler too. So all seems well!
 
Switching topics. Has anyone replaced the telephone outlet port side of the salon with another AC outlet? Looks like it should be an identical outlet to the one right above it. Any recommendations on where to get a matching one? I don't want to take on a project of replacing all the outlets in the boat so I'd like a match. The admiral would not like a mismatch.
15CDA375-2F0B-4C1F-A8A8-85BC8C36D664.jpeg
 
scooper321 said:
Switching topics. Has anyone replaced the telephone outlet port side of the salon with another AC outlet? Looks like it should be an identical outlet to the one right above it. Any recommendations on where to get a matching one? I don't want to take on a project of replacing all the outlets in the boat so I'd like a match. The admiral would not like a mismatch.
View attachment 148648
Click to expand...
I did. I replaced the single phone outlet with two identical to the outlet above it. I stole the two matching modules from the outlet behind the guest stateroom rolling door. I then just put a regular home outlet and cover where that outlet is. I didn’t care about having a matching set in the door. I got power to the new outlet from the existing one above it.
 
ZZ13 said:
I did. I replaced the single phone outlet with two identical to the outlet above it. I stole the two matching modules from the outlet behind the guest stateroom rolling door. I then just put a regular home outlet and cover where that outlet is. I didn’t care about having a matching set in the door. I got power to the new outlet from the existing one above it.
Click to expand...

that's a good idea. I didn't think about that outlet in there. Thanks! And yes, I was going to tap into that outlet above.
 
scooper321 said:
that's a good idea. I didn't think about that outlet in there. Thanks! And yes, I was going to tap into that outlet above.
Click to expand...
I’ve also stolen from under the two medicine cabinets to add new outlets to starboard side of master stateroom and next to vacuum outlet at dinette.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Forum statistics

Threads
113,196
Messages
1,428,295
Members
61,103
Latest member
Navymustng
Back
Top