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Hot diesel
Grisha and I had only just relaxed after berthing in Kiel when he said he could smell hot diesel quite strongly. We lifted the cabin sole boards and started looking for the leak. We found oily trails running down from the sealing washers on the fuel connections at the injectors. We agreed to take a closer look a couple of days later.
On Sunday, I had a proper workshop on the fuel system. On my own engine, which made it all the more useful. We started it, varied the revs and stopped it using the levers on the engine itself, without touching the remote controls. We also tensioned the belts by moving the alternator and the raw-water pump.
Diesel was seeping from the connections at the second and third injectors. The copper sealing washers under the bolts need replacing. We found another leak at the fuel-filter outlet. Tightening the hose clip helped, but both the clip and the hose would be better replaced.
A little water was leaking from an exhaust-pipe joint. The hose clip was too large; it needs a smaller one. Gases were also escaping from under the crankcase breather cover, so that gasket needs replacing. While I’m at it, the throttle and gear control could do with a little lubrication.
The oil level was exactly halfway between the two marks on the dipstick. Next season, I’ll keep a close eye on how it changes from one engine run to the next.
I also learnt that my 3GM30 has indirect cooling. Coolant circulates through the engine, while seawater cools it through a heat exchanger.
It was time very well spent. An unfamiliar engine suddenly made much more sense to me. I’m very grateful for the help.
Afterwards, we packed up about ten bags of assorted gear that had come with the boat and took them back to my place.
Two end stops at €20 each
There was one more problem to sort out. Before the final passage, I had wanted to try Aurora with both mainsail and genoa set at last. But one of the end stops on the mainsheet traveller was broken, so I had to abandon that idea. The traveller lets you move the mainsheet’s attachment point across the boat.
At home, I measured the track, end stop and car with a vernier caliper. It’s an old Ronstan RF1293 system with an I-section track about 27 mm wide. It looks exceptionally solid; I hadn’t seen anything like it in the shops. None of the modern alternatives I found matched the dimensions. I was already considering replacing the car just so I could make some use of the mainsail next season.
Then, quite by chance, an Austrian distributor turned out to have three Ronstan RF1287 end stops left for my system. They put me in touch with a German shop that deals with them. Two new end stops are now sitting on my desk.
The pleasant part: just €20 apiece. And, to look at them, about three times as much metal as in their modern equivalents.
