Boat related RU-vid channel based in Sydney, Australia. We publish videos relating to stories as a Marine Surveyor & Engineer, thoughts on various issues and advice. www.BoatBuy.com.au
What is "full throttle"? High idle - maximum governed no-load speed? Or full load speed? The loaded speed and condition for "max power"? Or peak torque overload i.e. the engine "lugged"? "Recreational" engine "ratings" are useless for all but "throwaway" engines like "marine" Cummins 6BTAs.
Boat salesmen hate inspections because what is found out that the owner didn’t disclose and the owner always says they didn’t know Everyone’s a lier when it comes to buying a boat
Only thing I’m adding is I’d never own any Volvo I/O. Something goes wrong, you will be reaching so deep in your pockets for money you’ll be touching your toes!
Great video 👍 How to check the turbo, Can that only be done when the boat are sailing. Was trying at the jetty speeding the motor VP slightly up but could not hear the turbo spinn.
Few different ways to check the turbo. Firstly, listen for any strange noises when it "spools" up. If the turbo doesn't spool up, you'll likely see smoke coming from the engine and it won't perform properly. Lastly, you can check the turbo when the engine is turned off and cold by removing the air filter and feeling for wear. If it's seized and you can't spin it, it's likely got some salt-water inside!
I own a 2007 340 DA Sundancer. Both drives had to be rebuilt at around 200 hrs service. Not sure what exactly we did wrong, other than not pulling the drives every year and lubing the shafts. Maybe lack of use? During Covid, and with an empty Lake Powell, it didn't get used for 2 years. But, we usually only use the boat once a season for a couple weeks.
Hard to say. I would have asked the mechanic when they had it apart if they had any insight. 200 hours seems low. There is also possibility of impact damage at some point? Was oil regularly changed?
@@BoatBuy We were having problems shifting into reverse the last few years that we actually got to use the boat. That's why we had the drives pulled. It was due for gear oil change and prop shaft lube, anyway. Then they found water in the other drive!! Once it was all apart, they wanted over $30K to put it back together! We found another shop that did the work about 1/3 of that. So, we might have gotten scammed. We've owned the boat since 2010 and never had any prop strikes that I know of. I personally changed the drive oil in 2016, but hadn't since because we hardly used it (Covid and low Lake Powell levels). I've learned my lesson on that! Do it every year! My conclusion is the dry climate and storage off the water (but indoors) may have dried all the seals. Is that possible?
In some cases when you go lower than 300hp they don't have things like turbos, after coolers etc which can all have an impact on reliability and life cycle.
So my boat originally had the new style Dry Joint Exhaust manifolds. But they had cracked and I bought a pair of the older style exhaust manifolds. Does anybody know if the old style manifold will still work?
Old style (wet joint) will definitely work, but I would highly recommend staying with dry joint. If the wet joint fails it's more likely to damage your engine internally.
Generally you would install a Bravo X drive sterndrive behind a diesel which has a cone clutch as opposed to a dog clutch. This means no need for an interruptor switch.
Question: do you know the service life of those giant 16 cylinder mtu marine deisels that they fit into custom sportfishing yachts? Just curious as to when it makes sense to replace them as opposed to refit them. Thanks.
Service life for example on a MTU 16V2000 is 6000 hours before a major strip down and rebuild. At the higher horsepower ratings they’re only supposed to be operated at <60% load on average. You can look up online each models “rating” and service manual and it will give you information on how it should be operated, and when major overhauls are recommended. It’s usually directly correlated with the size of the engine displacement relative to the horsepower it’s putting out. Hope this helps!
Enjoying these videos. So is 1500 hours on a Volvo penta KAD 300A getting up there? Still goes well. Uses about 0.6 l of oil per 600 litres of fuel. Did the saltwater service and replaced turbo last year.
1500 is reasonable, but like you mentioned keeping the temperature at the right place with regular salt-water services will definitely prolong the life!
Good video Aaron. I recently took my boat from Brisbane Water to Lake Macquarie & I was a bit apprehensive but an experienced neighbour came with me. He ran me through same things in your video
I don’t work on salt water boats so I’ve not seen a few of the problems you spoke about. IAC is a problem I’ve seen frequently enough I try to get my customers to keep a spare on board th each them symptom and how to change them. One thing I see frequently on Mercs is the slave solenoid going bad. Easy fix and at least you can start the engine if you know how to jump across the top. That to I recommend my frequent boating customers to keep a spare and many know how to change and I’ve showed them how to jump across for emergency start if they get stranded. One other problem I’ve encountered is new parts that are defective. New parts bad I’ve seen is distributor caps on Mercs with flat caps. The slave solenoid. Went through new ones the other day before I found a good one.
Hi I just subscribed thank you What is the test you do on metal pontoon boats? How do you figure how the pontoons are good and what is the thickness of the shell have to be to pass? Thanks Angei
Thanks Angie. There are different requirements for different sections of the boat. I’d suggest consulting with a naval architect for these, we predominantly do fibreglass powerboats.
Good list. I might add the beltdriven seawater-fuelpump system on older motors is a terrible design, and I have three fail from leaks, and one seize on me while under way leaving me dead in the water. Not fun. They need to have the tiny oil sump that the fuel pump arm and cam run in properly serviced on a regular basis, which is NOT indicated in the manual. There are companies makine OEM and upgraded performance replacement seawater-fuel pumps, but they are costly. I have had two big block and one small block v8's and all of them had bad grounding connections to the engine block which make for fun times debugging wonky electrics and no-starts. On earlier engines, the starter +ve terminal is also used as a junction post for multiple wires, and its very hard to access under the motor and also tends to work loose causing intermittent electrical glitches. Also, need to inspect bellows often, including the tiny one on the shift lineage shaft, or they will sink your boat at the dock. Speaking of which, you can actually damage the linkage and transmission if the gear selector is engaged when the motor is not running. THE worst are those blue plastic wing screws that plug the drains for the coolant pump and manifolds. They are hollow plastic, and our tech once broken one off in the bottom of the manifold with his boot, which caused a syphon and filled the boat with water, almost sank at the dock. They can be replaced with stainless steel cap bolts with "O" rings. I could go on all day...
Great video and explanation. I have Mercruiser Alpha one gen1. Having trouble, on the unit or online finding information to locate the stern drive serial number. Must be hidden, but where? There is a tag for the engine but no sterndrive. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks Don. Is the sterndrive antifouled? They have a serial number engraved on the port side. if you look at a brand new Alpha sterndrive, the serial is engraved just above the "Mercruiser" sticker on port side. If it's antifouled can be difficult to find, but you need to lightly sand that area and it will hopefully eventually show.
Thanks Aaron, very informative. Another item to be aware of if buying an importing a boat from overseas is the buyer is deemed the importer of the vessel and takes on all liabilities in respect of importing that vessel for the life of the vessel in Australia. This has implications for servicing as many authorised service providers are not generally allowed to provide service or support for grey imports and if they do, will likely charge more. If there are recalls or warranty advisories, these can be difficult to attend to unless dealing outside the dealer networks which has other risks. Part of the importation and commissioning of boats is the formal handover of the vessels warranty obligations, which the importer would do. If the boat is out of warranty, it may be difficult to get factory certified trades to work on the vessel. Also, a lot of vessels tend to come up from the U.S. on the international market, predictably after there's been hurricanes. These are often storm damaged boats that have been repaired to sell to the unaware. Some boats also arrive damaged in transit. A good importer will put the vessel in a steel cage and shrink-wrap for protection, and have it fumigated to dispose of any insects and other nasties before it arrives. Boats from Europe have to be shrink-wrapped and treated for stink bug before they can be brought in, and there only a handful of places in Europe that will do that work, normally completely booked up for the factory boats. A lot to take on when importing a boat!!
Hi, i have this timber rot problem you speak of in my transom. I drilled multiple holes through so I could dry it out properly and used Wetrot to firm up the wood fibers. Its obviously not strong enough to put back in the water, so i have this idea to fix it that will save me replacing the thing ( which i wont do because its not worth it) Idea: to inject resin into the transom to fill all internal voids and bond all timber fiber so unit is hole again. Plan on using west systems 105 or 650 (leaning more towards 650) anyone have any thoughts, info, advice recommendations? thanks
Hey Jobs, Unfortunately it's all just going to be a band-aid fix. The resin won't bond correctly to the wet and rotten timber, and it will just have sections of dried up resin internally. Sorry to hear the bad news :-(
Ok Cobber. I subscribed some time ok of course because of the immense quality of the information. Now I have been looking at boats 30 years old and now I am as worried as buggery. I am retired at 61 because of injury and I can not afford a new 40 plus foot trawler style boat as a live aboard so I am thinking my dreams are dashed. I really appreciate your video's so much though and for that...THANK YOU
my motor goes good for 20 minutes then the primer is flat, after keep squeezing the primer for 5 minutes then the motor starts but only runs max 5 knots all the way back to the boat ramp if i try go faster it stalls, any ideas because it does go fast for the first 20 minutes every time I go out then primer flat again? I dont think its a blockage as it runs perfect for first 20 min each time. Please help...
If the primer goes soft it is likely a fuel issue. Have a look at the breather, try a different fuel line and primer, and check all the connections from the tank to the motor? Are there any fuel filters with glass bowls, and if so, what do they look like when the motor stalls?
@@BoatBuy Hi, I've put new fuel lines, primer and breather hose and it still does it, I've been told to go out running off a portable fuel tank just so i can find out if its the motor or underfloor fuel tank, I will give that a go first. I will check the glass bowl, thanks for your help, Cheers.
