Sail Life - Diesel tank in the engine compartment & ALMOST sounds insulation 

Anyone else have a chuckle when he says “a some what extensive refit”...understatement of the century!

When grinding a threaded bolt you can screw on a nut first down from where you will be grinding. Grind and then srew off the nut. This will help 'restore' the thread.

On your first recorded (and shared) visit to the US you introduced us to that amazing elderly couple with their boat (I forgot the type). You were amazed by the size of their engine room, which was super spacy... And now you consider putting sth in your engine room that would reduce you movement and accessibility (is there such a word?). Think about that when you run into engine trouble, it might happy in heavier seas, at least not marina conditions... To consider also would be ventilation, fire safety, sound proof, condensation, light (then you will need all three). Etc. I am sure you will go through all options. Curious how you decide. My girl's picture is still on the bulkhead. She is so proud of it. Best regards, fair winds.

Whenever cutting a threaded rod, it helps to run a nut or two below the cut. After cleaning the cut, just back the nuts out and your thread is like new.

I was ready to order a shirt and then I realized I’m watching this 2 years after you made it. Lol

If you divide the engine compartment you could leave the top quarter open and do a either slide up door or flip down door For access and viewing of the diesel tank. Love the videos! Cant wait for my stickers. The girlfriend cant seem to understand why I watch videos of some dude standing rust all day😂😂 I love it!

A tip for the next time you grind studs: put a nut on the stud before grinding. When you remove the nut, it will fix any burr. Also, I'm a fan of doubling up hose clamps - I noticed you have one per scupper behind the tank. Just something to consider. Beautiful tank!

Hi Mads, I have really enjoyed your entire series of videos. What great workmanship. Several comments: 1. The bevel head on the barrel nuts you used on the plastic tank sensor will crack/split the plastic eventually. Please remove them and place a washer under the head of the barrel nut so the plastic is compressed by a flat bearing surface. 2. Leave the engine room open for all of the following: more space to work, able to see and access the tank and it's hoses and fittings, engine room ventilation (my boat has an exhaust fan system that helps ventilate the engine space to keep temps down and the tank is not separated from the engine), lighting, less weight in the boat, etc...... 3. To dampen fuel tank reverberation adhere a piece of your sound dampening material to one outside face of the tank. 4. I second the idea of doing a burn test on your insulation material, or at least verifying its flammability rating specification. 5. You can't have enough light in the engine room, on the sides as well as the top! 6. Seal the large holes on the starboard side of you engine room, covering them up was the first non-spiffy thing I have ever seen you do. A tiny job compared to others you have tackled. I second the comment about fumes, fluids, smells entering the cabin via those holes. 7. Make a fuel tank dipstick and calibrate it when you fill the fuel tank the first time. You won't regret having a backup when the electrons fail to do their job. 8. The answer to condensation in the fuel tank is to keep it topped-up (completely full) at every opportunity. If there is minimal dead-space in the tank it will minimize condensation. You sir are an inspiration. G. Silver s/v Liahona Amel SM2000 lying Puerto Del Rey, Puerto Rico

The water impeller is worth checking and replacing while it is easy to get to

Re: lights in the engine compartment. Don't put in a central light because the engine will block everything, all you will see is the top of the engine and everything else will be dark. Use waterproof strip lighting in the compartment corners, that will highlight everything on top, sides and bottom.

That was a nice, elegant “save” for the issue with the too short studs on the quantity tube.

I say no on bulkhead. Access to rudder post, diesel tank and fittings, cockpit drain, auto pilot steering controller, and wheelhouse base far outweigh having separation in my opinion. Also remember the engine will help create shadows when installed, so plan to put lights in a place that allow them to cast light on the front, sides, and back of motor/ saildrive that will allow easy work/ inspection of frequent service areas. Also you can use the insulation around the diesel tank to help cut out noise and prevent gelling of fuel (not sure how cold it gets in northern lat)

Add the extra wall and soundproof. Cooling will not be effected in the slightest as all cooling is done by the water. If the water stops flowing, no amount of air will help.

Just watching all your old videos again. You've come a long way friend!

My son works for a Volvo dealer in Australia, he said to check the exhaust elbow as they have a tendency to rust out.

You may want to add a pickup tube for all the remaining ports as well. It didn't look like there was enough headroom to insert them when the tank was in place. I love it when you cuss in Danish. Thanks for your excellent videos

great video mads, your production standard never fail to amaze me!

Great video. Your attention to detail fascinates me. Keep warm this winter.

A little tip Mads ,when your cutting or grinding threads always run a nut down the thread beforehand and when you finish run it back off. This will pull the cut thread back off so it can be filed neatly and also save cross threading.

Hey Mads. Another great video. A nice trick for whenever you have to grind threats is to put a nut on beforehand and simply screw it off after grind. That will straighten the threats. Also try some disc brake cleaner on that adhesive .

You could always stick a wee camera in the tank compartment so you can look at her anytime. 😉

The electronic box is a week part of the penta engine it does not like vibrations.. it should be checked. Also before putting the boat in water check the cooling so it is not corroded away, perfect to do when looking up the gasket. I would go with the devided engine compartment! It is easier to noise insulate, gives you a great opportunity to install a firesaftey device and give you a smaller area to ventilate = better control..

Really good intro section on the video. Teaser and fun shots to catch the new viewers.

that barrel nut solution was fantastic

Great video Mads. Your partition in the engine bay is a great idea but make it removable for access. Remember hoses dry out and things happen and access to change and fix them is necessary so making it removable at least the top half would be a great option. Also your entire cooling of the Volvo should be gone over. The temp regulators, the heat exchanger and the associated hoses and of course the impeller housing.

I'm impressed with the barrell nut trick, great video. Thank You.

Your attention to detail far exceeds most DIY builders but the end results are always very impressive keep the great vids coming skipper

Have a great week Mads! Cheers from PEI Canada, Bryan.

Open engine compartment! Easier to inspect and future proof. Great work!

Mads, i was considering buying a boat and thanks to you documenting your ordeal I came to my senses. Thank you so much!

Hi Mads - love the new intro.👍 I am glad you built the tank like a tank.🦄 That was a good Magiver with the barrel bolts.👍 It was a shame the insulation was covered in adhesive and you were unable to progress as planned this weekend but at least you had some time to figure out what you could do with imagination and nitrile rubber.😂😂😂

10:27 "This does not have to be pretty" says the perfectionist 😉 I truly enjoy all the calculated detail put into EVERYTHING! It fills my OCD bucket ❤️

I would put up the plywood between the tank and engine, that way, you can put sound insulation on the plywood and it would help protect the tank from any fire from the engine if it went up

Just a quick tip: When you were working on the fuel level sensor and started grinding down the threaded studs if you put 2 nuts on the thread before you start grinding you can use the jammed nuts both as a height guide for cutting and when you go to take them off they will act like a die and clean up and recut any threads you mess up during the grinding. Love the videos, I won’t say I’m looking forward to the day it’s finished ;) But I’ll be cheering you on when you can move in.

HURRAY! Since I first saw the "Oh Glorious Sanding" design a year ago I have been waiting to get one. So happy you have them available I celebrated by getting a pretty dang spiffy "Pretty Dang Spiffy" shirt too :-D As I mentioned before, being a big believer in as much insulation as you can get into the engine compartment as possible I think the benefits of an insulated dividing wall behind the engine outweighs the drawback of hiding the most beautiful diesel tank in the world.

I reckon a removeable wall= easier access to sail drive and tinkering with tank + Deaden sound reverberations from engine into tank. great Vid!

as a old delivery crew member of sail only, the more insulation is better. the doldrums can be an awful long motor ride. Happy Trails

Since the engine compartment is noisy and hot, a panel with sound absorbing material separating the engine compartment from fuel tank and steering area would be good. This reduces the volume of the boat that become hot and inhibits sound traveling to other areas of boat . I did this and added blowers that delivers cool air and exhausts to outside so I can exhaust engine compartment while running or at rest. Very useful in tropics. Also suggest putting as much sound deadening as possible around all sides of engine including floor of engine room. You can buy special paint for floor or install sound deadening vinyl panels (research sound deadening or absorption). Just put aluminum foil tape over sticky areas, you won't notice them.

Nice save Mads!

Congrats with your spiffy dieseltank and engine compartment. Greetings,, Kitty.

I have started to realize why i love this channel, it's the complete Zen that you have to everything sir. You Always practice the" Zen of Spiffy" Just ordered some decals as well, hopefully the shop will include a hat? For us that are a little...on the large Mammal size, for which shirt's that have are favorite RU-vid star's channel can not fit into (or maybe we don't want to destroy are most favorite shirt) just a suggestion. Stay spiffy and sail on... always.

Great vid again. And good save on the tank sending unit. Thumbs up. As for the engine compartment, leave it open. Will be easier to vent the fumes from one chamber vs two. But either way, your boat. See you next week.

An easy tip for cutting threaded studs is to run a nut down on it first. Then after you cut it, remove the nut and it will clean the threads for you easy.

Adding the plywood between the tank and engine will make it easier to do the sound proofing, but I suggest installing the plywood in panels that are removable with the engine installed, so you could inspect the tank without to much work. Thanks for the information on your fuel sensor , I will likely use one. Dan

In past episodes, I noticed the touch up shown in this video’s time stamp 2:33, 3:02, and 3:10. I did not comment when I previously noticed the touch up. However this time, I must say thank you and express my appreciation. I had fretted and worried about it. The relief I feel is very wonderful. Now, if I can just get over those non-butyl taped bolts and non-counter sunk holes for the cabin portals. But, I am trying.

I like how Mads always says the refit is "somewhat extensive". Talk about understatement

Thank you this week's video Mads. You should be able to use an adhesive remover to remove the glue spots on the insulation. Check with your insulation supplier for recommendations. I think a removable panel would be the best way to go as mentioned below. That way you have a more manageable volume for temperature control and by being able to remove the panel you can have more work space when you need it. The tank looks fantastic and that was a great solution to the bolts being too short. Have a good week and let Ava know we are all thinking about her.

1:25 - "...built like a tank." Good one, Mads! ;) As for lighting the engine compartment, look at putting the lights on the walls on the compartment so the light will be shining where you will be looking and working. Try one forward and one aft of each access hatch. Then get a couple on the top of the compartment. It may seem like over kill but having a well lit area to work will be better than trying to get a flash light positioned just right.

The outside of the boat is looking so good! You need to make up a new companion way hatch to make everything look great.

Out of all the rework done on this boat, not filling two large holes in the engine room leading to the cabin seems like a mistake in terms of a fire break and mitigating the probability of engine fumes entering the cabin.

Hi Guy! I have learned a lot watching you, and will keep doing so. Just a little tid of a bit for you, when you cut a stud, bolt or screw, run a nut down it before you cut. After cleaning the threads a bit remove the nut and as it comes off it will straighten any errant threads and chase debris out. Cheers! love your work.

I would install a divider made of two segments for easy removal up and over, or down the sides of the engine during maintenance/repairs. The boosted sound insulation opportunity is not to be underestimated, as you could insulate both sides of the panels, for extra spiffiness, and further reduced engine noise. The caveat however is that you will need ensure that you are not restricting your air flow into the engine room, as your engine needs litres of air per minute in order to run properly, and you don’t want it stealing all the nice Reflex warmed air from the main accommodation areas of your vessel. Install two wide pieces of water exhaust hose at the top of your engine bay, leading back into your deck lockers would be my recommendation. You can put two opposing bends of 45 degrees in each to act as noise reducing almost baffles, and stretch some high dernier nylon tights over the intake ends to act as first stage air filters. All the best from the UK.

You're placing lights above the engine. I'd want a couple down low one on each side to light the lower areas of the engine.

Thank you for another fantastic video Mads :)

Id add a divider youll get way better sound insulation,just make it with easy to remove clips.

Yay :) Another Sunday, another new Sail Life video :)

Thanks Mads agree a bulkhead between the engine and tank would be good. Would also considered a fire extinguisher system, i have a hole under my companionway stairs to skwirt a fire extinguisher in worst case. Sure you could design something better when your are this stage 😁

You can fix the shiny side of the insulation with some reflective tape, not the aluminium kind, but rather just the cheap one, thats like regular sellotape with metallic coating. You would be surprised how well that works, its seamless, unless you run your hand over it to feel the tiny difference in thickness.Not only could you tape directly over the residue, but you can fix tears too.

Cooking spray, you know, that vegetable oil in a can? It removes adhesive residue with a little rubbing, and it is mild on the hands, nose, and most materials.

Can't remember how many hours your engine has gone but a good tip is to get your diesel nozzels checked by a Bosch diesel center (Auto-G), also check the valve clearance and heat exchanger (lay in vinegear over night) and also check the exhaust elbow for water flow, it is normal you get a lot of carbon and water deposit buildup in the elbow, so a good idea to check it.

Hi Mads. I noticed that you don't use tefgel on your stainless steel nuts and bolts. We put it on all nuts and bolts. Also good to see that you are using loc tight on the plumbing fittings. All it takes one bolt to gall. Great video as always.

Hi Mads. I would like to offer some advice I got a Volvo penta D1-30 and uses the same design of heat exchanger than yours. Please note that when servicing the heat exchanger you have to remove the exhaust as well. The carbon build up chokes the engine and clogs the very narrow pipe that connects to the heat exchanger. The previous owners of my vessel never cleaned the heat exchanger so it clogged with salt but also noticed by accident the carbon buildup was the real responsible of engine over heating. That also created back pressure and reduces the power of the engine. Make sure the new space is accessible and you blast clean the exhaust elbow with the raw water outlet every year. I will have to buy a new elbow tomorrow probably $400 or more. Add a couple of exhaust gaskets to your spares they get damaged every time. By the way the exhaust is cast iron if you want to scrub the thing clean with a screw driver it will break like a cookie on you. If you water blast it every year or too will do. Quite a complicated piece. And no safe proof design. The manual does not mention any of this. But it does say to replace those orings every time. Good luck

You forgot to show us how you stuck the rubber to the base but you made up for it with your barrel nuts mod lol. Awesome video!!!!

"Always A Silver Lining"... just not quite in the engine compartment! My day is complete now I have seen Sail Life!

Great vid Mads. To sheet or not to sheet? A removable wall section aft of the engine makes sense. Don’t know how fiddle that would be though. On lights: two high and two low. As much light as possible.

A little trick when shortening threaded rod, put a nut on the rod you can remove when done cutting, it'll fix the damaged threads

Hey, dont get cazy over a little adhesive on insulation. Just clean with brake cleaner or thinner or put some alu tape over it. Its a machine room, not your bedroom. The lights, use all three , one in middle in back of engine and one on each side of engine.

Huh, neat belt sander solution. Thanks!

With regard to lighting: Consider lights on the walls. I once drove past a farm tractor maintenance barn here in north central Illinois at night and the walls were well equipped with lighting pointing at the sides of a tractor. It certainly eliminated shadows from above. (One thing to consider is whether the lights will point right back in your eyes though.)

Light is important. Going off of your idea to split the engine compartment. Place one light on the upper center back panel with some disconnects on the wiring. Then one on either side of the engine towards the front. If I may I'd like to suggest that you can turn those fuel tank spacers so that the flat surface is to the front allowing you a place to mount your panel where you can easily remove it. Trim with some weatherstripping around the panel to seal it off and cover with soundproofing and you'd have a great setup. That shiny aluminum covering that foam will also help reflect a lot of light and heat. You'd be surprised by how much heat that'd retain. I would also consider some sort of a variable vent to help reduce the compartment temperature.

Thanks Mads !

Don`t get too crazy about the adhesive...just scrub it off and install that insulation...it`s only a engine room...nothing you will stare at all the time... Thx for your hard work! :-D

I would leave as much space in the engine room as posible. The air is needed to cool the alternator - it is not designed to run in very hot environments. Also helps cooling the engine itself; on my boat, in hot summer I must keep the engine bay completely open otherwise the engine tends to overheat

Servus Mads, thousand thanks again for putting a smile on my face. I would definetly try to put sound insulation directly on the spiffy tank. My thought is: The tank might work like a loudspeaker driven by the vibrations and noise of the engine and will resonate to the engine noise in maybe very uncomfortable frequencies - wood in between won´t help too much. Just a thought. (Did you check for "noise cancelling" materials in the car industry - there is very good low frequency cancelling material available). Sorry about me making so much noise about noise but watching a few other sailing channels it is always a drag when they are motoring and I often wondered why the sound iso on boats is so damn bad. Pls. give a hug to Ava, and for you I have a huge "Servus" from Southern Bavaria. PS: Just visited your shop - works great but I hope you start shipping from within Europe some time in the future. For my (cancelled) order of 2 t-shirts and a bunch of stickers the shipping quote from the US to Germany, Southern Bavaria was about U$ 66.- or so... - I know we live in the mountains far away - didn´t know it was that far out in the univers. Anyway, you won´t be finished with your project next week so I just wait for your european shop in the wonderful spiffy future.

Lights, two up top on each side or fore & aft & one down low on each side, someday when you are working in there you will want light down low. It always seems like whatever is being fixed is in a dark place that is hard to see & reach. Engine room divider....where is the engine intake air coming from? If you do divided it make it easy to remove once everything is in there. I cant remember the last time I was in an engine room and said, "there is too much space in here". I lean toward keeping it open. T-shirt, I am thinking white with little red logo on the front (like it is on the blue shirt) and a larger red logo on the back....just a thought. Keep living the dream for us.

Close off the engine compartment with plywood, but have an area of plexiglass you can view the sexy tank through 😬 I would also insulate inside the diesel tank areas as well. So there’s no echo effect through behind the wall, plus stainless tanks have a tendency to make noise when they are empty. Just my $.02

I would put as much light in the engine bay as possible. I would also check the water impeller housing front plate for wear or groves that will cause a loss of water pressure through the engine. The engine was running fine when you brought Athena from Scotland but I would give it a once over before installing it in the bay. Make sure the injector lines are tight and look at all the seals to see if any of them are leaking or are dry rotted. See if you can get a shop repair manual for the D2 and make a part number list for standard maintenance parts as well as a hourly maintenance cycle.

Observations... A more open engine compartment surely will help pre warm the Diesel and tank. Unless the engine circulates diesel back to the tank surely you wouldn’t want a cold tank and diesel. A more open compartment will utilise the tank as a heat sink. Overall a open compartment would need the temperature monitored so as not to get to hot and have some kind of ventilation. 👍👍👍 your videos. 👌

To cut pipe pretty, all you have to do is rest the grinder with the palm of your hand on a raised surface whilst rotating the pipe against some sort of stop (at clean end as well). You'll get perfect cuts with this method, old trick a pipe fitter showed me a few years ago, he did it against his toolbox and a rock for resting his hand that we found in the yard.

If it isn't mounted you can also get a coolant drain tap for your engine. It will then be much more easy to change the coolant every 2. year.

You could always put a wifi cam in the engine compartment pointing at your fuel tank so you can admire it whenever you'd like. :-) It's looking good. You'll be done before you know it.

I think that you make a beautiful job en the engine compartment it will be nice to see the diesel tank may be a plexiglass with led lights like those gaming pc it will look cool

If you want to close off the fuel tank from the engine compartment and still see that pretty diesel tank all you need to do is add an inspection window, and you have the 3rd led light to mount with the tank .. ;)

You can't separate the engine from the fuel tank because then people wouldn't be able to see that the pick up tubes were installed by someone with OCD and they align with each other perfectly!

I like the new tank. Rugged and has LARGE access panels if needed in the future... Also like the grab handle/protectors on top the tank

Hi Mads. Can you sometime in the future do a new update on your, Reflek Stove(s). Easy of operation. Heat output. Fuel consumption. Maintenance. Chimney. And overview. Thanks!

Hi Mads! Great video as usual!! I have no experience with boat engine but i think that by enclosering the engine you'll be reducing the cooling/ventilation substancially... About the"hicky" stuff, try to find something to remove it... Seems easier to me!

You must be very happy now that you are doing something other then sanding This is the fun part

Finally a pretty dang spiffy tee!

Great video, again, in an absolutely great series.... How do you do this quality every week.... Awesome! Thanks!!

Make a removable bulkhead panel between the engine and fuel tank. Feasible, and easy to insulate once removed, and not unusual. My engine compartment housing almost completely disassembles.

Have you considered soundproofing between the engine and fuel tank? The tank when less than full might reverberate and amplify any noise from the engine.

I just recently found your channel and it's easily my new favorite. I'm wondering if that nitrile rubber wouldn't be good to put between the engine and mount to reduce transmission of engine vibrations to the structure. It seems like it would help a lot with sound as long as it doesn't get too hot for the material.

I must say and in experience that locktite 577 is only to be used for water! I'm a Yacht and heavy lift Engineer currently on the pioneering spirit and work a lot with hydraulic systems and diesel! In 2 years your 577 will be done doing it's job! I recommend locktite 542 😉 And for the caskets I should use cork rubber cause nitrile will sweat Love your program tho

Hi Mads, You might consider taking out the “injectors” and get them checked as the engine has been sitting “idle” for a time, and also at the time they are out-put a little diesel into the cylinder to "lube " them up, they might have got a little stuck and also the piston rings might need a little TLC after sitting "idle" do a few drops (0.5dl) of it will help you when you start cranking it over. as of lightning in the engine compartment, as much as you can high and low, as so many of your comment here mention. I guess you will install an "Engine room fan too" for getting heat and fumes out of the space, and have it connected up to the ignition. then if you do that you might consider a fan that takes the "Space/volume" X 1.5, then you will be sure that you have a very clean and spiffy engine compartment, that don't have any great and sticky left over if you have some sort of exhaust leak or damping off from the engine, or you spill something into the bilge and can't get out, that might damp off when the engine gets up to running temperature.

Awesome sauce ...ordered my t-shirt and sticker pak :)

Impeller and impeller housing always good to check

all in all....pretty dang spiffy

Mads put a little double glazed window in that bulkhead your fitting between engine an tank, with a light in with the tank. (of course;) That way you will always see that pukka work of art diesel tank when checking the motor :)

That diesel tank matches your retro-sci-fi dodger perfectly!