Engine mounts
As we hunker down in the winter weather, here’s some equipment that River Canal Rescue recommends should be on your maintenance list.
Engine mounts are extremely easy to maintain if you know how to look after them. However, they can cause catastrophic damage if they are adjusted incorrectly or not checked regularly (the engine mount is a rubber shock absorber, the engine leg is a metal bracket).
The basic make-up of most engine mounts is as follows; a rubber base with a threaded bar through the centre, usually with twoor three nuts for adjustment. The engine mount usually bolts to the engine bearer, with the threaded bar extending through a hole into the engine leg.
There is usually a single nut under the leg and either one self-locking nut or two nuts above the leg. The bottom nut is used to set the adjustment height and the one/two nuts above are to lock the mount into place, once the correct adjustment has been set.
Maintenance once themount has been fitted is easy – regularly check and make sure the bottom nut is tight up against the underside of the leg. If it is not, then tighten the bottom nut up to the leg.
You should never touch the top bolt as this will affect the engine alignment. Check your mounts once a month and theywill never fail catastrophically. Winter is a great time to ask an engineer to give them the once over, as you’ll quickly be able to see if they’re worn or your engine is out of alignment.
Morse control cables
One of the most common parts to fail are morse control cables.
There is rarely much warning before this part fails and when it does it can take you completely by surprise, often resulting in collisions with locks, banks or other vessels. However, there are a few actions you can take to help prevent a failure.
Inspect and ensure the cables are not touching hot surfaces and are routed in such a fashion that there are no tight bends or kinks. It is also advisable to oil or grease the cable connections especially if the controller is open to the weather or is left for a period of time. If you feel the throttle controller becomes stiff or sticking, it may be a sign that a cable failure is imminent.
Always carry a spare cable! The gear and throttle cables are interchangeable and you can save yourself time and expense by holding one on board. Finally, change your cables every five years as they don’t last forever. Taking these precautions will dramatically reduce the chance of a breakdown due to this part failing, not to mention the embarrassment of colliding with another vessel.
Alternator belts
An alternator drive belt (also known as a fan belt) should be checked and replaced regularly. It has two distinct shapes; a V-belt has small ridge-like teeth and usually drives the starting system, alternator and water pump, a flat belt is flat with a number of grooves encompassing it and drives the domestic alternator.
To check your belt’s tightness, pinch it between finger and thumb (about halfway up the longest point i between the pulleys) and push against it. There should be about half an inch of play. Adjust via the tensioner bracket if too much or too little movement.
To check the condition, belt removal isn’t necessary, however it will make the task easier. If checking in situ, pinch the belt between finger and thumb and twist 90 degrees until you can see the inside wall of the belt. If it’s shiny, cracked or has a groove, it’s ready for replacement.
The belt size is usually printed on its top side where you should also find its dimensions. A sequence of numbers such as 10x1025, 10x900, 11.5x1000, 13x1200, 1100A, 950B, 1350C, relate to width and length. For example 10x1025, 10=width in mm and 1025=length in mm. The letters A, B and C relate to width, A=10mm B=11.5mm and C=13mm.
Once you’ve been shown how, it’s easy to replace a belt.
Air filters
The air filter plays a vital role as it is used to filter the air that is needed to allow combustion. Without a clean and adequate supply of air the engine will labour (when blocked up it is similar to trying to breathe with a pillow over your face). Air filters should therefore be regularly checke dand replaced or cleaned as part of your service and maintenance schedule.
There are a number of different types of air filter; most are paper or cloth but on older engines they may be mesh and simply require cleaning.
When an air filter is blocked you may find the engine starts to smoke or labour – thismay be more evident when the engine is put under load – soas you increase revs you lose power. If you’ve ever suffered from an exhaust leak it’s always worth checking and changing the air filter as carbon will rapidly block the air filter.
To change and insert an air filter, locate the filter housing( usually a large cylindrical metal container with clips around the edge), unclip the lid to get access to the filter, remove it and replace with new. The air filter will normally sit inside the housing without a need tomake adjustments; if you have difficulty in doing this, itmay be that you have an incorrect filter.
To clean a meshair filter, and in order to access the mesh or gauze, you may need to unscrew the complete assembly or the cover (check whether there’s a specific way it is inserted or sits in the housing). Remove and wash in detergent or white spirits to get rid of the dirt, leave to dry and then refit, ensuring it’s fitted correctly.
Air filters usually retail at about £15; if you have a genuine one it’s worth popping into your local motor factors to see if they can match it to an aftermarket part. These are usually as reliable andmuch cheaper.
In an emergency, it’s possible to run the engine without an air filter, but where possible use something fine to place over the housing end to stop debris entering.
Bilge pumps
We often come across inadequate or incorrectly positioned bilge pumps, and in order to keep a vessel safe, it’s better to have two, rather than one bilge pump.
Boats should have a maintenance and an emergency pump– the first tomaintain a safewater ingress level and the second to prevent sinking in an emergency situation.
A maintenance pump manages low levels of water ingress consistently, so a small automatic or manual pump is the best option froma cost and maintenance perspective, as it will need to be replaced in a few years. It should be positioned where water ingress is common, such as near the stern gland or directly under deck boards.
In contrast, an emergency pump acts as an early warning system, reducing the impact of a potentially disastrous event. It should be able to pump considerably more water than its maintenance counterpart and, as it plays an early warning role and responds without prompting, must be automatic. A large automatic pump is the best option; as it won’t operate for most of the time, it will remain in a good condition, ready for emergencies.
Position this in an area most at risk of serious ingress and two to three inches higher than the maintenance pump (or where water would not be expected to reach). By making the outlet point as visible as possible, water pumped overboard from this point will catch the eye and alert you to a serious issue.
At a minimum there should be an emergency pump which doesn’ t manage the maintenance side of things. If you use one pump for maintenance, do not expect it to performan emergency role. It cannot give you an early warning alert and that much-needed extra time in an emergency scenario.
Andd on’t forget to install a filter such as Bilge away– it uses a non-toxic-solution to extract hydrocarbon contaminants (petrol, diesel, engine oil etc) from water and renders them non-reactive, leaving environmentally friendly contents in a cartridge which can be disposed of and the housing reused.
Fire safety
In winter, the risk of fire onboard your vessel increases.
If you’re leaving your vessel overwinter, it’s important to isolate the batteries and disconnect your shore power if you have one. If leaving the shore power connected in order to charge your batteries, check the battery connections are secure, isolate themand set the charger to ‘trickle’ charge.
Check your shore power cable; inspect it to ensure thereare no loose connections or wires and that the cable is routed so if water levels change or the wind picks up, it’s not too tight, or loose so that it dangles in the water.
Never leave fires on or stoves unattended when you leave the boat. If you have no choice, then remove items near the fire, clear the area or anything that could get hot and keep time away from the boat to a minimum. I know of a boater who nipped to the shops, a hot coal escaped from his stove and the boat was gone before he returned.
One of the biggest issues in winter is circuit overload and a failure of undersized cables, resulting in short circuits which can quickly develop and cause fire. Always investigate spurious ‘trips’ or loss of power to the boat as this could be an indication a fault is developing. It’s easy to ignore these and simply reset circuit breakers or replace fuses, but these protection devices rarely ‘trip’ without cause.
Narrow Boat Engine Maintenance and Repair
An ideal Christmas gift, Narrow Boat Engine Maintenance and Repair is a practical guide to help boat owners keep their engines operational and moving.
Written by RCR’s managing director, Stephanie Horton, the book focuses on diesel engines and their arrangements, explaining the theory behind the boat’s main systems, including propulsion, cooling and electrics, and gives instructions on how to identify key components, how to locate faults and where possible, how to fix them.
There are tips on everyday engine maintenance and how to complete a service and all instructions are accompanied by more than 260 colour step-by-step photographs and 60 technical diagrams.
The book costs £20.40. Visit www. river canal rescue. co. uk, click on the Engines& Accessories tabat the top of the page and then Web Shop/books to order.