Conference unifix::sailing

With an inboard it is best to do eveything in the fall. First, you should changethe oil and filter then run the engine briefly after the oil is changed. The reason for changing oil in the fall as opposed to spring is that a byproduct of
combustion is sulfur, during the winter sulfuric acid will form and wind up in
the bottom of your oil pan and begin eating it, pitting is not uncommon
in the oil pan of older engines stored with used oil. As far as the cooling
system is concerned, NEVER leave it drained. If you have a fresh water system
you should make sure you have a 50/50 mixture of water and anti-freeze in it all

all the time. On the salt water side you should disconnect the raw water intake
from the seacock and stick it in a pail of fresh water (about 5 or 10 gallons)
after the fresh water flushes the system stick the intake into a pail with a
50/50 mixture of fresh water and antifreeze, let the running engine suck it 
through until it comes out the overboard discharge the stop the engine. The reason to keep the plumbing full is to prevent rust inside the engine in both the
fresh and raw water systems. Lube everthing that moves (cables and stuff) and
you'll be all set. In the spring, just start it up and go. It pays to do a good
job in the fall because during the winter an inboard will rust away from no
use. A lot of people I know also disconnect the prop shaft for the winter. 
By the way - run the engine often in the summer - a guy I know didn't use his
engine for a month and found his raw seawater system clogged by a small community
of growing baby clams!

I have been told that the antifreeze used in the fresh water engine 
cooling system (eg, Prestone) should not be used in the seawater cooling 
system. Reason is that the antifreese has a deleterious effect on the 
rubber impeller in the seawater pump. Use the antifreeze (full strength) 
sold for use in drinking water systems.

Instead of using drinking water system antifreeze (it tastes vile!) in the 
drinking water system, use the cheapest vodka (undiluted) that you can 
find. Makes spring commissioning a little more fun, especially if you 
remember the orange juice.

Should you be fortunate or unfortunate enough (depending on your point 
of view) to have a diesel engine, the fellow rebuilding my fuel 
injectors recommends running the engine to operating temperature weekly 
and using antimicrobe additive in the fuel to help prevent sticking 
injectors. My injectors died prematurely, and rebuilding is neither a 
home project or cheap.

Alan

Vodka?  Interesting.  I was told to avoid the pink stuff since it always
seems to leave some color in the water.  I was wondering what kind of 
odorless colorless mixture would be appropriate.

I can always spear a *huge* olive with the mast :-).

Rick

Better Boat suggested that household chlorine bleach (Clorox, etc) can be used
to remove the foul taste/odors present in drinking water. One tablespoon per
10 gallons of water was the recomended mixture. I'm going to try a stronger
mixture to clean the system initially, followed by a thorough flush with clean
water. 

Also mentioned was the suggestion that if you weren't using enough water to
completely cycle your tanks every two weeks then you should consider draining
and refilling that often.

re .4

Oh great, I went out and bought a boat with two 45 gallon stainless 
steel water tanks so I wouldn't have to bother refilling my tanks every 
other week or so and now you tell me that I ought to do it anyway? Jeez, 
do you sell water for a living? :-) 

Alan

I don't want to be the pessimist here but in four years the fiberglass tank
on our Pearson 26 never lost that distinctive taste! I tried a chemical made
by Sudbury Labs that was remarkably ineffective. Never tried the Clorox trick.
If you do come up with a method to get rid of that taste make a beeline to
your nearest patent office and get it on the market FAST!!!, cuz you got a
real winner.

re: .5

Several years ago I cruised without refilling tanks for somewhat more than 6
weeks, simply because water warn't available.  We used a *little* bleach at the
fill end to keep the tanks sweet, and a little (or *more*, at times) rum and
lime at the tap end to keep our tastebuds sweet.  Worked fine. 

It makes a difference how warm or cool your water tanks get and stay -- Gulf
Stream temperatures make things grow ugly where Labrador Current temps in this
area inhibit that.  You might consider the tank's position in your hull, 
especially if it's just inboard a dark topside, or is a daytank under a hot
deck. 

If you're concerned about growth, about $20-30 will buy a good lab analysis,
and usually some advice on how to deal with any problems discovered.

Have you considered one of those simple charcoal filter arrangements?  Many 
taste problems can fixed that way for under $40.  Get a non-corroding plastic 
unit with replaceable canisters.  Salt, if any's in the system, kills the 
element quickly. 

My experience is that water can taste pretty weird and still be safe to drink.
At least I survived some water torture-by-taste in the past!  :-)

Sweet sailing, 
		John.

re the charcoal filter idea: I read somewhere (Practical Sailor?)
that bacteria and other nasty things can grow on these filters when they 
are used intermittently (ie, on a boat). I read somewhere else that 
filling a fiberglass tank with very hot, boiling even, water a couple of 
times will reduce the taste problem. I'm not quite sure how one acquires 
this much hot water all at once. I'd also worry a bit about the effect 
of very hot water on any plastic hose or fittings in the system. Good 
luck.

re: .5

Gee Alan, I don't think that the Better Boat article had guys with 90 gallons
worth of steel tanks in mind when they wrote that suggestion.

Now, 90 gallons of vodka sounds like an interesting cruise. 

I wouldn't want to fill those tanks at Brewers West up in Boothbay. Their water
pressure was giving me about 1 gal/minute. It wasn't even strong enough to
go through my roll-up hose. My new boat is stored there right now. I've got
106 gallons of plastic tanks to contemplate filling.

JohnOP

A little over a year ago I purchased a Evrkleen 4 stage ceramic filter
from Defender. I haven't installed it yet. I happened to mention to the
Sabre factory that I was planning to use it and they warned me to be very
careful. It seems that these multi stage filters restrict the flow of water
enough to damage the electric pressure water pumps. 

They told me that they had not found a satisfactory filter other than those
which are intended to remove gritty particles.

JohnOP

GEEZ JOHN I DIDN'T KNOW YOU WORE ROLL UP HOSE.  NEXT TIME I'LL HAVE TO
NOTICE.  ALSO I'VE SEEN WHAT YOU DO WITH A GLASS OF VODKA W/O A MIXER

    I have had good luck with using a AMF/Cuno charcoal taste/odor/particulate
    filter coupled with a good dose of Clorox in the tank.  The filter
    cartridge number is AP217, if my memory serves correctly.  The filter
    does an excellent job of removing the chlorine taste and odor.
    I am currently using about 1/2 a cup of Clorox per 30 gallon fill-up.
    The only problem is that the bathroom sink in our boat is unfiltered,
    so the water is a bit smelly, but I suppose it is a good disinfectant.
    A foot pump is used to push the water thru the filter in the galley
    sink, and works adequately.		
    
    
    					----->Vince