Winter Projects on The Gaffer

[robby017]

There is a WAR BUTTON on the panel, that is activated, will give you 5600rpm instead of the rated 4200rpm

cool......... that's a nice and handy gadget to have...... 

[The_Gaffer]

True Robby. However you risk running the engine at an extreme. The war button is used by tanks to get out of the way....fast

[robby017]

of course, but if you've got someone seriously injured on board and need to get in fast from some 20-30 miles offshore........ i think you'd hit it there...... life before engine guarantee surely..... i wish you never use it though.

[The_Gaffer]

Project Update

Been a while now since my last update, but I can assure you that works have been progressing as planned on the boat, with all major projects successfully completed, and other in their final stages of completion.

Just a quick summary:

Teak and Laminate:  Completed  
Varnish:   Completed  
Cieling and Cabin Upholstery:   Completed  
Complete rewiring of all DC circuits:  Completed  


Electronics
All the electronic equipment ordered from RLR has been delivered, and everything is installed and connected.  All that remains to be fitted is the actual Raymarine C90 Widescreen.  As this is a sort of delicate product I'm leaving it to the last thing to be installed since there still remains some work to be done on the cockpit.  However, the inlaying of the panel is complete, and all whats left is just to fit the screen into its position and screw in.  

Engine
As I write, I'm still awaiting delivery of the 6 injectors.  Steyr wrote in to confirm dispatch and payment to Stery was effected.  The ECU was reprogrammed  and mapped to the new injectors, with a new fuel and speed optimisation included in the programming logic.  

Repainting the hulls/ Cut and polish of existing gelcoat
After much deliberation, and testing on small patches of the hull, a final decision has been taken.  The hull is recieving a once over cut and polish.  The gelcoat is being wet sanded with 600 grit sand paper to remove all the oxidised gelcoat and stains.  Then wet sanded again with 2000 grit sand paper to remove most of the scratches caused by the 600 grit sanding.  This sanding is being done by hand, with water and a little soap to reduce friction.  Next will be the application of G3 abrasive paste,  polish and buffering.  Followed by G10 paste polish and buffering, and finally apply waxing a teflon to reduce the effects of UV.  most of the starboard hull is complete, except the fianl wax polish, and the shine to the original gelcoat has been restored.   I must admit we have a professional doing this job, as its very time consuming and would distract us from the works that are left to complete this project    


Most of the other 101 odd jobs are either complete or nearing completion, with the 240V AC panel all wired up, the keel has been glassed in to prevent rain water seeping into it, and the new fibreglass panel to accomodate the engine instrument panel all glassed and ready to fit.  

Last saturday we also started work on fitting in the new Stainless Steel Radar Arch.  This is all new work for me, as I am a keen welder but never welded using the latest tig technology and SS.  A friend of mine gladly lent me his equipment, and we'll see how that progresses.  Resited to the arch will be both VHF antennas, the anchor light, new TV arial, and space for the Radar (maybe next year)

Well, thats the latest till now. We should be ready 1st week of May, and then the Gaffer gets launched for the season, starting off with some deep fishing trips and while out there, start marking off some interesting drop offs!!!

[Granitu]

beautiful posta s always gaffer

just a little suggestion.
why don't you send a sample of the maltese available diesel gaffer...or analyze it in mlata and send them the results to see what they recommend. just a suggestion since we have a very low quality diesel which may well be damaging your injectors gaffer... and injectors do cost some money...

i'm telling you this because in past we had issues with injectors because of poor diesel on our buses engines... it may well be a low quality refining process that causes all this.

that could put your mind at rest once and for all

[The_Gaffer]

Thanks for the valuable info Granitu.  sadly, we do seem to have a very low quality diesel in Malta.  I've been told to install additional filtering, as Steyr (like any other modern common rail diesel) recommend 2 microns of filtering before the diesel enters the injectors.  Some people recommended that I use additives whenever refueling, thus pushing up the octane rate of the diesel.  What are your suggestions please?

[Granitu]

i would go for filtering gaffer.

with mixing you would need it evenly balanced. just adding additives which may have a different liquid densities than diesel is risky and in such instance it is a laborious process to mix it.

if the two have different densities gaffer you would end up with 2 levels, one of diesel and another of the additives in the fuel tank, something not very recommendable... to try this point out, try pouring some oil in a glass and then water, and you will be amazed.. there are 2 different levels of liquids

so if using additives, do this simple check first and if they have similar densities, well that might be possible to do.

you may buy in large bulk, filter it and store it. it may well save you some possible hassles that can arise.

[The_Gaffer]

Project Update

Spent last Saturday and monday finishing off minor works (irqaqat) on the Gaffer.  I'm always surprised at the amount of small jobs that seem to accumulate and you spend hours on end trying to finish.  

Engine
I have just been informed by Steyr Motors that the new injectors and re programmed ECU are in transit to Malta as they were dispatched this morning.  Thank you Steyr!!

Radar Arch
A very good friend of mine gave me his stainless steel radar arch.  I'm trying to fit it onto the flybridge of the Gaffer.  Since the boat werethe radar arch was installed was a 40 footer, it's a bit wide for my boat.  So we cut the SS pipes in the middle, and reshaped it to fit the Gaffer.  All I need now is to weld the pipes together again and polish off the welding.  I got a quote from a guy yesterday, he asked me...yeah...wait for it.....ara gejja....390Eur + VAT just to weld and polish ....it was one of those rare moments where my mouth literally dropped....390E for welding 2" pipes toegther and polishing...thats daylight robbery.  Opened a thread this morning asking for some advice, and got quite a few I must say.  Will contact them tomorrow and see who (a) gives me the best quote and (b) can finish the work in the least time possible.  I'm not saying I want the job done for nothing, but geez, I calculated there is about 60 to 90 minutes worth of work there.  390E + VAT for 90minutes, heck, I'm in the wrong job mate here!!

Still have to paint the new engine instrument console and side cockpit panels, however already bought the paint and will do this during the week.  

Flybridge Helm
Didn't use the flybridge last year as I ahd this embarassing hydrolic leak which I could not for the love of God stop.  I finally decided to take the whole helm apart and investigate further.  What I found was shocking.  When I had the flybridge helm installed, I was working abroad, and got some installers to fit in the new helm.   Instead of the recommended hydrolic washers, these installers used Teflon tape
So I dismantled the helm, brought it back to the garage, bought new hydrolic washers and stuff, and reassembled from scratch.  No leaks now

Pictures.
I'm awaiting the new pics to be emailed to me, once done, I;ll puit them up on the forum.

[benri]

Go on Joe - nice progress! Apparently you'll soon be done! and believe me there's no more satisfaction than doing the job yourself. Keep us updated! If you don't manage with the guys the other members have recommended for the s/s, just drop me a message and I can take you to a guy in the l/o Zabbar.

[The_Gaffer]

Project Update

Engine
The injectors and ECU are here and being assembled by the mechanic. 

[Destination Sea]

If i recall correctly you have unit injectors. Well basically they programm the ECU in order to analyses all of the relevant status parameters in the system relative to engine and its operating condition and defines the exact start of injection and injected fuel quantity for the operating state of the engine at any given time. Thus optimizing  fuel economy and performance. Well with regards to cetane improvers (octane for SI engines) they are added to promote good ingnition response. i.e they improve the fuels combustions properties.However  I doubt i they have a lubrication effect on the system. As granitu said they may not mix completly- so check it out first.Most of them are alcohol derived esters of azotic acid.I heard of two instances about 3 years ago  where one type of additives  was added but did not mix throughly. Thus when drawn through the pump it "evaporated with the heat" and the pump lost its tolerance- there was no lubrification effect. I think good filtration is the way forward.I am glad that they have reprogrammed the ECU as stated before nowadys they can be reprogrammed/updated.At least some costs saved. Good luck  and god bless.

[The_Gaffer]

Thanks for a very informative and comprehensive explaination of additives and fuel mixture.  I have been in contact with Steyr motors and their recommendation is to filter the fuel through a 10 micron water separator filter (like the Racor 500 series) then through the Steyr original engine filter.

I have also gone one step beyond that.  I just bought a Racor fuel funnel filter which filters the fuel at 85 microns, thus capturing water droplets present in the fuel and any contaminants before the fuel enters the fuel tank.  I just hope this is a satisfactory measure. 

[shanook]

I would go a step further and buy good diesel..........

[skip]

From where?!!!

[The_Gaffer]

I would go a step further and buy good diesel..........

Tony, believe me, I have always sourced 'good diesel'.  I either buy direct from a filling station, or use the Bulk service provided by 'Falzon Service Station'.  If you have a better source, please tell me.